The REAL Estate & Investment Show
The #1 show for Real Estate and Investment Interviews!
Coming to you from beautiful, sunny, Palm Beach, FL!
The REAL Estate & Investment Show
THEREANDISHOW 003 - Interviewing Luxury Home Builder, from NYC to Palm Beach, Andrew Sciame!
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The REAL Estate & Investment Show - Episode 003 - Andrew Sciame!
After spending over a decade honing his craft at his family's New York City construction firm, Andrew Sciame brought his commercial expertise south to build some of the most beautiful luxury residences in Palm Beach and the surrounding area! With 14+ years on the island, Sciame Homes is now expanding into institutional and commercial work, and also counts with an estate management division offering full-service concierge living!
In this conversation, we cover:
• How commercial construction experience translates to luxury residential builds
• Balancing quality, schedule, and budget for high-net-worth clients
• Navigating Palm Beach's town, ARCOM, and building department
• The "bridge tax" and what it really means for construction costs
• Why being invited back to dinner is the ultimate measure of success
• Andrew's journey from commercial pilot (Embry-Riddle graduate!) to construction entrepreneur
• What's next - rebranding, institutional work, and growing the team
Connect with Andrew:
• Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/andrewsciame/
https://www.instagram.com/sciamehomes/
https://www.instagram.com/sciame_construction/
• Website: https://www.palmbeach.sciamehomes.com/
Watch on YouTube! https://youtu.be/mo6DD9texXM
For business inquiries, you can reach me at info@thereandishow.com
*Some of the links and other products that may appear on this video are from companies which THEREANDISHOW will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. THEREANDISHOW is part of an affiliate network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. The content in this video is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. This is not investment advice.
This is the real estate and investment show with Daniel Bodico. The number one show for real estate and investment interface. Brought to you in part by Wadi Associates, Residential Architecture of Distinction. For 50 years, delivering high-quality architectural and interior design services, serving New Canaan, Tom Beach, and beyond. And by Renquest, specializing in the renovation and restoration of vintage automobiles. Renquest. It's why we drive. And now, it's time for The Real Estate and Investment Show with Daniel Clavijo. Alright, hello. And thank you for tuning in to the Real Estate and Investment Show with Daniel Clavijo. I am Daniel Clavijo coming to you from Beautiful, Sunny, Palm Beach, Florida. What is the Real Estate and Investment Show and who am I, you may ask? Well, our show wants to focus on the experience of amazing people in the real estate and investment space and share their knowledge with you, our wonderful audience. I truly hope that together we spark some ideas and inspiration for you wherever that may be. And who am I? Well, I'm an architect grad from the University of Miami, MBA grad from NYU Stern, and I've been designing homes in Palm Beach and the surrounding areas for over a decade. I now also get to share the stories of such talented individuals with you. Questions or suggestions about our show, write to us at info at the reandyshow.com. That also spells thereandishow.com, the abbreviated form for the real estate and investment show. Find us on YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts, we'd appreciate your help. Like, comment, follow, subscribe, and above all, share with your friends and family. It's thanks to you that we will be able to grow and bring you high quality content and guests in the real estate and investment space. Speaking of which, we have an amazing guest with us today. He is one of the Palm Beach's premier contractors. After working at his family's construction company in New York, he expanded the business over a decade ago with his own company to build the luxury family homes in South Florida. When he's not on the job site, you might find him on the links, on the slopes, or in the skies. Maybe something to do with the fact that in a previous life, he was a pilot. He is the man, the myth, the legend, the one and only Andrew Ciami. Andrew, thank you so much for being on the show.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00The quality of your work and the experience of your team is very highly regarded throughout the area, and we've worked together on a few houses, which is great. So, including your own landmark home renovations. So I thought you would be a terrific guest to share your experience in construction, what you see going on in South Florida, and it's a perfect fit for the real estate and investment show. So as we say cheers, cheers, if you can please tell the audience a bit about your background, your bio, and please take it away.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So my name is Andrew Siami. I uh originally hail from New York. Um started working for my father's company in New York City. I started uh out of school in 2004 and worked in the city till uh 2014 when I moved down to Florida.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01Um I gained a lot of commercial experience when I worked with my father. Um worked all my uh worked my way up from uh a laborer um to assistant PM to assist in super, field super, general field super, and then and then uh decided to move down to Florida.
SPEAKER_00And start your own company, which also has so many challenges within it of itself, but you obviously got this great experience. What did you find working in your family's company that was so useful to managing construction as you you know grew up and then were managing your own company itself?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it was more of the process. Um, my father is or of service. Um, you know, we're very keen on service. That's that's our core value, making sure that the customer is always happy, um, and making sure that we have the process, the systems, the tools, the software, um, the ability to move like a commercial firm with all the reporting methods, um, to bring a very wonderful experience to the clients down in Florida. Um, so you know, I would like to say that we're a small enough company where we're able to maneuver and uh facilitate what a client wants, um, but also have the resources and the tools of a larger company to um make sure that what the client wants is procured.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And as I understand, one of your mottos is you always want to be invited back to dinner, right?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. So we make great partners. Um, the goal at the end of the day is to be invited back into the house and and have dinner with the clients and sit in their beautiful home and talk about the wonderful experience.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. What do you see as kind of a key consideration when you're working on these homes? A lot of your clients are, you know, high net worth individuals, as well as, you know, there are developers, people who this is their family home, their forever home, or they're for a short time home. But there's always these different iterations that you have to work with. What do you see as key considerations that you take into account when you're dealing with it?
