back to his roots
Feature Story
SCOTT SCHIABOR OF SCOTT PATRICK HOMES, dabbled with another field for a while, but his experience outside of the custom home construction business may have given him the insight and training to survive where others failed. starting from the bottom
Schiabor followed his father into the building industry in New Jersey. “I started by cleaning floors,” Schiabor said with a chuckle. “And doing whatever needed to be done.” There’s no better introduction to the business because you get a grasp on every aspect of the process, he said.
“I got to just about everything, electrical, the plumbing, floors,” Schiabor said. “And the big thing is you need to learn how to work with people.”
“You want to be able to find and keep strong subcontractors,” he said. “They’re the real experts in the field. They have to be reliable, provide quality work and be able to deliver it on time for everything to come together.” By learning those lessons early, Schiabor was ready when he went out on his own.
Despite the early success, Schiabor decided to move west, earn a degree in accounting and try life as a CPA. He went to school in Montana before landing a job in Albuquerque crunching numbers. the old calling
After several years of that, however, the old calling became too strong.
“I just had a love for it,” he said. “Designing and creating something. Creating something that’s a little new and different. The mix of designing with the challenge of construction is just something I wanted to utilize.” Besides, Schiabor added with a grin, a successful builder can make a much larger income, which is especially important after having two children. all in the family
“Having the kids and wanting to give them the best life that I could gave me the motivation to get back into it,” he said. Schiabor started by building the family’s home and using it as a model – which, of course was something of challenge at times.
“I worked out of the garage for a while,” he said. “It wasn’t always easy. But we were able to do it. I think when you’re young, you’re able to put up with a lot more.”
Schiabor credits his wife, Joanne Schiabor, with helping make things smooth, while also adding her expertise in finance and banking to the business. That gave Scott Patrick a one-stop shop from design and build to finished product and sales. And with accounting experience, Schiabor was able to bring a more business-like approach to the off-the-site end of the business. key to survival
“My accounting experience helped me become more aware of financial control and operations,” he said. It also helped him stay organized and know where things are across the business.
Given that, it’s not surprising that Scott Patrick Homes was able to survive the downturn of 2008 and 2009.
It was an integral part of his process and success, Schiabor said. “Without a financial and accounting background, you can get into trouble pretty easily. So it really helped to have that experience,” he said.
Any business usually has its ups and downs, so simply preparing for those types of fluctuations was a big step, Schiabor said. “You always have to be looking ahead and you always to be on your toes. And, again, it really helps to put together a good group of subcontractors. If they’re in good shape, then you’re in good shape.”
Two have been with him since he started back up again in 1988, Schiabor said, helping out with two developments on North Tramway Estates on the far Northeast Heights, and Andalucia de la Luz near Bosque School off of Coors. north tramway estates
North Tramway Estates is a small development with homes ranging in size from 2,220 to 3,200 square feet. Most thus far could be called modern, although Schiabor said he likes to add soft touches to give the homes their own livability.
For instance, his recently sold model has wood floors in the entry and a walk-in butler’s pantry that not only has space to store Costco-sized dry goods, but also room to have a bar with fixings.
And one of the unique aspects to the home is a centralized utility room that is accessed off of the master bath, as well as the hallway down from the secondary bedrooms. andalucia de la luz
While Northway Tramway is geared more to the older family or even empty nesters, Andalucia is more targeted at young professionals with growing families. The homes range from 2,200 to 4,000 square feet with somewhat larger lots that can be as big as a half-acre.
And with all his homes, every effort is made to draw the outdoors in.
“The great thing about New Mexico is the weather, so we’re always looking to design our subdivisions and our homes to take advantage of that,” Schiabor said.