In many ways, it's only natural that Wade Jurney Jr. became a home builder. His father, Wade Jurney Sr., is a home builder and owner of Jurney Construction Co. Inc., and his mother was a real estate agent.
And while Jurney doesn't remember playing with blocks or building things as a child, he admits he's not really sure he ever wanted to do anything else and certainly can't imagine having another career now.
"I love being a home builder," says Jurney, who specializes in homes for first-time buyers. "It gives me a sense that I'm doing something for society when I am able to put someone in a home."
Because of that passion, not just for building but for helping people achieve the dream of home ownership, Jurney has gotten very involved with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro in recent years.
In 2003, Habitat for Humanity launched a blitz building program called Raising Roofs, in partnership with the Greater Greensboro Builders Association. The goal of the program is to use local builders and their resources to construct 12 Habitat homes in a week.
Jurney was one of the first builders to volunteer for the inaugural build, says Winston McGregor, the president and executive director of Habitat for Humanity, and has been among the first to volunteer for the two following Raising Roofs campaigns.
And Jurney not just participates, but motivates others to get involved and have fun doing it, McGregor says. His second year of participating in the blitz build he convinced his subcontractors and suppliers to work overnight and complete the home in 36 hours. Last year, Jurney's house was finished in about 16 hours.
"He's out there on the job site ribbing others and taking a good deal of ribbing himself," McGregor says.
Jurney is also frequently calling Habitat for Humanity and letting it know about individual lots the nonprofit might be interested in, and then helping it secure the land at a decent cost.
"We often end up buying these lots that never would have been on our radar screen without him," she says.
Lessons learned from Dad
Jurney, 35, spent most of his childhood just outside of Mount Airy. But in the mid-'80s, the local real estate market turned bad and the Jurney family moved to Austin, Texas, where real estate was still booming.
While he lived in Texas for only three years, from ages 12 to 15, Jurney said the experiences he had there have helped him become a successful builder.
It was in Austin where he learned to speak Spanish, because so many of his friends spoke it as their first language. Jurney uses that now both to communicate with his workers and as his company targets Hispanic buyers.
Jurney also learned an important lesson about the need for builders to diversify. The company his dad was working for at the time began construction on a 3,000-home development just as Austin issued a sewer moratorium. The houses weren't able to connect to public utilities because of it, so the homes couldn't be sold; the subdivision ended up putting the company out of business.
In 1986, the family moved back to the Triad, buying a home in Forsyth County.
While Jurney grew up on his father's job sites, doing everything from interior trim work to picking up scraps of lumber, his first real job in the industry came after graduating from UNC-Greensboro in 1990 when he took a job with U.S. Home (now Lenar Homes) in southwest Florida.
After a year in Florida, Jurney returned to North Carolina and began working for his father full time. While he said he learned a lot from his father, after more than a decade in the family business he also knew he needed to leave. He was working 50 or 60 hours a week, he says, and felt that work dominated every aspect of family gatherings.
Now that he has his own company, he says, holiday dinners and family events no longer evolve into business meetings.
Jurney says he looked at working for several other area builders and had some nice job offers, but decided he wanted to try and make it on his own.
So, in 2001, he opened Wade Jurney Homes. In 2006, the company closed on 131 homes, making it the 14th-busiest builder in the Triad, according to Business Journal research.
He may eventually take that entrepreneurial spirit south. Jurney owns a home in Naples, Fla., where he, his wife and daughters spend a few months each winter. He is in the process of getting his Realtor and contractors licenses in Florida, although he says he has no immediate plans to open a business there.
Well-connected
Living and working in residential building most of his life, Jurney is very connected in the local real estate and construction community. During a recent meeting at a Panera Bread in Greensboro, Jurney knew several people coming into the restaurant from work he has done over the years. He greeted them all either with a wave or a brief conversation.
That's not uncommon to see when out with Jurney, says Arnold Sykes, a principal with Sykes & Sykes of Greensboro LLC, a residential development company that has sold several lots to Jurney Homes over the years.
People like, respect and trust Jurney, Sykes says.
"A lot of deals we do over a handshake," he says.
One of the thing that endears Jurney to others is that he knows his limitations and isn't afraid to ask for advice from people who he thinks can help him. For example, Sykes says, he regularly asks for feedback before closing on lots or asking for feedback on what kind of homes would do well in a development.
"He really tries to surround himself with people who can help him produce and meet his expectations," Sykes says.wn, but I'm an entrepreneur," he says.
So, in 2001, he opened Wade Jurney Homes. In 2006, the company closed on 131 homes, making it the 14th-busiest builder in the Triad, according to Business Journal research.
He may eventually take that entrepreneurial spirit south. Jurney owns a home in Naples, Fla., where he, his wife and daughters spend a few months each winter. He is in the process of getting his Realtor and contractors licenses in Florida, although he says he has no immediate plans to open a business there.
Well-connected
Living and working in residential building most of his life, Jurney is very connected in the local real estate and construction community. During a recent meeting at a Panera Bread in Greensboro, Jurney knew several people coming into the restaurant from work he has done over the years. He greeted them all either with a wave or a brief conversation.
That's not uncommon to see when out with Jurney, says Arnold Sykes, a principal with Sykes & Sykes of Greensboro LLC, a residential development company that has sold several lots to Jurney Homes over the years.
People like, respect and trust Jurney, Sykes says.
"A lot of deals we do over a handshake," he says.
One of the thing that endears Jurney to others is that he knows his limitations and isn't afraid to ask for advice from people who he thinks can help him. For example, Sykes says, he regularly asks for feedback before closing on lots or asking for feedback on what kind of homes would do well in a development.
"He really tries to surround himself with people who can help him produce and meet his expectations," Sykes says.
This article was originally published in The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area and The Business Journal Serving the Greater Triad Area by Michelle Cater Rash.
About Wade Jurney
Homes Wade Jurney Homes has a long-standing reputation for building homes of exceptional quality and value throughout the Piedmont Triad. Since 2001, Wade Jurney Homes has been building homes in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Burlington, Kernersville and Thomasville. The National Association of Homebuilders recently named Wade Jurney Homes one of the Nation’s Top 100 Builders. Builder Magazine also recognized Wade Jurney Homes as the fastest growing privately held company for 2009.
Wade Jurney Homes
3300 Battleground Avenue
Suite 230
Greensboro, NC 27410
Phone:
336-282-3606
Fax:
336-282-6364