SPEAKER_01I think it depends on the client. Um, you know, we're we're very flexible and we could do all things. Um, you know, it depends on whether we are brought in early to work with the architect to uh come up with cost valuation, you know, see the plans, make sure that it's buildable um and work with the client, the architect to build a model budget um as a baseline, uh, you know, with keeping all the key things in mind quality, schedule, cost. Um, initially, cost is always a big thing. So we always try to um facilitate the client with, you know, the show them how we are able to get most competitive beds with our uh relationships with some contractors. And you know, we we have a long track record down here of working with uh uh subcontractors, the the the best ones on the island for 14 years, and uh we have great relationships with them and um we try to we try to level and make sure that that the quality, the schedule, and the budget all are in line with the client's wishes.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01Um and it always just depends on you know what the client's needs are first and foremost. You know, we we it you know we do condos when we know that schedule's a main priority. So we have to make sure that the schedule gets done in six months, in six months.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01And if if that's a priority, sometimes, you know, cost could be at a premium because we're using the subs that we know can get the project done in the six-month time frame. Now, in other uh scenarios, it might be a beautiful home that they're building from scratch and they want top-of-the-line finishes and they want to make sure the quality is great. Their schedule might suffer a little bit. And you know, you're dealing with a lot of the town issues, which we're very familiar with, and the and and and the the building department. But um, you know, the goal is to not let either of them you know stretch.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01We want to make sure that there's a happy medium, and you know, our team certainly is well situated to make sure that that happens.
SPEAKER_00Some people will say you can have speed or you can have quality, you can't have both, but you somehow find to do that, right? You you find a way and not and not compromise on either. Correct. Which is awesome.
SPEAKER_01And making sure that we're communicating with the client. You know, that is the key. Um, you know, you can't um you have to be able to manage the client's expectations. Absolutely. You can't go in and tell them that this is gonna happen when in reality you know it's not gonna happen. I think the best way to handle clients is to be upfront and honest at the beginning.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Honesty is the best policy, as they say. Now, you've had the experience of working on homes for several different clients throughout these past uh 14 years, and of course you worked on your own home, which was able to help you out. What did you find when you were renovating your own home and doing that addition?
SPEAKER_01My wife was the most difficult client.
SPEAKER_00Oh dear. Well, he's great, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, of course. She's wonderful, but she knows what she wants. Yep. And uh it was a good uh, you know, because that was in the earlier days too. Yes. We worked on it, uh, you know, schedule was less of a priority there. We wanted to make sure that we got the right product and the quality, and uh, and and ultimately my wife is the the client to make sure that she um got everything she wanted in her home. And uh it was a good, it was a good lesson for our team uh to to to have that back and forth and to experience uh the the you know the trials and tribulations of my own home.
SPEAKER_00It also allowed you, I would say, to experiment a little bit more, right? Because then there are some things where you can take a client and say, hey, this is my house. Yes, come over, take a look, and they can see firsthand, it almost becomes like a type of idea house, right? That many people do.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we had all the different aspects with that home. I mean, it was a uh historically significant home, which you and Pat helped get through with the the town. Um, we had uh a very difficult renovation of an existing house where we had to bring up that, bring it all up to code. And then we had uh, you know, a fairly large two-floor addition that we put on to the existing home to match the same architectural style. Um and uh, you know, once we got through that phase, you know, we had the interior and the landscape and we were able to sort of push the schedule a little bit, but we had a little bit of everything where budget was a concern when we first started, and you know, quality was first and foremost, and it was it was leveling all those things before we were able to sort of gain some momentum when we had all the information to push the schedule. So that's typically what it's like on most projects when you don't have a full design. And that, you know, that's somewhere we could help too, where I think there's a great, but we had a great back and forth working together on, you know, making sure the design worked and and uh you know it was almost like a design build for sure.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And you have that experience of the trades being so closely connected with each other that you're able to, you know, make those synergies work together.
SPEAKER_01Yep. And making sure that they're happy at the end of the day, too. You know, subs, all subs deserve to make their fair profit as well. So it's always balancing the clients' expectations, but making sure that we're, you know, keeping our subs happy uh because that's what makes the world go around for us, you know, making sure that they get paid on time, they're motivated, they want to do the right thing for you. Um that's the name of the game.
SPEAKER_00And of course, the other challenge that you always have to deal with is city, building department, the, as they say, authorities having jurisdiction. What do you find as something key to be able to smooth that process?
SPEAKER_01The biggest thing is to have experienced project managers and superintendents that know the way uh of the world in Palm Beach was very different from anywhere else. Um you know, logistics, phasing, right-of-ways, uh parking permits, parking attendance, and then the the city officials and the inspectors, right? You know, making sure that they have a familiar face. You know, we we have great experience with the town here. They know us, we have a direct line to the um head of the building department, all the inspectors uh know our supers and project managers very well, and you know, with that it comes, you know, not as uh uh intricate or you know uh difficult inspectors that come in and want to point things out. They know how we work and it makes it makes life a lot easier for sure.
