How it all began. . .

At a civic luncheon in late 2004, a discussion about affordable homes for first-time buyers in Brevard County caught the attention of retired builder, Larry Sietsma.  20 years prior, he had founded one of the nation's largest and most respected home building companies.

A friend suggested Larry could do something to help.  But he had ‘been there, done that’ – and transferred ownership of his company to his employees upon retiring.  This was someone else's challenge—or was it?

Over the next few months, the problem of affordable homes seemed to be speaking to him.  Young couples starting out were having a particularly difficult time.  After discussing the situation with his daughter, Sandi Forest, they decided together to start a new home building company which would focus entirely on the building of affordable homes for first-time buyers.

Under Larry's 15-year stewardship, his previous company had built more than 10,000 homes in Brevard and around Florida.  As a fifth generation home builder (and Sandi now sixth generation), Larry knew it would take all of their experience and more to produce affordable homes in a turbulent market.  The father/daughter team has become an exciting success story. The Avtec product line has grown from a single model in Palm Bay to include numerous designs in Brevard, Volusia and Saint Lucie counties for value-conscious home buyers. 

In just a few short years -- and despite a challenging economic environment, Avtec Homes has leapt to prominence.  They are ranked nationally by Builder Magazine as the 185th largest home builder in the United States.  Inc. Magazine has also taken notice of their entrepreneurship, listing Avtec at #284 in their 2010 annual list of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation.