Veteran New Home Builders - About Jim Walter Homes

History
James Willis Walter, Founder Jim Walter Homes

• Started the company: November 1946, when he used $395 in savings, $500 in borrowed money and a borrowed $100 lot to buy and sell his first "shell" home, for a profit of $300.
• Growing the company: Through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, he built a conglomerate with businesses ranging from the present coal mining and ductile iron pipe businesses to companies that made such products as windows, carpet, paper and building products.
• His career: He was CEO of the Company until 1983, when he was succeeded by business partner Joe Cordell. He was then Chairman until he retired in 1995.
• He was known for: Having an excellent memory for names and numbers, setting high standards for those around him, for never forgetting his friends.
• Honors: Was presented the Horatio Alger Award by the American Schools and Colleges Association. Named to Builder magazine's "Millennium 100" list of the most influential homebuilding industry leaders of the 20th Century. Inducted into Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame. Featured in Time and Fortune magazines and on the cover of Business Week.
• His life outside work: Heavily involved in Tampa charities such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Florida Orchestra, Goodwill Industries and Junior Achievement; loved to hunt quail at his ranch in the Florida town of Parrish; had homes all over the world, owned a boat called TICA ("This I Can't Afford").
• Words to live by: He had a number of sayings. Two favorites: "Everyone makes mistakes. That's why God put erasers on pencils." ... and .... "Rules are made when brains run out."
  

Timeline
Jim Walter Homes’ History

1946
Jim Walter starts a homebuilding business in Tampa, Fla., using money borrowed from his father to buy and sell a home for a $300 profit.

1960
Mr. Walter's success makes national news, as he is featured in Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, Time and Barron's.

1964
The company's stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

1969
Jim Walter Corporation ranks No. 287 in the Fortune 500, with sales of $623 million. By now, the company has grown into a conglomerate involved in a wide range of businesses from paper to marble to carpet manufacturing.

2000
Mr. Walter dies at age 77.

2001
Walter Mortgage Company, an affiliate of Jim Walter Homes, is created to provide mortgage financing for land and home.

2002
Company starts work on its first subdivisions, in Brookwood, Alabama (Woodridge Glen) and Houma, Louisiana (Patriot Point).

2004
Jim Walter Homes introduces new models featuring more open floor plans, improved curb appeal.

2006
Jim Walter Homes introduces an upscale collection of homes, the Renaissance Collection, to select areas of the country.

2008
Introduces Fresh Ideas Series of 100% complete homes with Craftsman-style architecture.
Walter Mortgage Company introduces FHA financing program for very low rates for many buyers.