SPEAKER_00Quite a few times I've had some clients who have come to me and said that they have asked the building department, oh, who should we use? And you do you do get high praise from the building department. So that's nice to do it.
SPEAKER_01That is good to know. And um yes, they they do like us and we try to stay in good standings with them first and foremost. Um, you know, there's all the principles that we have to, you know, make happy at the end of the day. Town is one of them. The the client, the architect, and the neighborhood consultants, and of course the neighbors.
SPEAKER_00It is your brand that's being on display 24-7 during construction and then post-construction. Right. People will say, wow, who did that beautiful house? And they'll find out. Oh.
SPEAKER_01And they have a big mouth too. You know, they have a lot of friends. It's a small town, so you you don't want to leave the client or any of those people with a bad taste.
SPEAKER_00Now, in that case, your home was uh historic and had to go through all the process of you know renovation, 1920s home, something like that. What is your favorite type of home to work on? Because we've worked on ground-up construction, as you said, condo renovations, other ones that are renovations, maybe not so old. Do you have a favorite type of home when you're when you're working on that?
SPEAKER_01You know, I think the favorite type is the the best client and the best architect.
SPEAKER_03There we go.
SPEAKER_01I you know, I we we typically don't turn down work. We, you know, we've we've had a lot of success in finding great people. Um, so we're able to grow with the wave of um potential business down here. Um we've been very blessed to find good people. And so if we're able to facilitate a project, we want to we want to do it, and it gives us the ability to meet new clients and new architects and have new experiences. So um I I don't know if there's there's one type of project that we like to work on. We like challenging projects. I think we like to test RT people. And um, you know, for example, we're doing the Palm Beach Day Academy, and that's gonna be a three-month, very intense uh phased logistical project.
SPEAKER_00They they expect you to complete it in three months.
SPEAKER_01We you know, the the classroom phase, the uh exterior to column work phase, uh, they expect that to be done uh for the kids to go back to school in September. And you know, we have a great program to get that done. It was kind of cool um because uh Siami New York is a huge brand, and Siami Homes is is you know in a growing brand. And I think it for some of the people down here it hasn't connected. And I think when we first got involved with the school, they saw Siami Homes and they didn't think, well, school, it's commercial. Um, you know, we came in with with a great objective and plan to get it done, and they appreciated and they they saw how we're able to work, and then they realized our commercial background because of New York, and I think that helped us a lot. Um, you know, we are in the process of rebranding a little bit because we think homes is sort of pigeonholing a little a little bit. I think uh, you know, getting to Palm Beach and to work in the residential first was a great um a great plan trajectory and everything else. But now we're getting to look at some cool institutional work down here. And if we can work on, you know, community-based commercial projects, um that that that's exciting to us, you know, because I think that sort of like you know, venues that we can build for the community.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And it's just a a louder voice to get the name out there even better and to show off to more of these people. And I think that's the the goal.
SPEAKER_00Well, that's a very exciting, and I hope you give us some updates on that when that's on the end, of course. And you'll be the first to hear it once we get that. So when you know, we that experience that you've had with your family in uh over 50 years the business in New York, and you had that, as you say, focus on the commercial up there, now you're expanding that here. What do you see, you know, aside from the end uses, what are some of the differences that you experience between the residential versus commercial/slash public uses as you're in this process of managing your product?
SPEAKER_01I mean certainly residential uh is a more uh intimate relationship. Um you get to work very closely and directly with the client, the owner of the particular home and their family, um, which is a lot different than working for an organization. Um you know, it it's uh you know, residential is more like a uh that this is their home. You're building a home for families, which is a lot different from building a you know uh uh a community center for a group of people. I think people want to see see more of they they're much more uh intimately involved when it's your home. Of course. Yeah, you know, it's not as and you're dealing with more of instead of like a board of directors, you're dealing with a a homeowner.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01Um which has their own challenges, board of director, and and and you're you're appeasing more folks than you would say uh you know, a single family home.
SPEAKER_00In both instances, you're always using, of course, high quality work, high quality materials. Um, there is always that towards the commercial. They do have to withstand a little bit more of the test of time, right? Yes, of course. And and do you see some of that? I know for you know past experiences, for example, we use a lot of the um, whereas perhaps in the past they didn't, but Epicource labs are now very common in houses here, and that was something that you know take it from commercial. What are some other things that maybe you see get transferred in as now, you know, people are communities and cities are more stricter on business on building codes, and you've got as well the insurance companies who are like, oh, this has to be 100% hurricane impact rated. So, what are some of the things that you see that I've been able to bring over from the commercial?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think down here, uh, a single family home is very similar to a commercial building that you build in New York City for all the hurricane stuff. So, you know, the insurance companies are very uh very detailed, they come and inspect, you have the five-point inspections, you have to make sure that you have the hurricane windows, you have to make sure the envelope of the house can handle the hurricane windows, there's a a major approval process, and that goes hand in hand with the inspectors that come. Uh, and I, you know, I think between when you start a project and you finish a home on this island, there's upwards of 50 or more inspections that you have to deal with, um, and which is very similar, if not more stringent, than the commercial we had to deal with in New York. Um, so, you know, I think in Palm Beach, they're very sensitive to, you know, especially with the RCOM board, making sure that the homes uh, you know, uh fit well within the community. Um, but then they're also making sure that it's built well and they're protecting the owner's interest in the home. And uh it it's it it makes total sense to us. I think as someone that is used to the the stringent code and the uh the town ordinances, it's just it's it's just part of the way. It's it's the only thing we know.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01And it it it's gonna be very similar when we do the commercial work too, because it's the ins it's the same inspectors.
