This North Raleigh complete kitchen, scullery, and dining room remodel was completed earlier this year. Photo courtesy of Veritas Custom Homes
The word veritas holds deep meaning for Sean Gossett, defining both his mission and his business philosophy.
The Latin word for truth, he felt it was the perfect name for his premiere Wake Forest home remodeling firm specializing in luxury custom home renovations. It’s also a powerful branding tool that expresses the company’s values every day.
“As we began thinking about a name, we wanted something that was strong,” he says. “And then as I thought through the idea of building my business truthfully and communicating truthfully, the word ‘veritas’ had a strong message, and it represents who we are.”
Sean is grounded in faith. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Appalachian State University and a master’s in vocal performance from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He is an ordained minister, and while he loved his career as a worship leader in churches in Texas and Florida, he wasn’t a fan of the view from behind a desk.
“I’m a people person,” he says. “I want to know my neighbors, serve them and do business with them.”
In Florida, Sean served a church at Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island and found inspiration among congregation members who ministered to others through home construction missions.
“Disasters would happen and I would lead mission trips,” he says. “I was inspired by our congregation’s willingness and desire to serve people that way.”
He also caught the construction bug, and in 2009, he formed MCG Homes in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida, a general contracting firm that bought and remodeled homes, logging 70 renovation projects between 2009 and 2016. He and partner Mathew Meskimen still manage the firm, which today has 32 employees and designs and constructs new homes in addition to renovation work.
Veritas co-founder and CFO Sean Gossett. Photo by Jonathan Fredin
In 2016, Sean and his family wanted to be closer to relatives, so they moved to Wake Forest, where his father-in-law is a professor at Southeast Theological Seminary.
“I continued to manage my Florida company 500 miles away, but once again I found myself in an office doing the financials and running spreadsheets,” he says. “I wanted to know my neighbors and serve them and do business with them.”
Sean and Mathew started Veritas in February 2025 and today have four employees.
The partners meet regularly in Fernandina Beach and Wake Forest and hold weekly online meetings to manage their businesses.
Veritas is known for its unique “budget-backwards” approach to home remodeling and construction. Instead of designing a project first and pricing it later, Sean starts with a client’s maximum investment amount and designs the scope, layout, and materials to fit that budget before work even begins.
During the design phase, the budget can rise or fall depending on any changes that take place along the way.
“We call that concept ‘budget-and-design fluid,’ which means we continue to tailor the design to meet the client’s budget,” he says. “The client is involved every step of the way.”
A construction schedule helps everyone stay on track.
“When we start construction, we can build with confidence because we’ve put in the work planning the project on the front end,” he says.
With his real estate background, Sean is well versed in home values and construction costs and advises his clients on how to get the most value for their dollars without overspending on updates that don’t increase the value of their home.
Veritas project managers are onsite and involved during every step of construction. Photo courtesy of Veritas Custom Homes
“For instance, if they’ve got a $500,000 home and they want a $300,000 kitchen, that’s not always the right investment,” he says.
But he also advocates for taking the intangibles into consideration and realizing that overall value doesn’t live in money alone. Sometimes value is in the eye of the beholder.
He recalls building an Olympic-sized pool for a Florida homeowner who had been an Olympic swimmer for Great Britain in the 1970s.
“He lived in a $700,000 home and we put a $400,000 pool in his backyard. For him, having that excellent pool was important,” Sean says. “We were not going to tell him not to build that.”
Today’s economy plays an important role in the housing market, and right now, it’s friendlier for people who wish to remodel than those looking to buy.
With interest rates above 6%, homeowners are choosing to stay in their homes, especially if they purchased or refinanced them when interest rates were below 4%. And to some extent, the lack of available land in Wake County has dampened new home construction, Sean says.
“We also saw a huge inflationary bump during and after covid, so people who bought their homes before 2020 not only have the lowest interest rates, but they also have equity from that inflationary pressure,” Sean says. “So some of those people might be locked into their home because of their interest rate.”
On the other hand, many people choose to stay in their older homes simply because they love them. After spending a lifetime making memories in one place, they are not motivated to buy another house.
And that’s a sweet spot for remodelers.
A 2026 screened-in porch and outdoor living space addition in Wake Forest. Photo courtesy of Veritas Custom Homes
Today’s marketplace is complex, Sean says, and Wake County is faring better than other places, thanks to the influx of business and industry moving into the Triangle region and the state’s consistent ranking as a top place to live and do business.
