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Meet the Builder
These days I can frame a wall, manage the entire project, and inspect the result against code myself, and there aren’t many builders in San Antonio who can do all three. I didn’t come up that way, though. I didn’t grow up in construction at all.
In 2013
I walked into an interview with Gehan Homes for an assistant superintendent job with zero experience. I didn’t pretend otherwise. I told them that if given the opportunity, I’d outwork anyone, figure it out, and take it seriously.
The person who gave me my first opportunity to build is still a mentor and friend today.
In 2016
I went over to PSW Real Estate to see a different side of the business. Then in 2018, I started my own framing company to get real business experience and a close-up view of how other builders operated. I had already seen one version of home building, but I wanted to expose myself to other ways. Over the next several years we framed more than 1,000 homes across the greater San Antonio area and the Texas Hill Country. That’s the thing that changed everything for me. I’d already seen the polished side. Now I was seeing what’s behind every wall, and I understood how a decision you make in the first few weeks of a build ends up showing in every month after.
In 2021
I took it a step further and earned my B1 Residential Building Inspector certification through the International Code Council, for the 2021 IRC. I wanted to understand the home from every angle, not just how to build one, but how it gets judged, inspected, and signed off at every level.
It didn't take long to get humbled.
My first closing was with a young couple buying their first
home. They had a lot of questions, and I didn’t have most of the answers. I watched their confidence slip, and at one point they were about ready to walk away from the deal completely, and I knew it was because I couldn’t give them the peace of mind they needed.
This isn't just construction.
For most families, it’s one of the biggest financial and emotional decisions they will ever make. And I figured if I couldn’t stand across from somebody and confidently walk them through the process, I had no business being a home builder.
So I committed to learning everything I could about what it took to build a home. I started asking as many questions as I could of the people who’d been in the industry a long time: management, executives, inspectors, lenders, skilled workers. I walked frames with framing crews. I read code books on weekends.
That's how
I ended up being one of the few builders in San Antonio who can frame the wall, run a project, and inspect the result against code.
One of my first Swan projects actually started as a remodel. I walked the property and told the client the truth: the house just wasn’t worth saving. So we tore it down, designed a new one from scratch, and built her something far better than the remodel ever could’ve been. The first time she walked through the finished house, she looked at me and said, “I can’t believe it. It’s perfect. I love it.“
Another client I met completely by chance, down at the Development Services office. They’d spent months trying to find a builder they could trust, had finally given up, and were there to pull their own permit. They were overwhelmed. Stuck. About ready to walk away from the whole project. So I stepped in, took it over, I got their build moving. When permits finally cleared, I could see the weight lift off their shoulders. Months later, the husband told me we hadn’t just helped build their home. We’d helped save their sanity. And their marriage.
Outside of home building
I’m a husband and a dad. My wife Norma and I have three kids, Roman, Isabela, and Natalie, and most of my time off the clock is spent with them. CYO practices, birthday parties, games, trips to the zoo, and afternoons at the park. When I’m not doing that, I’m probably grilling steaks and watching the Spurs, or out on the golf course or pickleball court.
Before this was a business, it was personal. I know what it feels like to want something better for your family and to wonder whether it’s actually within reach. That feeling is where Swan started, and it’s still the reason I show up to every job site.
For me, a home isn’t square footage and finishes. It’s where my family gathers, where the people I love feel safe, and where the ordinary days that make up a life happen. When I build for your family, I’m thinking about those same moments in your home with your family.
The way I approach home building was shaped on a baseball field. I played college ball at St. Mary’s University, and the game taught me something that has never left me: you’re either getting better or you’re falling behind. There’s no staying the same. I build the same way. Every project is a chance to improve on the last one. Materials change. Technology changes. What worked twenty years ago doesn’t always make sense today. So when a client brings me an idea or wants to try something new, I don’t brush it off. I figure out how to make it work.
That’s why I refuse to hand this off. I’m managing the schedule, on the site, and on the phone, because the trust you place in me isn’t something I’m willing to delegate. Your home matters too much, to you and to me, to be treated like just another project.