SPEAKER_00They always have uh different criteria that they're looking, but overall it ends up being the same, right?
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Um which is great because then you could kind of branch off into these other avenues uh pretty easily.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01Um, and uh it it's uh it's exciting. It's exciting to see all the stuff that's coming up uh on the island and in West Palm Beach that we you know are uh hopefully gonna participate in.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. What are those trends that you're seeing now with this boom of construction that we have now in in South Florida? And and as you're saying, Palm Beach versus West Palm Beach now being built as the Wall Street of the South.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Um there's a wave of New Yorkers coming down, and I think that's been since COVID. Um so there's been a lot of New York based clientele. Um, obviously, being from New York, we know very well how they operate.
SPEAKER_00And they probably know you.
SPEAKER_01They know us. And um, that's sort of the skill set that we like to tout a little bit as well. Um, but it's our Process. You know, these aren't necessarily the generational people that have been down here working with the the original four contractors that you know typically work on a handshake and you know put a budget down on a piece of napkin and and you know they kind of roll with it. Now we certainly can do that, but we we tout our process, we tout our you know, the the the the software you use, where our ability to work with the architects and create CAD drawings to help the architect develop plans. Um our our personnel have a very deep knowledge of the architectural details, the finances that come with a project, the cost control, the projections. And that's what these finance guys like to see. So, you know, the ability to to put down uh a very complicated Gantt schedule with you know projections on costs and you know uh invoicing with the AIA and the pages of doc uh backup, I think that goes very well with what we're trying to do down here. And I think it it works with the um the the new wave of these very young, very highly professional, high-tech, you know, uh computer savvy clients.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01That is very cost conscious.
SPEAKER_00Of course.
SPEAKER_01It's always they're looking at every cent.
SPEAKER_00Down to the penny. Yes. Well, that's great to find out. Now, that process, which your company is well regarded for and your team, which, you know, great group of guys, people that I've worked with as well during the time that I've been here, um, what is that process look like for a client when they come and say, okay, they'll either go to the architect and they'll say, I'm looking for a contractor, or or they will go directly to you and say, hey, you find us uh an architect, or just like we've got these plans already that we had. What does that process look like it for uh you know a potential client who comes and says, I want to work with Andrew? What does that process look like?
SPEAKER_01Well, depending on what they want to do, if they have an architect already um and they're looking for a bidder, uh a builder, I guess it depends if they're bidding it out. Um so you sort of have to be aware and and make sure that you know you bid the plans and you're competitive. That's always important because you know you eventually you do want the want to work. Um, you know, we we do sometimes hurt ourselves by you know um not pricing the plans as they show. We'll we'll pride, you know, ourselves in giving insight.
SPEAKER_00You'll go the extra mile.
SPEAKER_01Um, which might uh you know put the client in a situation where they're comparing us to another person and we might be a little more expensive and budget's always the concern when you when you you first get invited to these uh these um these bids. But um I think the idea is to ground the relationship first, making sure that they appreciate what we're all about and being honest up and up front no matter what you do. So whether it's we're working with an architect and we're the only guy and we're gonna build it, whether we're bidding it, or whether we're the guy that's you know, they're asking us to go and look for architects around town to to design a house and we'll do it together.
SPEAKER_00Right. I guess that's always one of the pitfalls of the industry that there is not a very good apples to apples comparison that you can do. And as architects, we face that as well. It's you know, and I think depending as well where your jurisdiction that you're working on, for example, of course, RCOM, we have to go through a very long design process. Sometimes it's not as cut and dry as another municipality which will just approve the drawings that we present, right? So there is quite a few different things that people need to focus on where it is that their project is located before you know coming in with pre-conceived.
