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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Michelle Kesil speaks with Harrison Burke, Director of Sales for Titan Construction. They discuss the intricacies of custom home building and real estate development, emphasizing the importance of technology and systems in streamlining processes. Harrison shares insights on how Titan Construction supports investors with turnkey solutions and automated communication, as well as their plans for future growth and expansion. The conversation also touches on strategies for building wealth through real estate and effective networking techniques.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Harrison Burke (00:00)
Whoa, okay, Michelle, this is one that I am ecstatic about. So one of the shifts that we’ve had here at Titan that we have found fantastic results in over the last two or three years is we have decided, I am not gonna say to move away from a construction development company, but we have decided to change our mission statement to be, we are a technology and systems company that builds houses.So one of the greatest strengths that we’ve had coming out of that is we hired a full-time position for ⁓ technology and systems integration, of an IT position, if you would, that had a lot of background in AI, which has been a hot topic lately with
Michelle Kesil (02:16)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil. And today I’m joined by someone I’m looking forward to chatting with, Harrison Burke, who is the Director of Sales for Titan Construction, specializing in development and custom homes. So, excited to have you on the show today, Harrison.Harrison Burke (02:36)
Thanks for having me.Michelle Kesil (02:37)
Of course, think our listeners are really going to take something away from how you’re approaching your custom builds and supporting homeowners and investors with their home design processes. So let’s dive in.First off, for those not yet familiar with you and your world, can you share what your main focus is?
Harrison Burke (03:02)
Sure thing. So I am currently in the custom building, ⁓ custom home building and real estate development atmosphere. ⁓ I’ve got a broad background across HVAC, electrical plumbing, all dealing with residential as well as quite a few years of ⁓ small project remodeling, whether it’s kitchens, bathrooms, exteriors, windows and doors, ⁓ et cetera.Michelle Kesil (03:28)
Awesome. In which markets do you work and serve?Harrison Burke (03:32)
So we are located here in Charleston, South Carolina. So that is of course our home territory where we do ⁓ the primary amount of our business, but we stretch up and down the coast leading all the way down into Miami and other parts of Florida.Michelle Kesil (03:46)
Awesome.So what are some of the main things that you are providing for your customers?
Harrison Burke (03:56)
So Michelle, our number one kind of claim to fame is it comes in two parts. Number one, as anybody on your real estate investor side of things, we offer 100 % turnkey solution for anyone that’s looking to grow their money through real estate. So we’ve had clients that have come to us in plenty of instances along the lines of, I’m really looking to grow this in, whether it’s over one property, multiple properties, possibly subdividing a lot.And we can run down exactly step by step how we’re going to do that. And of course, anticipate the returns that are going to be on the back end. Whether you’re looking to invest something along the lines of $1,000 $200,000 or have worked with plenty of clients that have brought $3 $4 million and said, what can we do with this? Now, even on the other side of things from the custom home building standpoint, we offer 100 % flat fee and just the rest of the building being at.
So even if you’re a homeowner who’s looking to build their dream home, know, and may possibly even find a larger lot subdivide, sell off a piece of it, build your dream home on one side, that’s really where we specialize.
Michelle Kesil (05:49)
Awesome. So when it comes to custom development, what does that look like? Like what are the kind of steps that you go through on your customer journey?Harrison Burke (06:04)
So, custom and development, you can almost dive into two separate paths at that point, right? Especially as far as custom home building. I when we’re working with clients that I’ve heard plenty of times, this is our last home, we’re dying in this home, we’re gonna build it exactly how we want it. We’re not particularly worried about what are margins and what kind of equity we’re gonna have at the end of the day for return on the investment versus the development side of things.You know, even on a smaller scale, we’re picking up an anchor and subdividing it into three smaller lots and building homes out there. ⁓ So it really depends on which area you’d like to dive into first.
