We’ve talked about the financing. We’ve talked about the investments. Now, we’re talking about the build.
If you tuned in for our past discussions on attainable housing, you know that manufactured and modular homes are key to closing the housing gap. But how can the average person leverage these innovations to build wealth right in their backyard?
This week on Exit Strategies Radio Show, we go straight to the source. Host Corwyn J. Melette sits down with Harrison Langley, CEO and visionary for MDLR Brands, to introduce a perspective previously unexamined on the show: the direct, technology-driven path to affordable ADU construction. Harrison breaks down his company’s use of fiberglass Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), a specialized technology that moves construction from weeks to days, radically reducing labor costs and waste. This is the new blueprint for micro-level, high-quality, and highly attainable building—especially for the owner-builder.
This episode shifts the focus from lending and institutional investment to the literal nuts and bolts of the product. Harrison provides tangible costs, timelines, and the construction methods that empower individuals to take control of the building process and overcome the affordability crisis themselves.
Key Takeaways:
- 6:04 Eliminating Construction Waste: Factory building greatly reduces material waste, making the construction process cleaner, faster, and more economical.
- 8:21 Modular is the Highest Standard: Understand why modular construction holds the top rating for factory-built systems at the state level, ensuring you get quality and durability.
- 14:26 The Price is Right: ADU Affordability: Harrison reveals how a DIY-managed ADU project, using a kit under $24,000 for the structure, can result in all-in costs (excluding land) between $55,000 – $70,000.
- 18:37 Financing for the Small Project: Discover why specialized national lenders are finally making construction financing accessible for these smaller, affordable ADU loans.
- 22:30 Build Your Structure in Days: Learn how panelized systems are so fast that a structure can be erected in just 2-3 days, dramatically slashing expensive labor time.
Connect with Harrison:
- Website: www.mdlrbrands.com
- Email Address: norman@ardorpr.com
Connect with Corwyn:
- Contact Number: 843-619-3005
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmelette/
Shoutout to our Sponsor: Mellifund Capital, LLC
Need funding for your next real estate flip or build? MelliFund Capital makes it fast, flexible, and investor-friendly. Visit MelliFundCapital.com and fund your future today. Again, that’s MelliFundCapital.com, M-E-L-L-I-L-U-N-D, Capital.com.
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corwyn-j-melette/support
HARRISON:
Modular as a whole is one of the highest rated systems you can do on a state level. You have like the PMRV side, that’s where you start out, and the manufactured housing side, and then modular being like the highest standard for built-in factory manufacturing. And really manufactured housing has come a long way where you can get a 1300 square foot home for like $160,000, $200,000, you just have to do the side prep. Ship it in from a factory and set it in place.
CORWYN:
Good morning, good morning, and great morning, guys. Welcome to another fabulous episode of Exit Strategies Radio Show. Hey, I am your host, Corwyn J. Melette, broker and owner of Exit Realty Lowcountry Group in beautiful North Charleston, South Carolina. If this is your first time listening to this show, you, sir, or ma’am, are in for a treat because our mission is very simple. That is to empower our community through financial literacy and real estate education, guys. We’re legacy building. That’s what we do. So I got to give a shout out to those who listen to us faithfully. You tune in from one end of the area through one part of the state to another from Muddy Mullins, Marion County. Guys, thank you all for tuning in and listening. From my Charleston people, my Charleston folk from Hollywood, what you know no good, all the way up through Monkey’s Corner. Y’all know my mama live out there, y’all. Thank you all so much for tuning in. For those who tune in the Lequeu family, for Pastor Vanderbilt Evans Sr., got to get that senior on that thing because look at that guy will jack me up and I’m a big guy. He’ll snatch me up. And his beautiful wife, Elder Evans, thank you all so much for tuning in and listening. I’m super stoked and excited about today’s show. One of the things that we always try to focus on here is attainability. We want people to have a shot, quote unquote, that adage about that bite of the apple. And you’re very fortunate when you’re able to get someone that gets it from a creation. There’s a desire to have things and people talk about and do things focused around that desire. And it’s a lot of talk and a lot of rhetoric. But then you have those people who actually go to the mat, quote unquote, and start building the foundation to create those things that are desired. So I’m super excited to have with us none other than Harrison Langley. Harrison is the CEO, but I want to focus on this particular component right here. He is the visionary. He’s got the vision. He cast the vision for MDLR Brands. Now MDLR Brands is a modular builder construction company. That’s what they do. I’m going to let him tell you and his owners, but they make things happen the ground up. And that is what I’m so excited for today. So Harrison, thank you for taking time out to be here with us. How are you doing today?
HARRISON:
Doing great, Corwyn. Glad to be here to talk about modular construction and what the future holds for building.
CORWYN:
Well, so if you don’t mind, look here, I did my best impression of a professional introducer to introduce you. But how would you introduce yourself to our listeners? High level of overview, who you are, what you do?
