Modern Builder & Design - July-August 2015

PALO VERDE HOMES
helps a business establish its identity. Something
like 86 percent of customers visit the
Internet before they make a major purchase,
so why wouldn’t you want to market
everywhere possible?”
Customized Approach
Palo Verde Homes specializes in building
spec and semi-customized houses, but the
company has built at least one fully custom
home every year it has been in business. It
currently has four custom homes under
contract, the most they have ever had at one
time. According to Montiel, the custom
homes have ranged in price from $400,000
to over a $1 million.
In order to stay within budget and on
schedule with these projects, Palo Verde
Homes often reaches out to other custom
builders in the El Paso area to gauge their
experience with the market. The homebuilders
in this region often share ideas and
numbers with each other to determine how
to approach such projects.
However, Montiel admits nothing beats
personal experience with such projects of
his own to determine how to proceed with
his next custom homes.
“Nothing beats costing experience from
prior projects,” Montiel says. “Therefore, I
feel that the longer we are in business and
the more homes we build, the more accurate
our estimating will become. Like anything,
the more you do it, the better you get
at it.”
Custom homes always have their own
“
We love custom
home projects and
customers because
they challenge us to think
outside of the box.”
EDGAR MONTIEL, PRESIDENT
style and flair to them, but they typically
come with their unique set of challenges,
as well. This is one way that Palo Verde
Homes learns how to improve upon its production
building operations, according to
Montiel.
“We love custom home projects and customers
because they challenge us to think
outside of the box with special requests,”
Montiel says. “It is easy to get into a routine
when you are producing standard floor
plans with predefined features. Custom
homes present opportunities to learn about
Palo Verde Homes’ custom homes range in
price between $400,000 to over $1 million. In
order to stay within budget and on schedule
for this projects, the company often consults
other custom builders in the El Paso area for
advise on market conditions.
new features, materials, work with unique
suppliers, practice new or varied installation
techniques, and work on different types of
soils and terrain.”
Involvement and the Future
Currently, Montiel is the president of the El
Paso Association of Builders. He serves on
the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank’s Emerging
Leaders Council with 10 other young professionals
from the bank’s region which encompasses
all of Texas, northern Louisiana,
and southern New Mexico.
He is also a true believer of giving back
to the community that helped you grow
and succeed.
Palo Verde has contributed to the local
Boy Scouts of America Yucca Council, the
Boys and Girls Club, UTEP Athletics,
UTEP Engineering Department, Kelly
Memorial Food Pantry and many other
organizations.
“I feel that God has blessed us and our
business, therefore it is important for us to
pass those blessings on to others,” Montiel
says. “We would like to continue gaining
market share in our region and growing the
Palo Verde Home’s brand. We are also considering
growth in to other markets and
possibly into commercial development in
our region.”
96 JULY/AUGUST 2015 WWW.MBD-MAGAZINE.COM