Michelle Kesil (06:42)
Yeah, whichever you prefer. don’t know. Yeah.Harrison Burke (06:47)
Well, and Michelle, so especially on the development side of things, like I said, we have clients that have come to us that don’t particularly have a plan, don’t particularly have a piece of land that they have in mind. They’re just trying to see what kind of return they can get for their money, know, whether they’ve pulled it out of other investments, whether it’s just money they’ve had saved up over time. ⁓ Either that or I’ve had plenty of people that have come to us who have never invested much in the real estate world.outside of their own private residence and said, hey, I have seen where the prices and costs have gone over the past couple of years. How do I get in on some of that? And so then we can run them through that whole step-by-step process of coming to us and deciding an overall investment. Like I said, that could be two or $300,000. That could be a couple million dollars. So even if you came to us and said, hey, I’ve got $400,000 to invest. What can we do with this?
At that point, we can start taking a look at land parcels that are available, whether that’s on the public market or some of the private groups that we’re a part of in the area and say, okay, we can pick up two acres for $120,000, split that six ways. then quite a few times we’ve actually gotten lenders involved just to help clients maximize ⁓ their return that they could possibly have. Even if you come to us with 400, we say,
Well, that’s great. We could make a little bit or if we bring the lender into the equation just to kind of tide us over on the bridge of the build, we’d be looking at rather than 10 to 15 % returns on a single flip, we could be looking at closer to, the last client that we could work with, we built four homes on about 1.2 acres and he should be set to walk away with about 800,000 net at the end of the day.
based on a $1.2 million investment. So the margins vary a lot depending on what you’re looking to invest. So we’ll come in, find the lot, go ahead and get some basic builds put together, both as far as aesthetics through the home, seeing what matches up well with the area, as well as architecturally speaking. Some of our areas downtown, smaller properties always work better, two and three bedrooms, and especially as we space out into more suburban areas.
building four and five bedroom homes that are either suited much better for larger families that are looking to move out that way. We bring an entire knowledge base and analysis on the area to help them grow their money as best as possible.
Michelle Kesil (09:22)
Yeah, that’s awesome.What do you feel are some of the main keys that have allowed your business to be able to run smoothly and grow as you support your clients?
Harrison Burke (09:39)
Whoa, okay, Michelle, this is one that I am ecstatic about. So one of the shifts that we’ve had here at Titan that we have found fantastic results in over the last two or three years is we have decided, I am not gonna say to move away from a construction development company, but we have decided to change our mission statement to be,we are a technology and systems company that builds houses.
So one of the greatest strengths that we’ve had coming out of that is we hired a full-time position for ⁓ technology and systems integration, of an IT position, if you would, that had a lot of background in AI, which has been a hot topic lately with
Whether it’s a matter from our estimating or especially finding these properties that are gonna have the best return, running full ROI statements to where it brings us
a better capability of seeing into the future and knowing what we can do with any piece of land or just with any investment. Because one of the things that we’re trying to work on right now is a complete takeoff system to where I can enter in, you you want to say a geological area of several zip codes and say, I’m looking to invest, you know, let’s just use half a million dollars as an example, that I’m looking to invest half a million.
where are good areas to put that and what kind of returns can I expect if I’m looking to build and sell, if I’m looking to build and hold, ⁓ whatever the deal may be and even taking parameters in there. Like I said, it’s kind of been funny that the last couple investment clients that we’ve worked with have been looking to buy a large piece of land, ⁓ build one custom home for them, subdivide and sell off the rest and live mortgage free, right?
to where, mean, as an example right now, we’ve got a client working in Mount Pleasant that we just acquired the land that we’re going to be building five homes. He’ll be living in one netting probably 1.8 to 2.1 million at the end of the day with a home that will be of course paid off with evaluation around another 1.75 or so.
So with the technology and the systems that we’ve been able to create, number one, it automates that system to where we’re not waiting on anybody to do anything. We’re not waiting on anyone to come and help us facilitate this process to where when a client comes in, it can be the snap of a finger. We can have a whole project ready for them as well as with those same technologies, all of our subcontractors, the whole build, even things architecturally speaking as well. We can get done much faster than anyone else in the area.