SPEAKER_01And there's certain things that, you know, because of RCOM, there are certain budget items that are sort of set in stone, like you know, the exterior landscape and facade. It's been approved that way. It's tough to go back and ask for another approval. And when you price the exterior without with minimal interior plans, you know, you you try to you you try to fill in the blanks the best you can to keep the project, you know, as cost effective as possible because that's you know important, unless the client has um you know an unlimited budget and wants to work towards a a beautiful sort of to the nines home, uh then you kind of know what you're doing. But you know, I think a lot of times you're filling in the blanks on the interior where you have a nice exterior set of plants that you're able to price, and it's it's sort of like a back and forth, you know, where you're trying to keep within a budget, there's not a lot of detail, you're trying to fill in the blanks. And at the end of the day, I think uh, you know, during the whole project, you're working hand in hand with the architect to find the best value. And I think that's what sets us apart is you know coming up with the best cost-saving ideas to not to not destroy the architect's vision. Because again, I I wasn't an architect, but my father was. He went to school for architecture and thought that you know being an architect would have been too much very difficult and a different type of person, but uh has an appreciation for architecture, and the goal is to make sure the architect's plans and vision come to light. And you know, client might have a budget and there might be some challenges in making sure that the design comes to light, but we pride ourselves in giving cost-effective solutions to not you know sacrifice the design.
SPEAKER_00That's always very important and great to hear. Now, what would you say about this uh this rumored bridge tax that Palm Beach has? What what's the deal with that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and it's tough because there's a lot of the subs that come off the island anyway.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01So, you know, you you're sort of looking for that same bridge tack tax in West Palm as well. Um I think you get it. I I think West Palm sort of east of uh Olive. You know, I would say olive because that's sort of like the coastline for West Palm and Beach. The prices are very similar. Um you you definitely um have to be very sensitive to the cost because if you're pricing plans in West Palm, you know you're gonna be pricing against the West Palm Beach builder, and you have to be uh you have to have the ability to you know show competitiveness and and get numbers down. But um it's a balance. We think that we could build a great product either way when we work with the client and the architect directly, and we can sort of spitball and use the architect as a backdrop and to to get their feedback and to be on the same page when you talk to the client. Because I feel like when the architect and the contractor are in unison, um, that makes for a very easy sort of process. Um you know, again, it just depends on the materials you're gonna use, the subs you want to use. Um, you know, we want reliable subs to make sure that they show up and they're actually doing the project. I mean, you know, you you have builder developers that you know might have uh, you know, might be able to build for less a foot. Um, but again, they're sort of on their own timeline. They're building for themselves. They don't need the guys to be showing up every day. With our with our business as custom home builders, um, we hold ourselves to a very high standard. Yes, there's a balance, but we do want to make sure that the subs are professional, they they have vans, they have personnel, they have equipment, um, and they're able to get material fast so we can build as efficiently a pot as possible. So, you know, I just think that that the bridge tax is is, I think, on a lot of the subs that know they have the right stuff and know the builders they want to work for, and know that they can get the work with some of these clients on the island and they charge a premium, which you know, you're getting a premium product at the end of the day.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And of course, there's all those hidden costs that people may not take into account. Insurance, licenses, insurance.
SPEAKER_01Uh listen, uh a guy that just pick up the phone when you need him, a guy that's gonna show up at midnight if you need him to come to the house because something's not working. Um, you can't cut them at their knees because they're not gonna want to work for you anymore, you know. And then and that word gets around to the other subs. And they say, well, these guys don't pay the bills. So we always try to it's a it's a balance and making sure that the owner understands that this is our business and that we to make the world go round, you got to pay the bills. And we're gonna be honest and fair and upfront about what the costs are. And, you know, we don't like the idea of hidden fees. We want to be upfront in the beginning. That's why we try to fill in the blanks before we start because it's a bad stereotype and it it it it's it mostly falls on the builders because we're the last stop and the last line of defense. We're most at risk. Um, so we want to make sure that we have a partnership with the subs, that they're motivated to do the work. And um, you know, the clients at the end of the day what they're paying for is is is great. And at the end of the day, they're happy and they say, you know, I'm glad we did that. I'm glad that, you know, when I'm maybe the house, you know, I always I always use this term when I first got into residential. It was a very um enlightening remark by uh a home builder up in Montreal that we built a condo for.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_01Um it was a condo that we could do in we had more time than six months. It was in Boca. Beautiful condo we did. Um we still finished it in about eight months. And the gentleman said, like you don't you're on budget, the quality is fantastic. You forget about the schedule a little bit. You know, if you're two months late, he's like, when I'm sitting at home in my house two years from now, and I'm looking up at the detailed molding, and I think that was just uh amazing, the the condo looks great. I'm not thinking that it took two months longer.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01So uh it was it was really interesting to take that and it's like, yeah, you know, you you sometimes you just can't rush these things. Um and the subs are professional enough to know that too, where they're not just yesing you to death. There's a relationship we have. So they're gonna be honest and upfront with us. They want to do more work for us. So they're not gonna tell you we could do this in 10 months and get it and then be 14 months. So I think it's a very honest conversation from the top down, from the bottom up.
SPEAKER_00Right. And it takes these opportunities and these testimonials so that people can understand, you know, the process. And this is also why we have this show, so that you know, we get the opportunity to speak to the experts and and get that message out. The same thing we face as architects, as you know, people will see all these shows or social media or Instagram and think, oh, this can be done lickety split. And it doesn't work that way.
