Brad David, Executive Vice President of Development/Construction at Snap.Build, was recently a guest on the popular design, building and remodeling podcast, Construction Disruption. Co-hosted by Todd Miller and Ryan Bell of Isaiah Industries, this edition of the podcast focused on smarter construction funding and how Snap.Build is disrupting the homebuilding industry with its unique high-tech way to fund residential projects. The rapid pace of advancing technology is affecting many aspects of our lives, and the construction industry is no exception. Brad gave listeners an inside look into Snap.Build’s residential construction lending, powered by technology.
In the interview, Brad told how Snap.Build is bridging the gap between builders and lenders. The company’s goal is to help builders do their work faster and more efficiently, and at the same time, increase their business and grow their profitability. Snap.Build connects with builder clients who need additional capacity in their lending channels. “A lot of builders are worn out trying to use traditional lenders in the residential space because it can be a cumbersome process — with hindrances in speed and limits,” Brad explained. With a background as a builder developer, he understands the need to level the playing field between a smaller builder company and the large national builders. Brad and the rest of the Snap.Build team are able to speak the language, understand the pain points, and help small to medium-sized residential builders solve how to get funding for their projects.
Builders are consistently trying to make sure they have capital to fund their pipeline. Each builder’s pipeline is different in terms of size, scale, etc. But for Snap.Build’s clients, the initial lending process itself is no different than that of a traditional brick-and-mortar lender. “We’re just private — and we’re a builder-friendly lender,” Brad added. Where the difference comes into play is how Snap.Build helps control builders’ costs. Throughout the course of a build, Snap.Build controls the flow of money. “Our clients are able to upload their invoices as work is completed, and we turn around and pay those invoices almost immediately,” Brad explained. With vendors getting paid as fast as anybody in the industry, builder clients can then negotiate better pricing, build more efficiently, and shorten cycle times.
From its regional offices, Snap.Build finds its clients through a variety of channels. As David detailed, “We use an old-school approach where we get the word out in the community that any builders who need capital can call us. We also have a correspondent lender program where we work with different mortgage lenders who do not have new construction funding as a piece of their business. We do the same thing with real estate brokers and agents. We also target builders directly who we really want to grow with, and in specific markets — mostly through the sunbelt. We’re not in the business of doing one-offs or just a build here or there. We want to partner with builders who are in the business to do volume. We want builders who are growing their business. And then we do a typical kind of application onboarding process like most traditional lenders would do. We’re no different in that regard. We do our homework. We have to know who we’re doing business with because our capital providers expect that.”
In the conversation, Brad shared a specific Snap.Build client success story. “We partnered with a builder in the South four years ago. In the first year, he built 15 houses. He and I had a conversation yesterday where we reviewing his numbers from last year. He closed 247 units in 2022. With the economy humming again, he’s now got the opportunity to build 400 units. And a major reason for that is what we’ve provided to his company through technology, and the ability to properly manage his build and the capital that’s associated with it. Now, not everybody we deal with wants to build 200 houses. But most builders who are building 5 or 10, they’d like to do 15 or 20. We have the ability to tailor our product to each one of those opportunities.”
Snap.Build can help grow your residential building business, too. Contact us to discuss funding.