Michelle Kesil (13:08)
Amazing! That’s so cool! So, it seems like you guys are able to offer almost a full solution for people.Harrison Burke (13:17)
Absolutely. That’s our number one goal is to be a complete turnkey whether you’re looking to build a personal home or you’re looking to invest to be a one stop shop. You don’t have to worry about everything.Michelle Kesil (13:28)
Yeah, so if someone’s an investor, like what are kind of the different avenues of support that you would offer someone that, I don’t know, maybe it’s fixed inflate or short term rental or other types of investment strategies, like what do you most commonly support people with?Harrison Burke (13:44)
Mm-hmm.So I’ll tell you the number one response that we’ve had with investors who have been doing this, ⁓ whether it’s been through multiple companies in different areas, or they’ve got a lot of experience, is the number one piece of positive feedback that I have is the level of automated communication that we have to where they don’t have to be out there on ⁓ site. They’re not communicating with us anywhere near as often as they have in the past. They’re not communicating with any other.
contractors because we’ve got an automated system to where once you decide to work with us, we build out an entire schedule. knowing exactly when all of our permits are going to be submitted, of course, once we get that back as when the rest of the schedule is determined, we have site managers and project managers who are out there every day taking all of our pictures, notes, measurements, that you get automated messages.
every single day. you’re not having to go out there and check, you know, did the flooring guys come and actually install the right flooring? Did my roofers, you come out and get things put together properly, and especially when it comes to smaller details such as kitchens and bathrooms, you know, whether it’s tile work, cabinetry, countertops.
We take all of the stress of whether it’s like you’re talking about fix and flip or building a short term rental. We take
all of that out of the equation to where you can focus on other things to help grow your own.
Michelle Kesil (16:02)
Yeah, that’s awesome. What are you most focusing on solving or scaling next in your business? ⁓Harrison Burke (16:14)
So one of the things that we’re scaling next is six years ago, we opened up our pool company, Pools of Charleston, which a lot of these automated systems that we have, whether it’s 3D renderings or especially with estimating and takeoffs, we of course have implemented there as well. So Titan’s kind of our baby, it’s our bread and butter. We’re not looking to sell or franchise by any means just because we’re looking to take this nationwide. Now that we’ve seen kind of growth that we’ve had over the last couple of years.Now with pools, one of our biggest goals next year is we are currently only operating here in Charleston, but putting together a franchise model to open up all the way up and down the coast. Because once we have even just that established and get that aspect of our business up and running, it makes it a much easier footprint to slide into to establish another home base for Titan.
So whether it’s continuing ⁓ developments in, for example, the Myrtle Beach area, at Wilmington, even further down the coast, kind of connecting our dots where we’re already doing some work in Hilton Head, like I said, we’re working in Miami, starting to move down through St. Augustine, that area, we’re trying to stay coastal and kind of keep expanding. So that’s one of the avenues where we can go ahead and get set up with another subsidiary company of ours.
and it makes it a very easy footprint to slide into.
Michelle Kesil (17:45)
Yeah, amazing. That’s so cool that you guys are wanting to expand in that way.Harrison Burke (17:50)
Thanks. It’s definitely been an exciting process.Michelle Kesil (17:55)
Yeah, absolutely. How do the projects, I know that you’ve mentioned the return on investment that a lot of these projects have had, ⁓ but how do you see them maybe being able to grow wealth as things in the market evolve, if that question makes sense?Harrison Burke (18:18)
Yeah, no, that absolutely makes sense. So as far as creating ⁓ wealth personally, know, especially when, especially, I want to take this into two separate avenues, just because we’ve kind of bounced back and forth in between, you know, personal custom home builds and development. So even on the development side, as far as growing your own, like I said, your own personal portfolio, if we’re looking at a build and sell platform,⁓ Our number one goal, like I said, especially with investors is how, there’s a fine line between we can build this house as cheap as possible to save you the most money upfront. But of course you return on that when it comes to sell, it’s just going to be atrocious. Even on the other side, we can come in with the most beautiful fixtures that’s going to bring a massive wow factor, but there’s only so much of return that you’re going to get there. So we kind of bring that expertise in order to invest.
just that perfect amount in order to see the largest return on that resale. ⁓ Now, even from an architecture and design standpoint, like you’re talking about as far as building equity, if we were looking at that short-term rental model, ⁓ looking at where to save costs on the house and where to spend that will actually market the property much better for those short-term rentals. mean, for example, ⁓
We have a property that we’re about to break ground on near Folly Beach that ⁓ originally the client came to us and they already had plans put together with another architectural firm said, hey, this is what we’re looking to build. We’re looking to do this for short-term rentals. A two-story home had to be elevated ⁓ that was looking to sleep two, four, six, eight, about eight to 10, depending on the orientation, couches and so on and so forth.
