Bucks Life Magazine

HAUGLAND & SONS
BUILDING AND JT WARD
& ASSOCIATES
David Haugland and his partner John Ward met while they and their
families were vacationing on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. David
was born into a four-generation family of home builders. Fifty-fi ve
years ago, his grandfather, who built homes and boats in Norway, had
immigrated to the United States. David was in grammar school when
he began working on home construction jobs for his father and grandfather
in New York State. “I started by fi lling in nail holes for them, and
then they let me use a hammer,” he relates. He rose through the ranks,
becoming a carpenter and high end trimmer, learning all aspects of the
homebuilding business.

He put himself through college working construction jobs. He laid
sheetrock, put up roofs, worked with piping and electric, all the while
learning the Old World building style that included the use of authentic
materials, creating homes that blended with the surrounding landscape.
Most importantly, David says he learned “the Old World attention to
detail.” With the blessing of his father and grandfather, David started
his own company building estate homes on Long Island, particularly in
the Hamptons. However, his thoughts kept coming back to a favorite
vacation place he had traveled to all of his life, Long Beach Island.

John Ward, growing up outside Philadelphia, began working as a
carpenter, becoming so profi cient at his trade, that he too put himself
through college while building beautiful homes. Armed with a degree
in marketing, John started his own company and progressed to the
point that he began working as a project manager for international
construction companies in the Philadelphia area and in Washington,
D.C. on projects ranging in cost from $20 Million to $200 Million. After
a number of years, John wanted to “return to my roots, to build homes
for people.” He had come to LBI as a child, and now returned to the
Island with his own family. The two homebuilders met and recognized
in each other the same desire to build shore homes a better way.

Their company is based on Long Beach Island, but as David points
out, they are only an hour away from the northern resort communities
on the Jersey shore and an hour away from the southern resort
communities. They do not want to limit themselves to just LBI alone,
and based on their many years of experience, they have created what

they call the “New Classic Shore Home.” This home is designed to
last, with the modern amenities such as top fl ight kitchens and baths
that people want today. The classic look of the homes will mean that
thirty years down the road, they will continue to enhance the beach
communities they are a part of.
David and John can build multi-million dollar oceanfront mansions
as well as restore existing homes set in the close-knit neighborhoods
that make up the vast majority of shore housing stock. Their company
has a work ethic designed to, as David says, “Give our clients their
money’s worth.” John points out that they are, “Budget and productivity
focused. Every part of the process between us and our homebuyers
must be ‘transparent’ in the best sense of the word. It must be
crystal clear to our clients every step of the way what is going on.
There can’t be any hidden fees or costs, hidden extras or unforeseen
change orders.”

David relates that, “In a nutshell, our company is two guys who
grew up in the building industry whose passion is to build homes.
Our principles are to be honest with our clients, crystal clear with
them about the entire process, work within the agreed-upon budget,
and provide attention to every detail.”

There is a great deal of satisfaction for them in their work, John
says, because, “The end result is that we give the people their
dream home.”