A Conversation With ... Kenny Bussell

We started building homes in 1999. We started out with smaller homes and worked ourselves up to the medium-range home, which is our primary focus now. But we still do some larger homes. We do between 30 and 40 houses a year. Probably 15 percent of our work is total custom homes. It’s design-build, so to speak. The majority of my work is in spec homes. As I said, about 15 percent of our homes are full-blown custom jobs from the ground up. Probably about another 15 (percent) to 20 percent turn into custom jobs. What that means is that after the house is partially built … somebody will come along and buy it, then they’ll want to pick their own colors, maybe make a few modifications. Including my wife, who takes care of the books, I have three full-time employees. This is my second year on the Parade of Homes.

What do you consider as medium-range for home prices?

The lower- to mid-$200,000 range would be a medium-range home at this time.

What trends are you seeing now in terms of what homeowners want?

Darker colors are coming back, especially brown, which is surprising to me. (Also) newer technology such as surround sound … media rooms, what we call a media panel – a centrally located media box … which makes it easier … to distribute the cable throughout the house. Ceramic tile has become very popular … and lots of hardwood flooring is a big plus. Right now, the people seem to be taking more time in making decisions. They seem to be looking more.

So people are getting more particular about their homes?

Yes. As interest rates go up, and prices of houses have increased, I think the homeowner – their dollars don’t go as far – so they’ve become more aware … of what they’re getting for their money. They’re shopping around more. We’ll deal with a buyer sometimes for two months before they ever make a decision. People get on the Internet and they’ll come up with some really different ideas of what they want in their house, and it may be uncommon for this area. Sometimes, it’s something that I’ve never even heard of, and we have to accommodate that.

How did you get into home building?

I was in the floor-covering business for almost 20 years – I’m originally from St. Joseph – and throughout that time, I did renovations. I’d buy houses and remodel them, and either rent them out or I would sell them. That got me interested in the building business. But the economy up there is repressed, and there wasn’t a lot of building going on. When my wife and I moved down here in ‘92, I started out in the floor covering business and did insurance work, such as water damage repair, and then started building in 1999. It just took off from there. My right-hand man, Dan Blanton, we’ve known each other since we were 14. We went to school together … and he’s worked with me his entire adult life.

What goals do you have for your company?

Naturally, we want to expand in the residential market. We’d like to get up into the 50- to 60-house range per year. We’re just now breaking into commercial. I have some commercial property under contract, where I’ll be building approximately a 28,000-square-foot retail and office center. It’s on Republic Road, just east of the new Taco Bell. It’ll be a two-story structure for retail and restaurant on the main level and office on the upper level. I’ve just recently become an authorized independent Rigid Buildings (System) distributor. It’s a steel building. That’ll help me break into the commercial sector.

You mentioned your wife; do you want to tell us about your family?

I’m married to Brooke. We have been married for 14 years. We have a son, Tyler, who is 11 and hopes to be an NBA basketball player. I have an older daughter from a previous marriage. Her name is Trisha, and she’s 22. Her husband, my son-in-law, works for me.[[In-content Ad]]