Standing behind a table in a room filled with hundreds of builders, remodelers and architects, you’re bound to meet a few of them. I met plenty this week while at the Pro Expo by Pella in Saint Louis at Busch Stadium.
A group of three young guys approached me and we started talking about what they do. They work for Kliethermes Homes & Remodeling in Columbia, Mo. I’m not the best judge of someone’s age, but none of them could have been older than their mid-30s. They told me about their female-focused home design and construction process. They told me how well their company is doing. They have some fresh ideas, and it’s good to see. I felt good seeing some young people taking a leadership position in the market.
This past October, I met another young builder named David Werschay of Werschay Homes in St. Cloud, Minn. He’s a design/builder on the move, too. He’s involved in the industry, attending NAHB meetings on a regular basis. He, also, is relatively young, not yet into his 40s if my guess is correct.
David told me a story about his experience with banks. He was frustrated with the stiff-arm he kept receiving for funding a new project. So he did something about it. Watch this video to learn how he convinced banks to fund a spec home during this lending crisis. The full story will appear in the May 2010 issue of Residential Design & Build.
The housing market owes plenty of gratitude to the established generation of home building, design and remodeling professionals for bringing it this far. It is refreshing, however, to meet so many young, competent people who are ready to take over the custom home market and lead it forward.
Do you know any young custom builders or architects/designers you’re proud of? Let us know.
Tell their story by sending me an e-mail. Or, scroll up to the first paragraph of this blog entry, look to the right and click where you see, “Leave a comment†or “Post or view comments.â€