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WEST BERLIN, NJ – Fifteen years ago Frank Inzinna took the plunge and opened his own company, Signature Homes, Inc., in the midst of a soft housing market. Following the excesses of the 80s, the highly competitive home building industry in South Jersey was in a transitional period, one in which many builders would not have chosen to open their first new home community. But, armed with a family history of building in New York state, a bachelor of science degree in construction engineering and eight years of experience with several major builders in New Jersey, Frank Inzinna made the gamble and opened a community of 25 single family homes, modestly priced from the mid $90,000s, in Pine Hill. Madison Oaks, his first venture in the local market, was an instant success, quickly selling out in a period when many other builders were sitting on inventory. Today, Inzinna reflects over the changes in the housing market, the challenges he and other builders have faced, and the evolution of his company into the successful and diversified entity it is today. “We have progressed from building rather modest, very affordably priced single family homes to a company with a diverse portfolio of offerings that speak to the demand of the market for larger, more elegant homes with more special features and customization,” he says. “Back in 1991, I couldn’t have predicted the direction that we would take....it has all been market driven. We have been fortunate in our ability to respond.” He credits that ability to the team of dedicated and talented people he has been able to assemble over the years. With the company’s growth has also come an affiliation with TJ Title Company and a preferred lender relationship with RAM Mortgage, both moves designed to provide added convenience for Signature’s home buyers. It’s also a matter of listening closely to what his customers have to say. Today’s home buyers are more sophisticated and more demanding than those of a decade or more ago. They have more specialized needs and specific desires that must be satisfied in the selection of a new home. While kitchens, baths, and family centers remain the most important areas of the home, today’s buyers also seek media rooms, exercise centers, in-law suites and other features that meet individual needs. Inzinna, like other builders who have established their companies in the South Jersey housing market, faces enormous challenges to continued success. The time frame for obtaining permits and approvals, the high cost of land, and not the least.....the decreasing availability of land all present obstacles that must constantly be overcome. Too often, Inzinna says, these obstacles have a price tag which is reflected in higher prices to the consumer and lower profits for the builder. None the less, he is still positive about the potential to provide the housing that the area’s growing population needs. “There is still buildable land here in South Jersey, and definitely a consumer demand,” he says. Some of that demand is filled by diversifying the product and location where he builds. Signature Homes has found success in rebuilds at several Shore areas, as well as building single homes on a home buyer’s own homesite. At the close of 2005, the company also moved into a new marketplace with the creation of Signature Homes of South Carolina, Inc. This division of the Signature Homes parent company will offer homes in four distinctive communities in Murrells Inlet, south of Myrtle Beach. The Enclave at The International Club features elegant single-family homes on the fairway. The Fairways at The International Club offers luxury townhome designs and condominium villas, each with golf course views. The Bluffs on the Waterway is an exclusive gated community of custom estate homes on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. A second gated community, Waterway Palms Plantation, features magnificent custom estate homes in a Charleston plantation-style setting. “Now is the perfect time to be building in this location,” Inzinna says. “We see great opportunity here.” So, once again, Signature Homes is in the right place and the right time, with a team of experienced people to get the job done. Inzinna’s continued efforts to ensure quality, customization and respect for the people purchasing his homes does indeed provide a solid foundation for Signature Homes’ continued growth.
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