“Overall, I would say there are many opportunities and a lot of money moving into Wake County,” he says. “There’s also a lot of aging inventory here too. Many Raleigh homes that were built in the 1980s and ’90s with good value but outdated footprints are ready to be remodeled.”
Popular updates for those older homes include expanding doorways and raising headers to create a modern open floorplan.
Whether taking on new construction or renovating special spaces, Sean advises people who hire general contactors to visit the website of the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors to ensure they are fully licensed and qualified.
“State licensure is there to protect the community,” he says. “And so I encourage people to research builders or contractors coming through their door to make sure they’re who they say they are.”
He also advises homeowners to pay attention to the process involved in construction, “because if they plan properly, they will have a better chance of success,” he says. “One mistake people make is getting too excited thinking about the finished product and failing to do proper planning to help avoid making mistakes.
“We go by the ‘five Ps,’ he says: “Proper planning prevents poor performance.”
Veritas serves a narrow territory in northern Wake County, including Wake Forest and Raleigh north of the Beltline. Most jobs are priced over $100,000.
The Wake Forest homeowners wanted their kitchen and living space expanded to be usable as a large gathering space for their children and grandchildren. Photo courtesy of Veritas Custom Homes
“In North Carolina, any project under $40,000 doesn’t require a state-licensed general contractor, and we’re built for large projects, so we don’t take on smaller remodels,” Sean explains. “We market to people who are already thinking big, and then we help them allocate those dollars wisely.”
He advises homeowners who want smaller remodels to seek out smaller design firms. And for those on a modest budget, YouTube instructions and do-it-yourself guides can lead the way.
“There are absolutely a lot of things people can do to improve their home,” he says. “Changing paint colors is inexpensive, and if you’re not a good painter, you can just hire one.”
Installing tiled kitchen backsplashes and updating appliances are also good ways to increase a home’s value.
“I encourage people to get curious and research their options,” he says.
The pandemic opened doors for remodelers like Veritas, driving people outside where the fresh air seemed safer. They discovered that they enjoy living and playing in the great outdoors, and Sean has seen an uptick in clients who want to create kitchen and living areas outside the walls of their home.
“And North Carolina is perfectly suited for this lifestyle where we’ve got great weather for nine or 10 months of the year,” he says.
Everything Veritas does is custom made according to the clients’ wishes.
“We’ve done over 400 jobs of at least $100,000 and have never done the same thing twice,” Sean says.
Veritas recently finished a project for a couple with six grown children and 11 grandchildren that Sean cites as one of his favorite remodels. The large house features a backyard paradise for kids, but there wasn’t enough eating space for family gatherings.
The result is a bright and airy expanded kitchen and dining area for the whole family to enjoy. Photo courtesy of Veritas Custom Homes
“They’re from Louisiana, and they love college football and Mardi Gras parties,” Sean says. “They have a pool in the backyard, playground equipment with a zip line, and they enjoy having all the kids around.”
The Veritas team removed the back of the house at the kitchen and expanded the space using half of a large covered porch. They added 6-foot-tall clear glass windows and a sliding door leading to the backyard. They converted a countertop into an island, creating a new eating area that faced the windows and giving a view of the backyard playground and the pool.
Sean also has a large family, so the project’s success in bringing the client’s family together resonated with him.
“I love being able to maximize a space where people can enjoy their families,” he says. “And for me, it’s often not just about making a house bigger or prettier; it’s about improving people’s lives.”
Sean and his wife, Anna, have five kids ranging in age from 15 to 24. Their first grandchild was born last March, “so I’m Pappy,” he says with a grin.
“My point is that we’re not just out there to do projects,” he says. “We care about people, and we want to serve them well and not just sign a contract because we can do the work.”
Sean considers his work as part of his ministry in the sense that he’s looking after others by providing meaningful work for his employees and bringing value to their lives and to the lives of his clients.
“One of our core values is that we’re others oriented,” he says. “And that means we’re going to build according to true construction principles, and we’re also going to deal truthfully with our clients, our vendors, our employees, and the public.”
Sometimes, when clients ask him for advice on how to improve their living spaces and lifestyles, he knows just what to say.
“When given a choice, I always think remodeling is a great idea,” he says.
