This interview is based on a conversation with Jim Franck, 81, a homebuilder in Oregon. Franck said he continues to work to stay active and fulfilled, despite the risks of the job. He has given some of the more intensive responsibilities to his colleagues, though he still is involved with many building tasks. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been building for over 50 years. I started off in the US Virgin Islands. Then, I moved up to Sun River, Oregon, and I went down the coast building houses.
Until recently, my work has been out of financial necessity. Then, about three or four years ago, home prices doubled, and I was able to sell several rental homes that I’d constructed. Off two homes alone, I made around $700,000 in profit. It was an awful lot of money in one year, and then my income became less important.
I would’ve kept building anyway, even if I needed the income, but now I don’t do it for the money; I’m able to do it as a passion.
I was born in London in 1944
I joined the British Merchant Navy when I was in my late teens and got a job as an assistant cook on boats and freighters. We went all around the world, making many stops in the Caribbean. When I left the Merchant Navy, I worked with my brother, who was remodeling enormous houses in London. We worked with investors and turned the homes into apartments.
Then, a friend of mine got a job as a captain on a charter boat out in the Caribbean and needed a cook, so I joined him. One day, we pulled into the US Virgin Islands. I went ashore and made some friends, so I stayed behind on St. Thomas and helped people build houses.
I met my wife there, and we were married and had a son. I got a green card, so I was able to work professionally in the US. As a contractor, I built many concrete houses in St. Thomas, from the foundations to the roof to the finished product, which I then sold.
Around 1980, we came up from the US Virgin Islands to Oregon to see if we liked it. It was a really bad time to have moved; I couldn’t find any work. I went back to St. Thomas while my wife stayed in Oregon, and our marriage failed.
I then met my second wife, who was from San Francisco, in St. Thomas. After a hurricane blew through the Virgin Islands and destroyed many houses, we decided to rent out two of the homes I’d built there — which survived the hurricane — because many insurance companies were paying enormous rents for people whose houses had been destroyed. We became interested in Central Oregon, so on one of our ski trips, we bought land in Sun River and moved there.
I started building in Oregon in 1990, where I’ve been ever since
I started a real estate company and began building down the coast. I still have a copy of the first article a trade magazine wrote about me.
In 2008, I started thinking about retiring. I had a home that I built down the coast, which we used as our second home, and we spent time there. I kind of retired, but I was always fidgety. I had some custom projects and was doing some design work on future projects.
I took out a loan, bought some land, and started building again in 2015. I put the first house into a rental program, and I was able to secure a mortgage on it, which gave me enough money to buy a lot and build another house. I was building two or three houses a year.
After housing prices doubled and I sold my houses, I bought another lot, built a house, and sold it. The last one I sold was $970,000, and I owned it free and clear, so I made a profit.
I now buy beautiful ocean-view lots that are high above the Pacific Ocean. I’m finishing up one house now, which I’m going to keep as a vacation rental, and I just bought another lot, where I’m going to build a three-story house with an elevator. It’ll be the first I’ve ever built with an elevator.
I’m always cognizant of the economy, so I don’t want to do anything silly, like build two houses at the same time and then have the problem of being stuck with them.
There aren’t many people who, in their 80s, do the kind of work that I’m doing
Both of my sons can’t believe I’m still building houses and working hard. I’m getting to be a bit of a legend around here, too; people come up and ask how old I am and are shocked that I’m still framing houses.
I can’t do as much physical labor, and I’m trying to stop doing the heavy lifting. I work with designers, excavators, and a concrete guy, and supervise their work. Then, sheet rockers and painters come in, and we decorate the place. I build homes as if I were going to live in them, since many buyers are older people who are retiring.
I design and build specialties like fireplaces, decks, and screens around hot tubs. I also operate a backhoe, which I really have no problem with. My back hurts a little, and I get sore, but I go home, jump in a bath, and feel grateful I was able to do it.
The only medication I take is a small blood pressure pill. My respiratory system is excellent, and I can still walk miles a day if I want to. My wife is also in good health, and she spends her days out in the garden.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop, even though I have plenty of money to live on for the rest of my life, plus a rental house that will bring money in. It’s like art to me; an artist keeps painting until they drop dead.
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