Home Sweet ‘North Carolina’ Home
Written by Paul Viau
Thursday, 06 August 2009 19:57

Every year hundreds of families move from out of state to beautiful Haywood County. This past year, because of the economy, it is likely that fewer made the journey. But what we lost in quantity we seem to be getting back in quality.

Such is the case of Tim Neville and Nyda Bittmann-Neville. This adventurous couple has made Florida their home for many years. Tim is a banker in Orlando, and Nyda travels the country speaking and promoting her own marketing business.

Life is good, but every year, the Neville’s grow more and more frustrated with the hot weather and what Tim calls, “The Florida Attitude.” “Attitude” is capitalized for a good reason. It’s chasing good families out of “The Sunshine State” to Western North Carolina, which is good news.

In the Neville’s case, their love of the mountains and the great outdoors told them North
Carolina was “where they want to be.” But where in North Carolina?

Nyda recruited a good friend with some time on her hands, and the two embarked on a
“Carolina Road Trip” in 2008. They covered the territory from Boone to Blowing Rock, Sylva to the Sapphire Valley-Cashiers area, and as you might have guessed, they also looked at Waynesville and Maggie Valley.

After the scouting trip, Tim returned with Nyda to make the final decision. Both found
Waynesville big enough that it offered “plenty of activity” (things to do), yet small enough that they could “settle in and get involved with the community.”

In the beginning, the Nevilles thought they would buy an existing home, but Tim “fell in love” with a lot up above Waynesville in Smokey Mountain Retreat. It was overgrown, but sat on a ridge that Tim just knew would have a killer view.

It was time to pick a builder.

There were tough choices ahead, but the couple did their Internet research, and narrowed the list to nine builders and three architect/designers. Most of the builders were happy to take them around to show off their work. If a builder simply handed the Nevilles a list of addresses, they were taken off the list.

When it came time to make the big decision, Nyda and Tim went out on the porch of their rented Maggie Valley log cabin with a bottle of wine, the list and two blank pieces of paper. Each secretly recorded their choice, and then the two started talking about the reasons for the selection. As the Nevilles discussed the reasons for their choice, it became obvious they were of like mind. They counted to three, and both revealed — Mary Stewart of Stewart Builders, Inc., of Waynesville.

A female builder? You bet.

Both Nyda and Tim loved the way she approached the process, saying “I’m going to build your home for you.” They also visited one of Stewart’s homes-in-progress and were captivated by the way Stewart interacted with the workers and sub-contractors. There was mutual respect, good dialogue and even collaboration.

The construction site seemed more like a “family project” than a home site, and Nyda loved the way Stewart gave the tradesmen room to “show their own creativity.” The architectural firm Tim and Nyda chose was Dan Wright and Andy Bailey, and both were
ecstatic when they got the nod for the project. Nyda recalls Andy saying, “You mean I get to use some creativity!?”

With everyone on the same page and Nyda dutifully blogging the entire process, the project began. She came up from Florida twice a month to look in on things. Tim’s schedule permitted visits every other month. Throughout the project, Stewart kept the couple connected, satisfied and involved in the creative process. Tim and Nyda also got to know most of the tradesmen and their families, and they marveled at how Stewart had so many, hard-working family teams of father and son, mother and son and husband and wife involved in the project.

Over the months, they grew to be so much of an extended family that when their beautiful home was completed, Nyda and Tim invited all of the tradesmen and their families to celebrate at an open house to see how their part of the project helped the whole house come together so beautifully. For many, it was the very first time they had ever seen their “finished work” in totality.

The Nevilles look forward to moving permanently to Waynesville “when the time is right.”
Because of their approach to the project and the way they immersed themselves in the building process, the couple already has many friends in the area. Nyda has already spoken at a meeting of the chamber of commerce “Women in Business.”

As it happens, Nyda’s friend who came with her on the original “Carolina Road Trip,” bought the property next door in Smokey Mountain Retreat. If she engages the community in the same way that they did, Haywood County will be ever the richer.

Click here for Nyda’s blog of the process.