Justin Green Custom Homes

10/22/2026

You do not need a lot, a plan, or a budget to come see us.

The dreaming stage is when your land, your plans, and your budget are still easy to shape, before anything is set. Come early, with no obligation. You are welcome here.

The Getting Started guide is linked in the comments. Read it before you visit.

10/21/2026

Available now in Shire Glen: Lot 50, 10107 Tyrrell Court, $589,200.

This single-story home sits on a corner lot in Chaffee Crossing with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,272 heated square feet and a 2-car garage. A drop zone right by the garage door catches the shoes, bags and keys. The island kitchen with its walk-in pantry opens to the vaulted living room and its fireplace, so whoever is cooking stays part of the conversation. The primary suite has a freestanding tub, and the covered back porch is right there when you want some fresh air.

It will be move-in ready in January 2027, and it comes with a $10K Flex Credit you can put toward a rate buy-down, a move-in package or your closing costs. Like every home we build, it is backed by our 3-year builder warranty.

Call (479) 242-0469 to book a walk-through. Know someone who is looking for a new home in Fort Smith? Share this with them.

The rendering is generative and for illustration only. The $10K Flex Credit is offered by Justin Green Custom Homes on Lot 23 and Lot 50 in Shire Glen. Use of the credit is subject to lender approval and loan program guidelines. Offer subject to change.

10/20/2026

A few acres close to town still comes up. Past Greenwood, the county roads off Chaffee, the Lavaca side. This time we crossed the state line too. Here is what is available right now, pinned on one map.

1. Van Buren: 10 acres on Spradley Road at $195,000, with water at the street and quick access to I-540 and I-40. Listed by Jimmy Bell Real Estate.
2. Lavaca: 2.05 acres on South River Road at $95,000, a corner lot with city utilities. Listed by Keller Williams Platinum Realty.
3. Greenwood: 6.64 acres on West Main Street at $130,000, with the dirt work done and a pad site leveled. Listed by Mossy Oak Properties Field, Farm, and Homes.
4. Fort Smith: Fulgham Estates, 3.06 acres at $149,000, in the Greenwood School District with city water, natural gas and underground electric. Listed by McGraw REALTORS.
5. Fort Smith: Edens Edge, 5 gated acres at $150,000. Listed by Bradford & Udouj Realtors.
6. Pocola, Oklahoma: 4.97 acres on Hall Lane at $115,000, with mature hardwoods and no deed restrictions. Listed by O'Neal Real Estate-Poteau.
7. Fort Smith: 3 acres on Bonanza Road at $99,900, in the Greenwood School District with city water available. Listed by The Heritage Group Real Estate - Barling.

We have seen two lots at the same price come out seventy thousand dollars or more apart once you build on them. We walk every one of these with you before you make an offer: the pole at the road, where the water goes, the rise and the setback, the trees.

Which one of these listings stand out to you? Tell us below. The lot walk is step two of the Getting Started guide, Start With the Land, linked in the comments.

Listing facts from Zillow as of Oct 19, 2026. Each listing belongs to the brokerage named, and pricing and availability can change. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

10/19/2026

When we asked where you want to build, a few acres close to town came up again and again, and so did room between neighbors. It is still out there all across the River Valley.

This week we are putting listings on one map, with the acres and the price on each. Found one already? Send us the listing before you make an offer. We can help you determine site costs.

Step two of the Getting Started guide, Start With the Land, is linked in the comments.

10/16/2026

What makes a lot buildable? The price on the sign answers one question. The ground answers the rest.

Two lots can have the same asking price, and we have seen them come out thousands of dollars or more apart in site costs. Here is what we look at on every lot we walk, and what each one costs you when it is missing.

1. Access and frontage. How does a truck get in, and how far back will the house sit? Every foot between the road and your front door is driveway, water line and power line you pay for.

2. Utilities at the street. Look for four things at the road: water, sewer, power and gas.
Water: city water at the street is the simple case. No water line means a well.
Sewer: no sewer at the curb means a septic system. In Arkansas that usually starts with a soil test by a licensed Designated Representative and a permit from the Health Department. A lot of people call it a perc test. Here the Health Department prefers a soil pit, which shows how deep the rock is and how wet the ground gets. If the soil comes back poor, the system gets more involved and more expensive.
Power: find the pole. How far is it from where the house will sit? A long run is its own line item.
Gas: no gas line means propane or an all electric home.

