Opening Doors
Twenty-two years ago, Ricky Tucker was a Realtor® in Baton Rouge. Little did he know then that his involvement in the real estate market would become far more personal. Nineteen years ago, he started Ricky Tucker Custom Homes, Inc., and began building quality homes in and around Acadiana. Today Ricky Tucker is one of Acadiana’s premier homebuilders, a committed industry advocate and a dedicated community partner.
If you asked Ricky what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would have listed average eight-year-old responses: an astronaut, a cowboy, a fireman. Builder probably didn’t occur to him. So Ricky went through school like so many who intend to do one thing with their lives but who find themselves doing something else. Aware at least that his future lay in entrepreneurship, Ricky finished college with a bachelor’s degree in business administration – marketing.
Soon he was representing builders in Baton Rouge as a licensed Realtor®. On his return to Acadiana in 1996, Ricky saw a need for homes with unparalleled craftsmanship and attention to detail. New doors opened for Ricky when he broadened his real estate services to include new construction.
Recognizing the Need
What Ricky Tucker clearly understood is that buying a home is an arduous process and that building a home requires an even greater investment of time and financial resources. By making himself accessible and involving himself in virtually every stage of the building process, Ricky is able to make the homebuilding process as painless as possible for his clients.
Satisfied customers Dennis and Tracy Chamber said, “Ricky is a true professional and delivers on his promises/agreements with no hidden costs or agenda. Our home was built in a timely manner and the quality of workmanship and material exceeded our expectations in many areas of design. We would use Ricky to build or if we ever needed a Realtor® again and would recommend him to friends and family.”
Crafting someone’s ideal home is a responsibility Ricky takes seriously. It takes most of his time to ensure that his clients get exactly what they want. On an average day, Ricky wakes up early and drives to one of his many project sites to see how things are progressing. After meeting with his subcontractors and ensuring that everything is on target, Ricky drives to his office to catch up on paperwork and other administrative tasks for the homes under construction and his real estate brokerage. Once he puts in all of the time he can at the office, he drives to the sites he didn’t get to that morning or re-visits sites requiring his special attention.
“It’s being there,” Ricky says, “that enables me to adjust the plans to meet my clients’ changing needs and adapting to the changing needs that add to the level of customer service.”
Over the past two years the real estate market as seen phenomenal changes in the way business is done; the internet has become a vital part of the marketing process. In 2015 Ricky ran across a ground floor opportunity with revolutionary real estate model that he could not pass up.
In addition to building homes, Ricky serves as the state managing broker for EXP Realty, LLC. EXP Realty is an “agent-owned cloud brokerage” that operates out of a virtual reality cloud office and is positioned at the forefront of all technological advances. EXP Realty, LLC, is one of the fastest growing real estate companies in more than 40 states and Canada, with almost 1,500 agents nationwide. It has more than 65 agents here in Acadiana.
For information about EXP Realty visit www.rickytucker.exprealty.careers.
A Solid Foundation
While clients are happy with Ricky Tucker’s personalized approach to homebuilding, they find even greater comfort knowing that they are dealing with someone trustworthy. Ricky says his faith influences many of his decisions. “My company is built on a foundation of solid morals and business principles. Focusing on honesty is what helps my company achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction.”
His personalized approach also makes for repeat customers and great client referrals. Ricky finds it particularly gratifying when potential client say they called because they’ve seen his work in their friends’ homes and want to bring that same quality into their own.
As a community partner and family man, Ricky brings expertise to the community at large by having worked on many important professional committees. Ricky has held numerous positions with the Acadiana Home Builders Association, including president, vice president, secretary and treasurer; he has sat on the board of directors for more than eight years. He has served as the Parade of Homes chairman and was a builder for the Home for the Holidays.
Sound business practices, hard work and community service make Ricky Tucker a successful career man, but Ricky isn’t all work and no play; at some point during the week he finds time to take parts in his children’s athletic interests and to spend time with his wife, Lynette. He even sneaks in a little time on weekends to go fishing or deer hunting. Out of season, Ricky might be found playing a few holes of golf.
At present Ricky builds everything from medium-sized family homes that feature comfortable open floor plans, natural materials and general amenities to high-end luxury homes with large spaces and lavish extra touches. Most of his homes fall into the $250,000-$750,000 range. Slightly more than half of all of Ricky Tucker Custom Homes are spec homes with custom designs.
Whether custom or spec, all of his houses are of the highest quality. Standard features include wood flooring, custom cabinets throughout the home, wood-wrapped windows and crown molding in every room. Old antique wood beams and columns are a signature of Ricky Tucker. The smallest details bring the greatest joy to Ricky, who says, “The wood-wrapped casings on all window openings might not be immediately noticeable, but they make a difference. When the little things are right, you can be sure that the big ones are.”
It would seem that Ricky’s secret in life and business is finding just the right mix of structure and spontaneity, form and comfort to craft a balanced whole.
For more information contact Ricky Tucker at 337-319-4273 or [email protected]. His office is located at 3118 W. Pinhook, Suite 201-B., Lafayette, LA 70508.