by Christy Heitger-Ewing
Rick Hamilton makes a living out of bringing people’s dreams to life.
Hamilton, a seasoned builder who founded Hamilton Homes in 1987, has been building dream properties for nearly four decades. It’s grown into a family passion project, as three of his four children work alongside him. Someday, Hamilton hopes to pass the baton off to them.
“We’ve always worked really hard with our customers to put their dream on paper and build it,” says Hamilton, whose background in management and sales helped him in the construction industry. “Once I got into this field, it became my passion.”
Hamilton Homes, a small company that provides personalized service to their clients, does both new construction and major renovation projects. They build two to three homes a year in addition to roughly 25 major renovations. Given that interest rates have doubled in the past three years and the cost of goods has risen significantly, many of Hamilton’s clients are choosing to refurbish their existing homes rather than build new.
“Some of the homes we built on Geist Reservoir would cost $4 to $5M today, whereas back in the 90s we built them for $1.2 to $1.8M,” says Hamilton. “These homeowners get a better bang for their buck by spending $1M to renovate their existing home.”
Even younger buyers prefer to buy in established neighborhoods located in good school districts because they can purchase and revamp a 25-year-old home for a fraction of what it would cost to build new. A brand-new starter home in Central Indiana runs anywhere from $350-$700K depending on the area. They can make their home their own by installing new windows, cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, and changing wall colors.
“That’s where we really shine,” says Hamilton. “Taking an old house and bringing it completely back to life.”
Their ten-year partnership with McComb Pella Windows & Doors helps make that shine really sparkle.
“Our relationship with Pella is wonderful,” says Hamilton. “My rep, Ryan Lee, does an outstanding job answering questions, getting back with me immediately, and explaining to my customers the different products Pella carries.”
Hamilton also says that Pella has always been a high-end, efficient company with impressive R&D. When he was invited by the company to tour their factory, he was impressed by the amount of research they put into the different climate zones as well as their quality testing.
“They are one of the larger window companies in the U.S.,” says Hamilton. “A lot of the smaller companies don’t have the ability to do [those tests].”
He appreciates their flexibility in products as well as the assortment of options, sizes, and colors.
“I can do a lot of custom sizes I can’t get from smaller companies,” says Hamilton, who predominantly uses their higher end products. However, even the cost-effective options that they use for customers who are trying to save money are good, quality products that give customers years of carefree use in a home.
“We’ve seen the window industry evolve tremendously over the last 50 years as products and technology have changed allowing me to build a higher quality home and be more energy efficient for my clients,” says Hamilton.
If you want to take your dream home from paper to reality, contact Hamilton Homes today by visiting builtbyhamilton.com.