SPEAKER_01You need to hire the right firm uh for the right project. And you know, we'll be honest too. We say, listen, if we're bidding a project and and you know, we're asking for some transparency on the owner's part and saying, like, hey, who are bidding us? I'll I'll be very honest. If they say that we're bidding against the Davis or bidding against the Shapiro Pertinoy or Rogers, these are big names in the industry in Palm Beach, and they have a great reputation. And you know, the that's those are the guys you want to use. Um, you know, we want to be in that same breath. We want to be I think you are uh you know uh mentioned with those guys. The the worry for me is when clients get caught up and bringing guys from over the bridge and they're not familiar with with Palm Beach and its rules. And you know, you get caught up with, oh, well, let's probably this guy's half the number, and and you know, it just doesn't make sense. Like, well, we try to explain right that there's a lot of these hidden costs that you know we try to explain up front that you know are challenges when you work on the island. Cost overruns, change order so logistics and and working on these these small streets on the island and parking attendance and just the rules that the town has that we're very familiar with because we've been here for a long time.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And all those other builders that I mentioned are are familiar with because they've been working here a long time.
SPEAKER_00Yes. There's always the thing between uh quantity and quality. And it's great to have a nice balance of both. Um one of the things that I've seen some contractors do is bringing into your company some some trades that are like under you, like part of the company. Is that something that you've explored in the past?
SPEAKER_01Oh, you're sort of like having a cyborg company work under the name or a cabinetry or roof.
SPEAKER_00Like I've I've talked to some contractors, for example, and they've told me it wouldn't really work here in Palm Beach. But for example, one contractor told me that they have a uh metal roofing company that's under them, that's like part of uh a subsidiary to them. Yes. Is that something that you've seen in any of the trades that might be useful to you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I well, we we do a lot of we we did have a cabinetry company for a minute, and uh we had a shop. We had a great cabinet worker who's no longer with us. Um we saw that cabinetry was a good way to get in the door with some clients, you know, getting them a good deal on cabinets, yeah, showing them what we could do. And um, if there's a way to um mitigate some costs, uh uh, you know, having the sub work or working under the flag, um, certainly that helps. Um, you take on a lot of risk though, doing that as well. Right. Um I feel like we, you know, we're strictly a construction manager, um, not so much a general contractor.
SPEAKER_02Right, right, right.
SPEAKER_01You know, we have subs working, uh, you know, we we bake we'll sub everything out um because then we're able to scale it more too. Um, you know, we want to be able to spread the work around as well. Um, I feel like you, if if we were to, for example, hire a roofing company or a site work guy, you know, um, then we're bottleneckling necking ourselves too with some of the subs on the island that get wind of that and you know, I can get the best pricing, you know, I can get the the honesty. I feel like we want to use our relationships to the to the best benefit we can. You know, we want to be a liaison. Think of it like a like a broker selling real estate. He's using all his contacts to to get to find a home uh to sell it to get the best price. And that's kind of what we're doing with all our relationships.
SPEAKER_00It's very important and a good business strategy, as you say. And that's you know one of the great things as well. You're not just designing building the homes, right? You're managing your business in a way that has to be the best result for you, for your guys, and for the client, and what's going to get this trajectory from you got 14 years strong and running, and we can't wait to see what we you know.
SPEAKER_01We also want to make sure that we're working in the best uh w you know, way with the owner. I mean, I think sometimes if you um, you know, even if it was a sub working directly for Siami, they have their own interest for a roofing company, that's what they care about. We have to make sure that the subs are in lockstep with us.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01Bigger picture.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01And so having those conversations with the top tier guys and the subs and their ownership and executive level, so they understand the vision is very important. I think we have a great base of subs that we we like to go to to make sure that the the client and architect's visions you know come to light.
SPEAKER_00And it's always good to have a little degree of separation from those things, you know, for whatever could happen. No, it's risky. Yes, it's risky. Probably one of the riskiest businesses that we're in. But we love it. That's why we do it. So, what are some other key takeaways that you would say that you've learned from starting and running your business over these 14 years? But something that like you're really proud of and that you would also suggest to people who, you know, maybe it's not uh starting a construction management company, a luxury home building company, but something that could apply in I think Yeah, I I feel like it's it's it's gotta be very intimate, personality-based.
SPEAKER_01It has to be I'm putting myself in the owner's and architect's shoes. If if we're working on a project and change orders are inevitable, but if if something comes up that that we honestly don't think is right, I tell my guys we need to put ourselves in the owner's shoes to make sure that they are comfortable with the situation. Um so I'm always taking a step back and making sure that if there is a change order that's necessary, it is absolutely necessary. And if I were to tell you how many I would say millions at this point we've given away to uh establish ourselves as as the contractor or the the construction manager on Palm Beach, uh it's because we value those relationships so much. And we want to make sure that you know we aren't that contractor that's nickel and diming every little thing. Even if it was a legit change order and you know, we could come to an agreement where you know it's a big enough package, or you know, we we we know that there's plenty of work and there's you know it's gonna be a great relationship. We just have to be able to balance those things. And I think running your own company kind of gets you out of that sort of um you know, the vision with blinders on. You need to be looking, yeah, you need to make sure you're looking at the whole picture. And you need to make sure that everybody's happy because somebody starts talking badly of you, whether it's a consultant, a town, the architect, owner's rep, client, it gets around and it's a slippery slope. Very slippery slope.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Um, you've also done some work. Well, you've been a member for some time, but you've also had for the Chamber of Commerce here in Palm Beach. Can you tell our about that?