My dad swung a hammer to provide for me and my siblings, but I never spent much time on job sites, and honestly, I never pictured myself in the industry.
In 2013
I walked into an interview with Gehan Homes for an assistant superintendent job with zero experience. I didn’t pretend otherwise. I told them that if given the opportunity, I’d outwork anyone, figure it out, and take it seriously.
The person who gave me my first opportunity to build is still a mentor and friend today.
He put me in a neighborhood under another builder, and
between the two of them, they shaped how I approach home
building. That’s where I learned what building homes actually looks like day to day, not the polished version.
It didn't take long to get humbled.
My first closing was with a young couple buying their first home. They had a lot of questions, and I didn’t have most of the answers. I watched their confidence slip, and at one point they were about ready to walk away from the deal completely, and I knew it was because I couldn’t give them the peace of mind they needed.
This isn't just construction.
For most families, it’s one of the biggest financial and emotional decisions they will ever make. And I figured if I couldn’t stand across from somebody and confidently walk them through the process, I had no business being a home builder.
So I committed to learning everything I could about what it took to build a home. I started asking as many questions as I could of the people who’d been in the industry a long time: management, executives, inspectors, lenders, skilled workers. I walked frames with framing crews. I read code books on weekends.
In 2016
I went over to PSW Real Estate to see a different side of the business. Then in 2018, I started my own framing company to get real business experience and a close-up view of how other builders operated. I had already seen one version of home building, but I wanted to expose myself to other ways. Over the next several years we framed more than 1,000 homes across the greater San Antonio area and the Texas Hill Country. That’s the thing that changed everything for me. I’d already seen the polished side. Now I was seeing what’s behind every wall, and I understood how a decision you make in the first few weeks of a build ends up showing in every month after.
In 2021
I took it a step further and earned my B1 Residential Building Inspector certification through the International Code Council, for the 2021 IRC. I wanted to understand the home from every angle, not just how to build one, but how it gets judged, inspected, and signed off at every level.
That's how
I ended up being one of the few builders in San Antonio who can frame the wall, run a project, and inspect the result against code.
One of my first Swan projects actually started as a remodel. I walked the property and told the client the truth: the house just wasn’t worth saving. So we tore it down, designed a new one from scratch, and built her something far better than the remodel ever could’ve been. The first time she walked through the finished house, she looked at me and said, “I can’t believe it. It’s perfect. I love it.“
Another client I met completely by chance, down at the Development Services office. They’d spent months trying to find a builder they could trust, had finally given up, and were there to pull their own permit. They were overwhelmed. Stuck. About ready to walk away from the whole project. So I stepped in, took it over, I got their build moving. When permits finally cleared, I could see the weight lift off their shoulders. Months later, the husband told me we hadn’t just helped build their home. We’d helped save their sanity. And their marriage.
Outside of home building
I’m a husband and a dad. My wife Norma and I have three kids, Roman, Isabela, and Natalie, and most of my time off the clock is spent with them. CYO practices, birthday parties, games, trips to the zoo, and afternoons at the park. When I’m not doing that, I’m probably grilling steaks and watching the Spurs, or out on the golf course or pickleball court.
Before this was a business, it was personal. I know what it feels like to want something better for your family and to wonder whether it’s actually within reach. That feeling is where Swan started, and it’s still the reason I show up to every job site.
For me, a home isn’t square footage and finishes. It’s where my family gathers, where the people I love feel safe, and where the ordinary days that make up a life happen. When I build for your family, I’m thinking about those same moments in your home with your family.
The way I approach home building was shaped on a baseball field. I played college ball at St. Mary’s University, and the game taught me something that has never left me: you’re either getting better or you’re falling behind. There’s no staying the same. I build the same way. Every project is a chance to improve on the last one. Materials change. Technology changes. What worked twenty years ago doesn’t always make sense today. So when a client brings me an idea or wants to try something new, I don’t brush it off. I figure out how to make it work.
That’s why I refuse to hand this off. I’m managing the schedule, on the site, and on the phone, because the trust you place in me isn’t something I’m willing to delegate. Your home matters too much, to you and to me, to be treated like just another project.