by Audrey Sellers
Meander down nearly any residentialbrstreet in Southlake and you’ll glimpsebran idyllic scene: stunning homes,brmanicured lawns and neighborhoods that basically nail the whole quality-of-life thing.brBut some Southlake homes stand apart.
You know the ones—the castles that rise majestically from the earth, the most luxurious ofbrsanctuaries. Jimmy Lambert, owner of J. LambertbrCustom Homes, a Southlake luxury homebuilder,brspecializes in these fit-for-royalty estates.br
Lambert's passion is more than constructingbrbeautiful homes; it's bringing families' grandestbrvisions to life. And no matter the vision, Lambertbrworks with purpose and passion to create the kindbrof residences families want to come home to—brfrom the steep rooflines and stately spires rightbrdown to the fence enclosing the property.br
The humble fence, in fact, was how Lambertbrfirst forayed into entrepreneurship. And, over thebryears, he took his career from wooden fences tobrmultimillion-dollar palaces.br
AMBITION AND A PASSION FOR BUILDINGbr
Ever since he was a young boy, Lambert hasbrbeen building things. He and his father built fences, horse stables and barns. They poured concretebrand even added on to the front of their home. “Webrwere always building projects,” he recalls.br
As a teenager, Lambert continued with the construction projects and also took on a job at Winn-Dixie. He advanced up the ranks at the supermarket, getting promoted to assistant store managerbrby age 21. He was next in line to get the store manager position, but he wanted more and better opportunities.br
So he traded in his supermarket apron for abrpaintbrush, going to work for an iron companybrpainting fences. Looking for additional cash flowbrand following his entrepreneurial spirit, Lambertbrlater went into business for himself, launchingbra wooden fence company. He saved for tools andbrequipment and began selling and building fencesbrfor high-end builders in Southlake and Keller.br
For 17 years, Lambert sold, designed and installed fencing, eventually doing the iron gate andbrfence work for dozens of builders, many of whichbrwere top-tier custom builders. His fence companybrwas thriving, but Lambert wasn't satisfied—yet.br
“We developed different ways to paint andbrbuild fences, but I wanted more,” he says. “I sawbrhow builders would sometimes take off during thebrweek to enjoy their families. Fencing didn't allowbrfor that, and I wanted a better life.”br
Lambert studied the upper-end builders, andbrlearned about design along with what to dobrand what not to do. “I was friends with many ofbrthe estate-home builders, and we discussed thebrhomebuilding business often,” he says. “I decided I wanted to build custom homes, so I worked hard, paid everything off and sold the company.”
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The next step in his entrepreneurial journey? StartingbrJ. Lambert Custom Homes. Lambert had one goal in mind: Hebrwanted to build homes families would love.br
CASTLES COME TO LIFE
Putting together a team for his newbrcompany was relatively easy; Lambert hadbramassed a network of hardworking subcontractors from his years of working in construction. He also had a network of architectsbrand bankers who believed in him. The banksbrloaned him funds to build three spec housesbr($500,000 each) to get started. The homesbrsold before they were finished.br
Lambert's homes graduated from the half-brmillion dollar range to over one million.brThe homes only continued to get grander,brreaching well into the multimillions. And asbrfor the square footage of his homes? To saybrthey're Texas-sized doesn't do them justice.br
“We built a 27,000-square-foot home inbrSouthlake and currently have a 30,000-square-brfoot home that just sold,” he says.
If you've ever wondered about the neighbors who reside in these hometown palaces, Lambert says they're athletes, CEOs and business owners. And he enjoys working with all of them. So much so, in fact, that Lambert's company has only one phone number listed: his.
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“My subs tell me stories about how some buildersbrnever step foot in the home under construction once it'sbrsold,” Lambert says. “I sell it and I work with familiesbrone-on-one throughout construction and after construction. They can call me on my cell—anytimebrwith any concern.”
Southlake residents Bill and DebbrDreger know firsthand Lambert's commitment to his clients—they've hadbrLambert build two of their homes. “I'vebrwatched Jimmy on many jobs. He'll sitbron a project long before he starts to buildbrthe house,” says Deb. “He looks at thebrlay of the land and how the sun comesbrup. He takes everything into account, sobrthe house is exactly where it needs to be.brFrom that point forward, he's on the jobbralmost every day. He is completely awarebrof everything that is going on.”
When the Dregers sold their homebrin Timarron to move to Clariden Ranch,brDeb says the home was crafted so wellbrthat they received the cleanest inspectionbrreport they've ever had. When they'rebrready for their next home, Deb says she'll turn to Lambert again. He has become a close family friend.br“We left with a deep friendship and an understanding thatbrif anything out of the ordinary happens, Jimmy is there,” shebrsays. “Jimmy is simply amazing. He's a passionate man withbra love of pleasing his homeowners. I can't say enough aboutbrhim. He stands by his work and he's proud of what he does.”
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Lambert works with families through thebrdesign process and builds the home with hisbrsubs. He's there as the concrete is poured for thebrslab, he's with the framer as the walls are built,brand he walks through each home with the citybrinspector. For Lambert, it's a matter of buildingbrfamilies the best possible home.br
“The best builders don't delegate but over see projects themselves to keep problems at abrminimum,” he says. “My job is to make sure thebrprocess is as fun and simple as possible, so it'sbrenjoyable for the families we build for. It's thebrlittle things that can make building a home funbrand exciting.”br
Over the past 18 years, Lambert has constructed nearly 80 custom homes—most over $2 mil-brlion and some close to $12 million. It can takebranywhere from 12 months to four years to con-brstruct these estates; it depends largely upon thebrbuyers' selection process and their timeframe.br
Whatever buyers might dream, Lambert isbrready to make it happen. “We specialize in everybrsize and style of home for any family,” he says.br“We try hard to listen to our buyers and stay onbrthe cutting edge of cool ideas.”br
For Lambert, the most rewarding part of hisbrjob is making buyers happy and knowing he hasbrsucceeded in a challenging project. He enjoysbrwhen everything is moving along peacefully.br“It's constant hard work,” he says. “But I enjoybrworking with the subs who do such a great jobbrwith a huge passion to build these families anbrincredible home.”br
KING OF HIS OWN CASTLEbr
Lambert builds in Southlake and Fort Worth,brbut he hangs his hat in Springtown, a charmingbrlittle town 20 miles northwest of Fort Worth. Hebrand Gina, his wife of 34 years, own more thanbr50 acres of land and live in a house he designedbrand built.br
“We bought raw land, built a road and clearedbra place for our home by a natural pond,” Lambertbrsays. “We selected everything. It was fun.”br
The couple raised their sons Cody and Ty, nowbrgrown, amidst the town's willowy trees and roll-bring hills. The boys went to a small school, andbrGina was involved in nearly every school eventbrwhile Lambert grew his business.br
Looking back, Lambert attributes his successbrto good, old-fashioned hard work—along withbra healthy dose of respect, always giving morebrthan he takes and following through. “My business philosophy is to do right,” he says. “There isbralways a right way to do something. It's the extrabrfive percent that makes the biggest difference.”br
When Lambert started his company, he set outbrto build the kind of homes families were dream-bring of. In the process, he ended up building thebrkind of life he always envisioned. If there's onebrlesson Lambert has learned in his 30-plus yearbrcareer, it's that anything is possible. And his lifebris proof.