SPEAKER_01Yes, we we are sponsoring this year the Real Estate Development Board, uh, the Chamber of Commerce. We're doing that with Margaret Brandt, who's a very well-known and successful uh real estate broker in town. Um we found the opportunity to be very uh helpful. I mean, we're we're able to, we're moderating four events. Um and we are speaking with people in the industry and lifestyle, and you know, it could be anything from real estate, construction, development, restaurants, you know, um recreational, uh, but just for people to get a better understanding of the life in Palm Beach.
SPEAKER_00Right. Very important. Um, what are some of the things that you've seen in that process? Some things that like you really you really enjoyed doing and and motivated you to to get into that.
SPEAKER_01A big motivator for me was to get the name out there um and to associate ourselves with um Palm Beach living. Yeah. Um, you know, we want to be we want our name to be hand in hand with Palm Beach. And we want to make sure that when people see the name, uh it's it's a very fragile reputation that we have worked very hard to grow. And we feel at this point we'd like to show it off.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You've you've gotten to that point. You you've run the business and you found the opportunity to the increase in, you know, and it's always great to see that trajectory. And I've had a great time following you and working with you, Andrew. So it's love it.
SPEAKER_01And it's great working with you and knowledgeable architects around the island. And uh, you know, i an architect that appreciates what we do and vice versa is is what makes the world go round.
SPEAKER_00I appreciate that. Now let's go into a little bit of the fun stuff. Tell us about your your your journey with with flying and how that kind of motivated you. That's an interesting story. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Um, so I I've been a lover of aviation since I was born.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I think it stems all the way back from my uh grandparents living in Queens. Um we used to go visit them and and the flight path came right over their house in Howard Beach, and I'd sit out there with my grandfather and my dad counting planes all day. And um, I just found this love of it. And anytime when I was a child getting on an airplane, I I couldn't sleep the night before. It wasn't because we were going vacation, but it was because I was getting on an airplane. And I was just I was just always fascinated with aviation. And I love it to this day commercial aviation to be you know to narrow it down a little bit. I I loved I love the big jets.
SPEAKER_04Sure.
SPEAKER_01Um, so in high school life, I I always wanted to be a commercial pilot. Uh so I went to Ember Riddle, uh, which is an aeronautical college uh in Daytona Beach. I obtained my aeronautical science degree with an air traffic control minor, which is pretty cool.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it is.
SPEAKER_01But but it's fine. And uh I received all my licenses. I I start private uh instrument commercial, multi engine commercial instrument, high performance, high altitude. uh complex. So I had uh a lot of experience in a lot of different air aircraft. I the last airplane I flew was a King Air uh 100 which is a nice uh workforce and we I flew that corporate for a little bit uh and I did that with my my dad actually owned ours in it so I I was my family around which is nice um so I hopped around the east coast the Bahamas um Midwest a little bit uh and uh it was a lot of fun and I I I got it out of my system I think my goal in college was to get out of school and go with the airlines yes um but when I uh when I was finishing college 9-11 happened and unfortunately the industry sort of dried up nobody wanted to fly right um it was an unfortunate situation and and it was unfortunate for the industry um but things happened for a reason and and uh I I left school and started working on my dad.
SPEAKER_00Well you never know what could have happened and we're really glad that you're here with us. And um I think that that's always something fascinating as well I've I've never flown a plane but you know hopefully one day I'll be able to do that. But you have that precision mentality that you need on so many things. You know you can't just be able to rely on all the instruments. There's a lot of judgment calls that you have to make on the fly and I think that's something that carries over very well if you want to understand the precision of detail that it takes to planning and building a home. So it's not loss on me that that's a great thing. And you know and and that's you know I did the same thing and did architecture but did business degree to get something and a different toolkit.
SPEAKER_01So it's it's fascinating to see how you know it's not just a one one stop shop, one trick point that you have it's I I think it's important to note all every experience in life helps the end game I think but I I think coming into school and working for my father um I I've always wanted to emulate what he did I found him to be the you know the person that I wanted to be when I grew up and seeing how he ran his business and it was always clients first service first um hiring good people creating an unbelievable culture with within the organization which I love I think our group of people are very close. We have a company retreat every year we do where we take them to the to the to the Caribbean last year we did Dominican Republic the year before that we did Puerto Rico um there's uh uh real value in in having friends work for friends and I I I also don't pretend to know everything in this industry I'm not an expert in any one thing I think we know a lot about a lot in the industry but I rely a ton on my people yes um and I think that I grew up in the business learned a lot but you have people that went to college for this sort of thing and yeah cost reporting it's like you want to hire great people and they they they they have architect degrees they have building background they've done stuff with their hands you know to be able to utilize all that and all the tools and the tool belt is the is what I love most is just trying to get the best out of everybody within the organization and that that's really and then having fun while doing it.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely sounds like a fun place to work and as I understand you're growing and hiring right yes yes which is important that shows the the growth rate that you're doing and you're expanding your business and that's awesome and congratulations because that's that's amazing and shout out to Frank because he's saying my mom and and you know them giving me the the uh the ability to do this and my wife I you know she she started the ground floor with me in this business we moved to from we moved to Florida from New York yeah with we sort of just dropping everything you know we're starting a new business we have to kind of make it on our own it was kind of scary right but she was in it for the long haul and she helped me out from the beginning and is still helping.
