Landon
Bangerter
Professor
Jennifer Adams
Business
1010
March
12th, 2016
Homebuilder Project Paper
The responsibilities of a
homebuilder can be incredibly diverse.
They vary depending on what responsibilities you deem on yourself. Some homebuilders work strictly from an
office and pay different contractors to perform specific jobs while they worry
about finances, inspections, etc. Some
are a little bit more hands-on and perform those diverse tasks such as building
home frames and walls and installing electrical wiring, windows, and insulation
(“Home Builder: Job Description & Career Info,” n.d.).
The amount of education required to
succeed in construction largely depends on what specific field you hope to get
in to. Monster.com lists such
requirements. If you hope to become a
craftsmen or laborer, it’s not really required to pursue any kind of education,
although a high school degree and some proficiency in math and shop are of a
large help. I learned all my handiwork
from experience of working a construction company, and then obviously learned
math in school. However, my goal is to
be in a manager position overlooking home building. The requirements here are not set in stone. The usual idea is to have at least some
experience and in addition have at least a bachelor’s degree in your choice of
construction field (“Construction Careers,” 2015), but there are apparent
exceptions to the rule.
I had the opportunity to interview
Blair Bangerter of Bangerter Homes, a local homebuilding company in the Salt
Lake area. As you can guess, yes, he is
related to me. He’s my father. My brothers, a couple other people, and I
work under him and two other co-owners as their laborers. Blair Bangerter attended Utah State
University and graduated with a major in business and minor in Spanish. He had a little bit of experience with
construction, never participating in any form of schooling for it. And yet he decided to pursue a career in home
building anyway. When I asked him how
much his degree has helped him with his career, he responded back with a low
percentage of 15%. What’s more is that
he is also the architect for Bangerter Homes, designing all of the homes. He’s never taken any classes for that
either. His experience simply consisted
of his fascination for sketching homes and figuring out what a great home would
look like. Through his own self-taught
designs, he would ask other architects and associates for any advice they have
on how to improve his home designs. He
does this while hiring contractors to do framing, plumbing, etc. as well. He will often ask them what they think would
be the best solution to certain problems or how to make a home more livable for
their homeowners. Blair has stated that
all it takes to lead a successful business is two aspects; Put all your might,
mind, and strength in your work and have a genuine concern and interest in each
of your potential and current homeowners (Blair Bangerter, personal
communication, April 13, 2016).
It seems to me that there is no
specific educational requirement to pursue a career in home building. A lot of it is determined by dedication and
interest, but it is certainly helpful to be knowledgeable in those fields. For me, for instance, I have the experience
and interest in the construction field, but I believe I lack the business
skills required to engage in such a career at this point.
Homebuilding isn’t just limited
to one specific type of builder. In
fact, there are three different types of homebuilders. One is the custom homebuilder. This is the type of builder Blair Bangerter
is. The potential homeowner will first
buy a lot, usually from a specific homebuilding company, and work with those builders. If they don’t already have an architect, the
builders and owner will find one and pay them to design their own. The built of the home in this scenario is
specific to the want of the homeowner.
Before construction is even begun, the homebuilder, homeowner, and
architect go over specific desires wanted for the home, such as size, style,
features and creative touches (“Home Builders – Understanding the difference
between a Custom Builder, a Spec Builder and Tract Builders,” n.d.).
The next type of builder is the spec
homebuilder. Unlike custom homebuilders,
spec homebuilders build according to their own designs. Without a perspective homeowner, they will
start building their own type of home.
Usually a buyer will come along after the home is completely finished, but
every once in a while a purchase will be made during the construction of house. Sometimes working with customers on custom
homes can be really stressful, so for those construction managers that want to
avoid those difficult situations, they’ll more than likely build spec homes. These are not your average cookie-cutter
houses. Often these types of builders
like to throw in their own unique tastes and work in the construction process
(“Custom v. Spec v. Tract Homes,” 2016).
