Having spent more than two decades building homes for hundreds of Border residents and investors, Graham Searle says it's the lasting relationships he has built with his clients that matter most.

Mr Searle is the owner-founder and managing director of Southern Vale Homes.

The company recently hosted more than 130 guests at the VIP grand opening of its newest display home in Killara.

The guests included people from all walks of life who had connected with Southern Vale during the past 23 years.

This included clients who built in the 1990s, to those who have just moved in to their brand-new homes, and several clients who returned to build their second or third.

"So many of our past clients came to our VIP night – it was fantastic," Mr Searle said.

"Since then, we’ve had some refer their relatives/children to us. I’ve also been invited to social things. It’s about creating a friendship based on trust, and building relationships. It’s not a 'build-and-see-ya-later' relationship; it’s a lifetime relationship."

This advertising feature is sponsored by: Southern Vale Homes

One guest at the VIP event was Karen Van Maanen, a property mentor with Real Wealth Australia, who has built five investment properties in Lavington with Southern Vale Homes. 

Ms Van Maanen travelled from Melbourne especially to join the company’s VIP event on February 17 at Riverside Estate.

“The biggest drawcard to Southern Vale Homes was the feeling of being part of the family,” said Ms Van Maanen, “that no question was too big or small – and they go out of their way to make a project a success along with site meetings on weekends, followed by coffee.”

She was referred to Southern Vale in 2012, when she purchased a house on a corner block in Lavington.

“Initially I wanted to keep the old house and build a unit at the back," she said.

"Graham understood what I wanted and saw a lot more opportunity in the block. He showed me how we could make the block work more effectively by building two units instead of one.

"It was a gut feeling, but from that moment I knew I could deal with him on a long-term basis”.

Ms Van Maanen has recommended Southern Vale Homes to many people and four lots of her friends have now built investment properties with Southern Vale "with great outcomes”.

“I keep coming back to Southern Vale because they will handle the complete process, build a quality product that both rents exceptionally well and increases equity in the project," she said.

"I feel comfortable with Southern Vale Homes to handle the project and keep me updated even when I am in Melbourne. They supply photos of the stages and keep you in the loop.”