Scott Menard has been in construction since he was 17, starting as a laborer for KB Homes during summer breaks. Over nearly four decades, he's worked through purchasing, project management, land acquisition, and operations at Ryland, Taylor Woodrow, and Shea Homes.
Now he's president of Homes Built for America, a company that didn't exist four years ago and is already the 14th largest builder in the San Francisco Bay Area, focusing exclusively on first-time buyers in one of the country's most expensive and regulation-heavy markets.
"We really sell to first time buyers. A lot of times they're dinks, dual income, no kids, all have great jobs they want their piece of the American dream."
Scott walks through what it takes to build in California: three to five million dollars into a property before closing, year-long water permit waits, and cities clinging to blighted shopping centers instead of converting them to residential. Meanwhile, moderate-priced homes in Santa Clara County hit two million dollars.
"It's really capital intensive and it takes a lot of balls and you better have a lot of money."
Their parent company, True Life Companies, spent years buying land, getting it entitled, and selling finished lots to major builders who wouldn't take entitlement risk. Four years ago, they decided to build houses themselves, focusing on three-bedroom townhomes for first-time buyers.
"I don't think I'll ever see it fixed in my lifetime. There's always gonna be a massive housing imbalance."
The conversation covers non-recourse construction loans, why banks have pulled back from construction lending, and what's holding back sales despite low unemployment and builder incentives.
On scaling, Scott is blunt about risk:
"You have to get comfortable with the risk and the fact that it's scary. The dollars are real, the investors are real, the banks are real."
He talks about hiring ahead of need, bringing in a CFO they couldn't afford early on, and his counterintuitive take on scaling:
"I would actually argue it's way easier to build a hundred homes than 10. I couldn't build 10 homes. I don't even know how to do that."
Scott calls his company a "memory factory," hosting community events and sending onesies when residents have babies:
"When you build houses for people, there's something rewarding and awesome about it. We're a memory factory, and we're a memory builder, because that's really what we do."
His goals: make Homes Built for America a top 25 builder and bring young people into the industry.
"We are missing a whole group of people in this industry. Everybody's kind of in their forties and older, very few in their twenties and thirties."
From modular construction to the paradox of California being both the best place to live and most frustrating place to build, this conversation covers the ground between growing a building company and understanding why housing is so expensive and scarce.
About Scott Menard
Scott Menard is President of Homes Built for America, bringing nearly 40 years of leadership in homebuilding. His background spans land development, construction, sales, and operations at some of the nation's most respected builders. Known for balancing strategic vision with hands-on execution, Scott has guided teams through market cycles, scaling challenges, and shifting buyer demands.
Scott Menard on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottmenard
Scott's website:
Homes Built for America: