Home-Sweet Custom Home

About the Book

Bud Plone's book, Home - Sweet Custom Home, is not merely a “How To” book, but is a strong consumer advocacy primer created for a large segment of the population — those who hire the people to design and build for them.  The vocational switch from flying Navy torpedo bombers to driving a pickup truck while designing and building houses was a big leap, even for a member of The Greatest Generation.

For five decades the author was involved in every facet of what he calls because of its resistance to change, “The Jurassic Park of American Industries.”  From adding rooms and remodeling he graduated to building small houses mostly designed for ordinary people for whom it was a stretch to reach beyond the boxy tracts of the late forties and early fifties.

He formed a building corporation, became a licensed building contractor, later a developer and registered architect.  As his company's list of satisfied customers expanded, the contracts were often with the rich and famous as well as with the not so rich and famous.

As a “hands-on people-oriented person,” he selected associates and partners wisely which enabled him to spend more personal time with the building craftsmen and the customers who made the successes possible.

Bud Plone's professional experience covered the broadest of spectrums in every way.  The company built on varied types of terrain; literally from the mountains to the sea.  He and his associates designed and constructed for a variety of age groups in a wide range of economic standing and an even broader range of family status and personalities.

Projects were done in dozens of designated political areas (i.e. cities, townships, counties, neighborhoods) each with its own rules, codes, prejudices and agendas.  This wasn't always easy, especially with the advent of more and more environmentally sensitive opposition to development.  Cooperation, along with reasonable concessions and respect to those opposed usually worked in a manner that allowed Plone's company to do their job and leave any area with respect for further integrity and professionalism intact.

The author served a number of years as a director of an American Stock Exchange company which was located in New York.  He consulted on many matters involving construction and real estate nationwide.  Eventually he designed and built some major hotels, shops, restaurants, a hilltop school, condominium projects and a golf course resort with a “hands on” policy all the way.  While all this was going on a division of the company kept intact the first love:  Custom Homes.

One might question why a person who had spent decades creating and expanding a business operation would choose the role of consumer advocate in writing a book.

The answer is simple.  Bud has never lost the common touch.  His business policies have, from the beginning, been to every extent practical, to be considerate of needs, dreams, imagination and entitlements of the customers.  The goal of his book is to alert clients of architect, builders, craftsmen, bankers and real estate agents just what their entitlements are.

He believes and delivers the advice that can help anyone make their dream house experience an enjoyable rewarding activity.  Knowing how to sidestep the many potential obstacles is part of the process.    

Bud's background was perfect for developing patience and empathy.  He was born during tough times and grew up in an ethnically diverse neighborhood of mostly working class people.  Very early in life he showed interest in and a talent for art and a love for athletics.  He also appreciated and learned the value of love, friendship, humor, the power of education and the respect for work and honest value.

It was not unusual in the climate of the depression era for a strong kid to work at a job, c

About the Author

Bud Plone was too young for the Civil War and too old to fly for Desert Storm, but now, thanks to Tom Brokaw's best seller book, happily shares fame with millions of others as a member of The Greatest Generation. He served four years during WWII as a naval aviator. He returned to civilian life in 1946 and became a builder and architect. Bud Plone has built and designed such things as hotels, country clubs and condominiums, but his first love has remained creating custom homes for over forty years. His book, Home - Sweet Custom Home, has been written to make use of his decades of experience to guide the uninitiated through the program of getting a custom home built in any price range. His motivation has been to help others avoid the well-known pitfalls while experiencing the joys that can, and should be, inherent in the process.