We were able to cut about $95,000 off of their build by reconfiguring those floor plans to be better suited for those short-term rentals, still sleep the same amount of people, as well as kind of create a more fun aspect to it for families. Because they were looking at building that two-story, as far as your heated support footage space, looking at building a two-story home, upstairs being for kids and two master suite.
master suites downstairs and what we’re able to change that to is more of a lofted area with vaulted ceilings. That of course the appeal as you’re scrolling through pictures on Airbnb because one of the things that we started rolling through like imagine seeing this place as you’re scrolling through looking for a beach house to rent for your family being that we’ve got two lofted areas on both sides that have got beds lined up there for kids and your two master suites with full bathrooms downstairs, a general living area in the center with
with a full kitchen in the back screened in porch, the whole nine. The clients were absolutely blown away. They’re like, that would be incredible if we could roll from that direction. it was still able to rent at the same exact rate that it would have been building this home two stories. We were just able to save close to six figures on the building cost. ⁓
for the initial investment, right? So there’s so many different ways to build equity in the residential construction space. Like I said, whether we’re building to sell, building to rent, ⁓ and even long-term rentals as well.
Michelle Kesil (21:58)
Yeah, amazing. That’s awesome that you’re able to help people expand their portfolios and wealth in that way.Harrison Burke (22:08)
Thanks. It’s been a blast.Michelle Kesil (22:10)
Yeah. When it comes to finding like new clients, whether that’s investors or home buyers, are there certain networking strategies that you use that you feel like have made the biggest difference for you?Harrison Burke (22:31)
Networking strategies definitely, and I’m going to say the same with marketing. We’re all running meta ads, Google ads, so on and so forth, but especially highlighting and showcasing some of these properties and showing real numbers as far as what kind of return that we were able to get is always fantastic. When it comes to networking, we have had immense success with the medical world.Funny enough, because in Charleston, we’ve got a huge medical center here, as well as the VA with all the bases that are down in the area. And I’m going to say it’s one of those things that it’s not an event. It’s not a certain investment that you can make. It’s just a matter of being out in the community where you know that these people spend their time.
Both myself and many other members of the team were all a part of various clubs and the organizations. I mean, it might be something as simple as a cigar club that’s out in a you know, in a remote part of town where a lot of people just like to congregate and even just talking about things casually. I we’re not there from a business intent because whether we’re, whether we have a new client coming in that we haven’t met before or someone that we’ve met previously that’s looking at coming on board as a client,
It’s a relationship. That’s really all that it is. And so any areas where you’re able to build, just build a relationship outside of work. ⁓ And it is almost a pay to play aspect. So especially us being on the coast, there’s a lot of boating events to where you’ve got to get there via boat. And those are the kinds of things that I’m not going to say it’s pay to play, but you’ve got to be playing at a certain level to be involved with these people. ⁓ So as far as like a note to anyone else who’s looking to expand that is,
Get your foot in the door and continue to find bigger doors. All right. You don’t have to open the door wide open and walk in there like you own the place, but if you can get your foot in the door, it’ll lead to more opportunities than you ever thought imaginable.
Michelle Kesil (24:41)
Yeah, absolutely. That is great advice. So before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, learn more, where can people find you and connect with you?Harrison Burke (24:47)
Mm-hmm.So best places, our website titansc.net. We’ve got plenty of projects that we’ve done there as well as we’ve got a whole tab for developers and investors that you can look through that area. But the most fun way to connect is find us on Facebook and Instagram ⁓ at Titan PMC. ⁓ We’re always posting something, whether it’s from current job sites, things in the office. We just brought on a new marketing and content manager that has been getting creative.
sick with some of the things that are getting posted out there. So whether you’re just looking for entertainment, looking to invest or looking to build, give us a thought.
Michelle Kesil (25:32)
Perfect. Appreciate your time and your story. Thank you for being here.Harrison Burke (25:36)
Thanks Michelle !.Michelle Kesil (25:38)
And for the listeners tuning in, if you got value, make sure you’ve subscribed. We’ve got more conversations with operators like Harrison who are building real businesses and we’ll see you on the next episode.