HARRISON:
Yeah, so modular brands, we started off as a fiberglass SIP company, structural insulated panels, just thinking it’s a better way to build. We’ve been building with stick branch for the last three, 400 years, especially in Charleston. There needs to be some better technology. So we’ve introduced a SIP panel that comes eight by 36 feet long to build our structures. And we’ve built everything from volumetric modular houses that we’ve sent finished to the Bahamas, where they were put together nine modules to one unit, or where we’ve been in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where it’s been a flat packed house, but we’ve AVUA frames and 3,200 scenic mountain overlook home. So we’ve definitely spread the board with what structures we can build, manufacturing, a lot of the walls and the connections in a factory, and then the flat packing, shipping them to site or finishing the whole unit in the factory and shipping it to site. Both have their merits, usually it comes down to cost. Each project’s different.
CORWYN:
That is very fair, very fair. So what drew you to this space? Like what caused you to say, man, look here, there is a better way to build this mousetrap. What brought you to that?
HARRISON:
Yeah, two big things. I mean, the US, we have about a million homes short right now. We need to be manufacturing and we’re just not keeping up with demand. And the demand level is 350,000 and below. People need affordable housing generally for three bedroom, two bath, 1,300 square feet. That’s what a lot of people want under 350. I know Charleston area might be a little more expensive. But there’s still need for that. Oh, still need. So that demand is there. Doesn’t matter where you are, that price range. So it needs to be something that can go in that doesn’t strain the local labor market that’s used to higher costs if you’re a higher end market. And being able to build these structures quickly and attainably and anyone can have them because there’s a huge demand, especially in the right markets.
CORWYN:
So speaking along that vein of higher labor costs and stuff, because oftentimes people don’t understand the true cost. I mean, because someone looks and says, man, that’s too much, right? But then the people that swing the hammer, that carry the nail gun, that run the plumber lines, et cetera, all those people, everybody wants to make, everybody wants, there’s a cost of living, right? So everybody wants to make a way. So that really influences the cost of construction. But when you bring this construction in house, now you have better control over it as far as costs. Is that about right?
HARRISON:
It is. Yeah. You don’t have wet days like torrential downpours that clear out your site and there’s been a lot in May. So it’s much easier to build with, and you know what the weather’s going to be.
CORWYN:
Interesting. You know what it’s going to be like inside. I get that’s good. There’s also this thing about waste. Like you have it down to a science so that you have less waste on materials, which also saves money. Is that right?
HARRISON:
Yeah. You know, you don’t need as many loads for, from a dumpster on your job site. You can really whittle it down. So I would bring in what you need to the site if you’re manufacturing in a factory. So that reduces the onsite waste a lot.
CORWYN:
And also keeps your stuff where it’s supposed to be. You ain’t got people taking your materials from your job and going somewhere else and doing something else with it. So that’s probably a big one too. So Harrison, let me come around on this. Like, cause let’s talk about it. Not here. I’m in this arena in this space, as far as with consumers that are looking and we talk about all types of products and all that kind of stuff, because again, most times it’s about affordability and attainability based upon your budget. First, what do you want? And then let’s try to match it up with the market. And we may need to change the product in order to get what it is that you really want. So my question here is modular construction. First, what are the pros and cons, but then subsequently, why is modular a great option for consumers? Cause many people have misconceptions about it.
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HARRISON:
Modular as a whole is one of the highest rated systems you can do on a state level. You have like the PMRV side, that’s where you start out, and the manufactured housing side, and then modular being like the highest standard for built-in factory manufacturing. Really, manufactured housing has come a long way where you can get a 1,300-square foot home for like $160,000, $200,000. You just have to do the side prep, ship it in from a factory and set it in place, especially where your labor costs can be much higher. You just have to think about the cost of getting the foundation ready and hooking up the mechanicals roughed into the foundation when I’m connecting the unit. It’s a big time saver than building an entire house on site. Even if you’re doing the flat pack version where we’re just shipping you the panels, you still have a house up in two to three days, depending on the size, instead of a couple of weeks with a traditional framing. There’s a lot of ways to save on your labor costs being one of the biggest.
CORWYN:
You guys do all kind of products. Harrison, if our listeners, guys, y’all, this ain’t new to you, but Harrison, it may be to you. I love to, while engaged, to take a look at the product and things of that nature. You guys have a lot of different, and I’ll call them, refer to them as models, different floor plans that you guys do, but you also have a specialty or niche, if you will, niche in ADUs. Is that right?
HARRISON:
Yeah. No, the ADE market is surprisingly large and there’s a large community and that market that is do-it-yourselfers, people who want to handle the project and knock it out for as low a cost as possible. That’s where those kits come in. Those kits are five or six panels for your home. Each wall’s one panel. The roof’s either one or two. It’s much easier for three or four guys to put that together in a day than a regular-sized home. The way that ADU permitting has gone, it’s really opened up throughout the nation where a lot of areas, it’s very streamlined to get a permit and get a standard foundation and build your own ADU with a couple of buddies and a lot more cost-effective.
CORWYN:
ADUs, for our listeners, let me define this, or excuse me, phrase that, not define it. I’m going Now, what does that mean in layman terms, if you will, Harrison?
