At Rezide Properties, our team builds houses with you and your lifestyle in mind! We’d like to give you a chance to get to know our team a little better, and we’d love the opportunity to help you build your dream home.
This week on our blog, we want to introduce you to our builder, Chris!
Tell us more about your role at Rezide.
My official title is project manager. Tony Perry and I started building together about 6 or 7 years ago, and I see to the day-to-day operations — everything from purchasing and estimating to managing superintendents. I also do some of the management and administrative tasks at the office. And of course, I still build houses, too!
Tony and I founded Rezide in 2012 (of course, Tony has been building houses in the Atlanta area since 1989). We’ve known each other for a lot of years outside of the building industry, and when the economy started coming back, Tony came to me and asked about getting a home building company together. My experience had been building houses from the ground up — pouring concrete, framing, etc. I was excited about the idea of working with Tony, who had 30 years of real experience building homes and a company.
How did you and Tony meet?
In the downturn, we were both introduced to a network marketing group. I like to say it’s like Mary Kay, but with electricity and natural gas. We did well at that, but both had a passion for building and real estate. I love building (and always have), but I didn’t know how to make it a business. Tony did.
What do you love about working for Rezide Properties?
I love that we’re small enough that we have a really close-knit group of people that work for us. It doesn’t feel like I go to work — it feels like I get to hang out with people I enjoy spending time with.
But we aren’t a mom and pop shop. We’re a decent sized company with systems and processes in place to keep things running smoothly. So while our staff is a close group, we’re big enough that when we need to pull strings and get stuff done, we can do that, too — whether with our subcontractors or vendors.
It’s a really rewarding career to start on a job site that’s a vacant piece of land and leave when there’s a beautiful home — and someone’s moving into that home that you’ve gotten to know. It’s more than going to the office every day and putting in numbers. It’s one of the biggest purchases of someone’s life, and you get to be a part of that — a part of their dream.
Do you have a favorite feature or element in a Rezide home?
Our philosophy is that we don’t just build houses, we build something that’s part of your lifestyle. We’ve thought a lot about how you interact with your home and how it’s a part of you and your life. For example, we use more glass than most builders, so there’s a real indoor/outdoor feel, which is part of the lifestyle that our buyers believe in.
What do you love about Woodstock? What are some of your favorite places to visit or events to attend?
I absolutely love Woodstock! Seeing the transformation since I’ve lived and worked here over the last 6 years has been incredible. I think the greatest thing we have going is the selection of restaurants. I still remember when Salt was NAPA Auto Parts, and now it’s Salt, one of the best restaurants downtown! I love the walkability, the live entertainment, and just the general atmosphere of what’s going on.
What’s your background? Have you always been interested in construction and real estate?
Yeah! I’ll be honest, after about 6 months of college, I knew it wasn’t the right fit for me at that time in my life. My brother was working in construction, and his (not yet) father-in-law was a builder. I looked around and thought it was a good career, so I got my builders license at age 19. I was living in Michigan at the time, so I built houses there for about three years before deciding to give college another shot. I went to school in Chattanooga, and paid my way through various construction jobs.
Once I graduated, I stayed in construction there, and when the economy started going bad, I found a few things to do outside the industry. When the economy picked up, I moved to Atlanta and started working with Tony. The rest is history.
What do you love doing when you’re not working?
I love to play basketball and still play a couple times a week. I also like to travel when I can. I like to snowboard in the winter — particularly out West in Colorado and Utah — and go new places I’ve never been.
I’m also really close with my two brothers who live in Michigan. They have kids and I visit quite frequently. I go on trips with my six nieces and nephews, and it’s just about the best you can get.
If you’d like to learn more about the beautiful, thoughtful homes Rezide builds, stop by our sales center in downtown Woodstock or give us a call!