The tract homebuilder is the third
and final type of homebuilder. Now this
is the definition of a cookie-cutter homebuilder. Leslie Mann from the Chicago Tribune (2010)
explains that instead of focusing on quality, unlike the other two builders,
this one shoots for quantity. Interestingly
enough, Blair Bangerter’s father and my grandfather, former Utah Governor Norm
Bangerter, was a tract homebuilder. The
idea is to build them quick and let people buy them quick. Usually the advantage here is price. A lot these houses look incredibly similar,
but they usually tend to be cheaper than any of the other types of homes.
For my personal preference, my goal
is to be a custom homebuilder. While
there are certainly some desirable aspects to the other types of builders, I
really enjoy working with people and helping them live a dream, in this case
living in their supposed dream house with their own unique, personal touches.
A career in home building certainly
has its fair shares of pros and cons.
Learningpath.org lists such pros and cons. From a very general standpoint, the pay is
incredibly good. The average wage is
high. The median annual salary as of May
2014 was $86,000. One of my personal
favorite aspects about this career is that it’s not solely an office job. You’ll certainly have an office, but you will
often be required to visit with other contractors, make visits with the city,
and visit your various jobs to make sure construction is going according to
plan. It’s something new every day. It keeps things fresh and interesting. There’s also a sense of accomplishment you
receive upon seeing the completion of a home and finally allowing a homeowner
live in something you created.
Unfortunately, like any career,
there are some downsides to being a homebuilder. There are certainly going to be some days
where work will be longer than usual due to situational circumstances. The workload would probably require you to
multitask, which could be really stressful for some. There will probably several instances of
unexpected occurrences, delays, and emergencies. Not to mention the amount of work you have
could inconsistently depend on the economy (such as the housing market crash in
2008). And every so often, injuries
could occur in the workplace.
Apparently, about 4% of people working in the construction industry
experienced an injury or illness back in 2013 (“Pros and Cons of a Career in
Home Building,” n.d.).
The outlook for the field of
construction management is pretty good.
Within the next 10 years, bls.gov has projected that job opportunities
in that field will grow about 5% percent.
As of 2014, there were 373,200 construction management jobs in the
country. The future is looking fairly
bright for this specific field (Construction Managers, 2015), as long as you’re
able to deal with all the cons that follow it anyway.
I’m very confident with my fit in
this field. Working for Bangerter Homes
as a laborer has been incredibly informative.
I really enjoy talking to different contractors and going over building
plans. What makes it even more rewarding
is being able to stand back after you’re finished with a project and evaluate
your work. I’ve been with the business
for a while and have learned a lot. My
older brother and I have been talking about going into business together as
homebuilders once I’m done with school.
He’s already had a lot of experience in building and even selling as a
real estate agent. I’ve enjoyed every
minute of investigating these unique sources and learning more about the
homebuilding industry. Performing all of
this research has been incredibly helpful and has only solidified my desire to
be a homebuilder. I can only have faith
that the future in homebuilding is as bright as it seems to be.
Sources
1.
Home
Builder: Job Description & Career Info.
Study.com. Retrieved from http://study.com/articles/Home_Builder_Job_Description_and_Information_About_Starting_a_Career_as_a_Home_Builder.html
2.
(2015). Construction Careers. Monster. Retrieved from http://www.monster.com/construction-careers
3.
Pros
and Cons of a Career in Home Building. LearningPath.org. Retrieved from http://learningpath.org/articles/Home_Builder_Career_Info.html
4.
(2015). Construction Managers. Bureau
of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/construction-managers.htm
5.
Home
Builders – Understanding the difference between a Custom Builder, a Spec
Builder and Tract Builders. Peak Construction Company. Retrieved from http://peakconstructionco.com/blog/home-builders-understanding-the-difference-between-a-custom-builder-a-spec-builder-and-tract-builders/
6.
(2016). Custom v. Spec v. Tract Homes. Shelia
Conkling Jonesboro Real Estate & New Construction. Retrieved from http://www.neahomes.com/custom-v-spec-v-tract-homes.html
7.
Mann,
Leslie (2010). Custom, spec or tract:
Which house fits you? Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-02/classified/ct-home-0702-custom-spec-homes-20100702_1_custom-house-spec-new-house
