{"id":38043,"date":"2025-02-25T17:52:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T22:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=38043"},"modified":"2025-02-25T17:52:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T22:52:40","slug":"new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A modular home section is being framed at the Bill Lake Homes climate controlled 140,000 square foot manufacturing plant located in Sprakers, NY.
Courtesy Bill Lake Homes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n

Only 15 months since purchasing Bill Lake Homes, the new owners have started prepping an additional space for manufacturing the quality modular homes that the name \u201cBill Lake\u201d has been associated with for more than 48 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe modular world is fascinating,\u201d said Jeff Knox, CEO and principal owner. Knox is a new construction residential\/commercial developer who got his start buying and selling homes in the Albany-Saratoga area while a young man on Wall Street.<\/p>\n

Partnering with Knox are his daughters, Katharine Pelletier and Abigail Sisson, son-in-law Garrett Sisson, and Christa Swistak, a non-family member. The team has a history of flipping homes together and builds modular homes on spec for residential developers, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisiting factories in Pennsylvania showed me how quality modular homes, like the stick homes I built for decades the traditional way, can be constructed all year long indoors,\u201d he said. \u201cI always wanted to build my own manufacturing facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u201cOur initial thought was to build a factory, but the team suggested, why don\u2019t we see what\u2019s out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Knox cold-called Bill Lake and asked if he might be interested in selling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot in common,\u201d said Knox. \u201cHe gave me a price, I said it was fair, we shook hands, and closed in November of 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBill Lake has a phenomenal reputation for quality and loyalty,\u201d said Katharine Pelletier, chief marketing officer and co-owner. \u201cWe have clients whose parents and grandparents bought a Bill Lake Home.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar with modular homes, Knox said many misunderstand the concept and think these structures are the same as mobile homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem with 95 percent of modular home manufacturers is that they came out of the mobile home business,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are selling mobile homes and modular homes on the same lot, so there is a marketing mindset that the two are the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be a better understanding of the distinct differences between the two products,\u201d said Knox.<\/p>\n

A modular home is like a mobile home only in the sense that it is portable and can be delivered just about anywhere. Specifications such as for framing and plumbing are unique to mobile homes and codes are different from a traditionally built home. Modulars are more comparable to stick homes in terms of the codes and standards to which they are built, according to Knox.<\/p>\n

\u201cBill Lake was never a mobile home builder, he was a traditional builder who just thought he\u2019d rather not be building out in the cold,\u201d said Pelletier.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he did was set up a factory to essentially make the components of new houses indoors, where the materials and the crew are protected in a climate controlled environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what we are continuing to do and why we kept the Bill Lake name,\u201d Pelletier said. \u201cThere is a lot of equity in the name and an unmatched reputation for quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis method is to build a house the way he would if he were building on the lot, with attention to detail,\u201d Knox said. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the one thing that impressed us and the one thing we told Bill we were not going to change,\u201d he said. \u201cI always regarded modular homes as stick homes built in a factory, and it\u2019s just a better way to build a home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knox and Pelletier said the company is committed to preserving the quality of the modular home product line. Upgrades such as granite or quartz countertops and higher grade cabinetry have become standard in all models. There are a few economy floor plans and new models are in the design phase now.<\/p>\n

Pelletier is launching marketing and social media campaigns that appeal to the company\u2019s targets, who are traditional residential builders and developers. Some 50 contacts connect to them from all over the Saratoga area and Capital District to collaborate on residential projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cOurs is a business to business model rather than selling direct to consumers,\u201d Pelletier said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Knox added that most prospective home buyers come to Bill Lake Homes first, and then find a builder to prepare the lot and foundation and to partner with the modular company.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally the end customer has land to put a home on but if not, and they are looking for a lot in this area, we can direct them to a broker at Sterling Real Estate Group,\u201d Knox said.<\/p>\n

Sterling Real Estate Group was started in 1999 by Jeff Knox and he remains the firm\u2019s principal broker.<\/p>\n

The partners have taken on 45 employees and a 140,000-square-foot manufacturing space. In the past year, the company fielded about 1,600 prospective buyer requests. Leads are still coming in from people who were raised in a Bill Lake Home or had a family member who owned one, Pelletier said.<\/p>\n

There is a second structure on the property in Sprakers, NY that is close to 50,000 square feet and which Lake was using for personal storage. Pelletier said that has been cleaned out and will be dedicated to manufacturing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the added facility, the business will be able to deliver homes to an expanded geography. Knox and Pelletier said the market for their homes is strong because many models are in the 1,200 to 2,100 square foot range and modular construction affords some economies of scale unavailable to most developers.<\/p>\n

For example, cabinetry, flooring, and countertops can be purchased in greater quantities and the savings passed on to the homebuyer, Pelletier said. With no disruptions due to weather, the time frame for building essentially 85 percent of the home indoors and completing it on site is reduced to only five or six months on average, versus 12 to 18 months for a stick house, Knox said. Inspections go faster, too.<\/p>\n

Interested ones are encouraged to tour the facility at 188 Flanders Road in Sprakers, NY. Learn more at billlakehomes.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell Only 15 months since purchasing Bill Lake Homes, the new owners have started prepping an additional space for manufacturing the quality modular homes that the name \u201cBill Lake\u201d has been associated with for more than 48 years. \u201cThe modular world is fascinating,\u201d said Jeff Knox, CEO and principal owner. Knox is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":38044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-construction-planning"],"yoast_head":"\r\nNew Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell Only 15 months since purchasing Bill Lake Homes, the new owners have started prepping an additional space for manufacturing the quality modular homes that the name \u201cBill Lake\u201d has been associated with for more than 48 years. \u201cThe modular world is fascinating,\u201d said Jeff Knox, CEO and principal owner. Knox is […]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-25T22:52:40+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/02\/billlakehomes-h.png\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"825\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/\",\"name\":\"New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes - Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/02\/billlakehomes-h.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-25T22:52:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/02\/billlakehomes-h.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/02\/billlakehomes-h.png\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":825,\"caption\":\"A modular home section is being framed at the Bill Lake Homes climate controlled 140,000 square foot manufacturing plant located in Sprakers, NY. Courtesy Bill Lake Homes\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\",\"name\":\"Jake Van Ness\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jake Van Ness\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes - Glens Falls Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes - Glens Falls Business Journal","og_description":"By Susan Elise Campbell Only 15 months since purchasing Bill Lake Homes, the new owners have started prepping an additional space for manufacturing the quality modular homes that the name \u201cBill Lake\u201d has been associated with for more than 48 years. \u201cThe modular world is fascinating,\u201d said Jeff Knox, CEO and principal owner. Knox is […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/","og_site_name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","article_published_time":"2025-02-25T22:52:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":825,"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/02\/billlakehomes-h.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jake Van Ness","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jake Van Ness","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/","name":"New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes - Glens Falls Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/02\/billlakehomes-h.png","datePublished":"2025-02-25T22:52:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/02\/billlakehomes-h.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/02\/billlakehomes-h.png","width":1100,"height":825,"caption":"A modular home section is being framed at the Bill Lake Homes climate controlled 140,000 square foot manufacturing plant located in Sprakers, NY. Courtesy Bill Lake Homes"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/02\/new-owners-say-quality-affordable-houses-remain-the-mission-of-bill-lake-homes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/","name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86","name":"Jake Van Ness","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jake Van Ness"},"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38045,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38043\/revisions\/38045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}