SPEAKER_01And so I owe a ton to my wife and my beautiful family who you know we've raised in Florida well born down in Florida and we have four kids now which is unbelievable.
SPEAKER_00Congratulations and they're all and they're all great they're all awesome very sweet. I love they're all great. And that probably ties into the next question which we're going wrapping up but to date what has been your best investment personally and professionally personally yes my wife can't say that's the wrong answer.
SPEAKER_01It's I don't for sure uh financially and everything else you know just because she's backed me up all the way and she's she's known since the beginning that I I wanted to do something on my own and branch out on my own every ever since when I was working on my dad's company and wanted to be an executive there and made that possible she was always just lockstep always had my back's the only one that was really just you know there for me no matter what seeing my parents my brothers and sisters so I've been very blessed with my family um investment down here financially my home is is a great investment and what we were able to do to that yeah um you know we're still working on it it's a never ending the never ending story we're finally getting to furnish it the shoe in the shoes it's just oh yeah you know everybody else is put first but we're we're getting there um and then of course the business just you know able to build such a um you know uh uh the great fabulous build business with a great team great clients uh been very fortunate uh to build a great life in in in the palm beaches absolutely well now I've asked you a lot of questions but now you get to ask yourself one do you know how that's gonna work no look at it you get a you get a get a question from the fishbowl a bunch of random questions so just pick one this is the fun part okay did you get one? Alright please read it into the microphone what's one memory that always makes you smile that's a nice one I mean honestly I think it's probably there's so many memories I mean the the one memory that sticks out to me and that I always I always go back to because it was one kind of like defining moment was when my wife and I packed up our car yeah um and left the city we we packed the car to the nines and we started driving and we drove west because I wanted to show her um the the camp that I went to to learn to fly doing yeah so we drove all the way to Indiana first so that was it wasn't the most direct routing to Florida.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01But we were headed to Florida but we went to Indiana first and then followed the Mississippi River down to Florida and we stopped at a bunch of hotels and we took like an eight day road trip. There we go and uh and that was sort of like a coming to Jesus moment where we're like what are we doing? Yeah we were able to talk ourselves off the ledge a little bit and say this is the right thing and my parents were very generous enough to let them let us live in their house for six months while we renovated our apartment. Yes. Um and uh that was really cool.
SPEAKER_00I mean I always remember that and uh absolutely that sounds like a great memory Mississippi the great Mississippi yeah um now as we're gonna wrap up let me ask do you have a suggestion for a next guest or a future guest on our show for the real estate and investment show huh uh you know there's there's a few real estate brokers that I'm I I I'm close with Greg Forrest with Sarah Hunt now.
SPEAKER_01Okay and um uh William Bulpee who's up in Jupiter they're kind of the two that sort of work together cool um uh and you know another really interesting one which is not I mean it is investment but yeah that's part of it we try to branch out uh Eric Wind of Wind Vintage the watch dealer interesting very interesting guy okay has seen a lot experienced a lot um uh went to Oxford graduated Oxford yes we've become very close family almost I mean they're just very good friends beautiful family um has an unbelievable vintage vintage watch the uh business uh is doing a lot of really cool stuff knows a lot of great people um and uh and just very well versed smart knows a lot about the island and I think it should be an interesting guess.
SPEAKER_00Terrific well that sounds great. All right it's time for the shameless plug what is something you're working on right now that everybody ought to know and where can they follow and find you andrew oh what are they what are we working on right now the you you mean in the business? Yeah something that you that you just want to share so that people know to how to how to find you how to reach you and do your purpose I mean most people might not know but we have an estate management business. Which isn't great to hear.
SPEAKER_01And so you know we could uh you know take it from the beginning stages of construction all the way to you know when they're living in the house and landscape maintenance it's concierge private jets cars security um we have contacts and and all all those things all those things to a lot a lot of people that I met on the island who been willing to work with us so it's not just Siami owned no Siami estate management so that's kind of a uh a hidden uh I don't think a lot of people know about that. Yes um so that's something that I'd love to uh plug and yeah I mean I'm at Andrew Siami Instagram and Siami Homes Instagram and Siami Construction New York Instagram. Yes um we'll we are rebranding our website so that that's gonna be online soon we just hired a marketing director who's a good friend of mine okay um who's who who works full time for us and he's in New York but he comes down while he's working on you know on rebrand uh so that's kind of exciting um and yeah terrific well can't wait to hear it and we will definitely fill you in with all that and we can't wait to you to share that information with us.
SPEAKER_00So Andrew I want to thank you so much for your time as well thank you for sharing your journey your experience and being such a wonderful guest. And thank you so much for being here with us. Join me again next time with another amazing interview on the real estate and investment show with Daniel Clovijo. I'm Daniel Clovijo till then stay awesome everyone and God bless America