Friends of Build Magazine

The Price of Progress with Tyler Frank | Friends of Build Magazine #74

Episode Summary

Ted speaks with Tyler Frank of Malmquist Construction in Whitefish, Montana. A project manager and owner, Tyler works hard to build relationships with his clients and the subs who work on each project. These relationships are the backbone of Malmquist Construction and are the reason they’ve grown to be one of the best builders in their area. Listen in to hear about the culture and experience Tyler Frank helps to facilitate.

Episode Notes

Today Ted speaks with Tyler Frank of Malmquist Construction in Whitefish, Montana. Tyler, a project manager and owner, shares his experience building relationships, nurturing trades, and the recent projects he’s taken on. In luxury home building, there’s always a new idea or a new product, and that requires teamwork.

Creativity abounds in the mountains, and Tyler discusses how he approaches each project with respect for his unique clients and the natural surroundings. If you’ve wanted to know what clients are looking for in a resort town near a national park and what it takes to build there- this is the episode for you. 

TOPICS DISCUSSED

• [1:35] Taking over a good company
• [3:20] Labor Markets and Supply Chain
• [6:13] Lack of affordable housing
• [10:07] Building relationships between clients and subs
• [13:50] Progress and climate in Whitefish, Montana
• [21:30] Doing the right thing
• [26:00] Relationships with clients are the most important
• [30:00] How do you help a client enjoy the process of building 
• [35:00] New Project
• [50:40] Has the building process become more complicated?
• [53:50] Exciting new features in homes
• [57:30] Price of homes increasing
• [59:20] Where will the Whitefish, Montana market be in 5 years

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KEY QUOTES FROM EPISODE

• Does labor price ever come down? Yeah, it does. I mean, it does. And it will, you know, we're seeing right now, in today's market. The houses that are, let's say, less than a million dollars, those houses are slowing down in this area, because when you've got the cost of to build being, you know, let's say 25%, more than what they were originally had it as a budget. And then interest rates are, you know, in the seven or 8% versus three, that's double the interest that they were going to be getting, you know, two years ago. So that market has slowed down. 
• I think the reason that I do residential homes is because of the relationship. I love the relationship, not just with the client, but with the suppliers and subcontractors, we're working together and collaborating and putting our heads together and, and creating a team and environment and, and camaraderie of being able to work together to come up with this amazing product that's never been done before.
• We have a fine line between our relationship with our subcontractor base and our relationship with our homeowner, because we have to, we have to mend that. And we have to make sure that our subcontractors are being treated well by us and by the client. And our client has to be treated well by us and the subcontractor. And so  as a, you know, three-tier team, we can sit here and all work together to the common goal, which is to deliver just a killer product.