3. Soil and drainage. Stand on the lot after a good rain if you can. Where does the water go? Watch the ditches, the low spots and the neighbors' yards. Rock close to the surface, soft ground or old fill can change the foundation and the dirt work.

4. Slope. A walkout basement is a gift on the right lot and a retaining wall on the wrong one. The steeper the ground, the more dirt work it takes to set a level pad, and the harder the driveway gets.

5. Flood zone. Look the lot up on FEMA's flood map before you fall in love with the view. If it sits in a high-risk flood zone and you have a federally backed mortgage, flood insurance is required, and the house will likely need to be built up.

6. Setbacks and easements. The city or county sets how close you can build to the front, sides and back of the lot. Easements for utilities or drainage can take a strip you cannot build on. Sketch the house inside those lines before you buy.

7. Covenants and HOA rules. Many neighborhoods set a minimum square footage, exterior materials, roof pitch, fences, or where a shop can go. Read them before you design, so the plan you love is a plan the neighborhood allows.

8. Survey and title. A current survey shows where the corners and lines really are. Title work shows the easements, access and anything else recorded against the land.

What it costs when something is missing: each missing piece turns into a line item that does not show up on the listing. A longer driveway. A power run. A well. A septic system. Dirt work for a level pad. A retaining wall. A house built up above the flood level. Several of those can run five figures on their own, and that is how two lots at the same price end up far apart.

Plenty of good homesites need some of this. The goal is knowing the number before you sign, so the land and the house fit the same budget.

If you are looking at a lot right now, send us the listing before you make an offer. We will meet you out there, walk it with you, and tell you what we see. The lot walk is free.

10/15/2026

Same price on the sign. A very different number once you build.

Three things usually make the difference: how far the pole at the road is from where the house sits, where the water goes when it rains, and how much dirt has to move to set a level pad. On one lot that is a short list. On the other, we have seen it add several thousands of dollars or more before a wall goes up.

That is why we walk the land with you before you make an offer. Step two of the Getting Started guide is linked in the comments. Send us the pin and we will walk yours.

10/13/2026

Sell first, or build first? It is one of the first questions families bring to the table, and the answer depends on your house, your lender and your timeline. Here is how each path works.

Your house has two jobs. It is where you live, and it holds the equity that often becomes the next down payment. Sell first, and that equity goes to work before the build starts, while you live somewhere else in between: a rent-back, a rental, or family. Build first, and you stay put and move once, and your lender will usually count both payments until the old house sells.

Timing matters too. A build with us runs about nine to eleven months from the first conversation to keys. In August, a home in our area went pending in a median of about 37 days.

A bridge loan is one way to cover the gap. It borrows against the equity in your current house for a short term, usually six to twelve months, and the sale pays it off. It costs more than a regular mortgage, and it comes due when the term ends whether the house has sold or not. A HELOC or a home equity loan can do a similar job.

Swipe to the last slide for the questions to take to your lender. Talk it through with them first, then bring your house into step one, The First Conversation. We will plan the build around your answer.

Which would you do first? Sell, or build? Tell us below.

Sources: Bankrate (Jan 2026) and CNBC Select (Sep 2026) on bridge loans. CFPB on home equity loans and HELOCs. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-06 (Sep 2026). Redfin, Fort Smith housing market, August 2026. General information only; talk to your lender about your own numbers.

10/12/2026

10/12/2026

Your house has two jobs while we build: a place to live, and the equity for your next down payment. Which one it does first is the whole question.

Sell first, and the equity is in hand before the build starts, with a place to stay in between. Build first, and you move once, carrying both payments until your house sells. A bridge loan or a HELOC can cover that gap. Tomorrow we are posting the full breakdown, slide by slide.

Talk to your lender first. The Getting Started guide walks through this on page 12, linked in the comments.

10/10/2026

The second round of a new series, "This or That?"

Today is the exterior edition, which house stands out from the curb the most to you? Tell us which one and let us know why in the comments below!