In 2008, just as the recession began killing new home
construction, Vaughan Buckley started his new home business. He was only 20
years old and decided to build infill homes in
go but quickly realized that he could only build about 4 homes a year; not
enough to make him profitable.
He has since moved to modular construction and this year his
company, Vaughan Buckley Custom Homes, will build at least 15 homes in the
Philly area. He chose Ritz-Craft Homes
in
Where most modular home builders see trees and winding roads
as obstacles to getting the modules onto the lot,
police escorts and no room to park the crane.
Police block off the streets and stay on site until everything is set. The
cost of police doesn’t come cheap, especially in the cities.
Enjoy the video of how to get modules delivered and set in Philly.
Choosing a module supplier turned out to be an adventure for
Buckley, too. Several companies he looked at were, in his estimation,
“financially unstable,” including some that went under.
Buckley finally chose Ritz-Craft, which he recalls was the
“least familiar” with urban infill of any of the suppliers he considered. “But
they came through on everything they said they would. Now, I see them as an
extension of my company.”
The industry worries where the new young modular home
builders will come from. All we have to
do is clone Vaughan Buckley and are industry will continue to thrive.