HARRISON:
Yeah, depending on where you are, usually a structure smaller than the main house on the same property that can have a bathroom and a kitchen in it. Some areas, you’re allowed to rent them. Some areas, they’re just allowed for family members, but it’s a second dwelling on your property. You can either use for-profit or for personal use.
CORWYN:
For our listeners in the Charleston region, and I haven’t pulled this elsewhere, I know that there’s not necessarily much of a need in other parts of South Carolina where we serve, but there are a lot of places around the country. If you’re listening, if you’re in California, there’s money out there to get you assistance to create a build ADU. I know we have it in some parts of South Carolina because that is designed, that aid that comes from a municipality, one, because there’s a shortage of housing stock, but there’s also a shortage of attainable and affordable housing stock. So ADUs and use in that manner help to offset that and create that opportunity to provide housing for folks that may have trouble finding it otherwise and creates a revenue source. So you got someone, the municipality, whoever it is that grants, helps you to improve your property, which improves your property value. So it’s helping you create and build wealth generationally, and they just ask for a dedicated period of time that you help, if you will, someone else in that process. So that is an amazing opportunity, and if you need more information, please reach out to the show, and we’ll make sure that we connect you. So as you define that ADU, you guys usually get these, I imagine you probably ship, well, you ship around the world because you, Mace, Miles, and Donnie, the Bahamas. So where do you see these homes going around the country, or what markets specifically, moreover, do you see this product being shipped to? I know you guys focus on where climate challenges are. So tell us about all of that.
HARRISON:
Yeah, we’re all over. We’re in California, all the way up there in Maine, so you got some extremes there. Marsh Harbor, we’re doing one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, two in the U.S. Virgin Islands right now. So it’s really spread out all over the map, and it’s really up to the client and the engineers to figure out how we get it there.
CORWYN:
So in this realm that you operate in, again, it is, again, a place that, in a space where it’s about the technology, obviously. So I’m very interested in that, but I want to start with quote-unquote where my jam is, and my jam is in affordability. So as you look at the industry, as it goes, as you envision the industry, let’s put it that way, because what you envision you can create. So as you envision the industry, then tell us, where do you see it going? Where do you see affordability? And then let’s bring in the technology on the back end. Where do you see what technology is either needed or what technology that’s in place that is going to help us to get there?
HARRISON:
Yeah, no, technology is already in place. Our panels make it real easy to do it yourself and keep those costs down. Our kits, like the ones under 400 square feet, they’re all under $24,000 for the structure, and that’s everything that goes onto a foundation. Your all-in costs could be $55,000 to $70,000, but whatever your land costs are, usually nothing because it’s an ADU. So it’s a relatively small cost compared to probably the $300,000 to $400,000 square foot construction costs you’re getting bid by local general contractors to build a similar structure. So you’re really able to save when you’re using the panels because your structure goes up quick, you can get your mechanical subs in there, MEPs done, then finish it yourself. Yeah, you save a lot. It’s much more attainable when you’re doing it yourself. Like your material costs might be $42,000, $50,000. You can make a nice little unit.
CORWYN:
So that’s interesting. I say that because based upon what you just said, the concept, this should be widespread. To me, it’s a no-brainer. What is it that stops people from employing this method? Just drop it ahead. I mean, we have an affordability problem. This area, you need to create housing. You can create housing quickly at a much more economical cost. So where are the hindrances, roadblocks, or obstacles that you’ve been running into with this?
HARRISON:
Yeah, I know. It’s just educating people about the process. So people need to know how to go pull permits on their own property for do-it-yourself builds. You can find subcontractors to make sure your foundation’s good for your electrical, plumbing, and mechanical, but a lot of everything else, you can do yourself. So as long as you’re able to go through the permit process and find those four or five subs you need, you can manage your project and keep your costs low. And most cities, states, or municipalities, they have a way for you to apply for ADUs and are actually pushing them. The easier those are to access, if there’s more of a generalized database, because it’s different all over the country, just understanding how you’re building and then finding financing. I don’t know if you work with a local financer in your region, but we’ve worked with a couple financers in different areas. As long as you have one of those in place, you can usually get your project done. That really understands your project and allows you to draw funds when you need funds.
CORWYN:
What I’m also hearing and understanding in there, and Harrison, please correct me if I’m wrong, but because of the type of product it is, and I don’t want to say smaller, but you have a unique set of financial partners or lenders that will finance these types of projects and construction. Is that correct or incorrect in my thinking?
HARRISON:
No. Yeah. We work with this group cross-country. The finances throughout the U.S. and has really, really good terms, favorable terms for the borrower. And they work with a lot of ADUs. So they’re used to getting people finance for these homes with first mortgages or already lending in place as secondary financial tools.
CORWYN:
Okay. That’s helpful. That’s very helpful because that helps me to understand. So we can obviously articulate to our listeners, Hey, these are the things that you might want to consider or otherwise know as you explore this particular space, because it’s very important that we have an understanding of the big picture so we can help achieve it versus running into hindrance obstacles and otherwise feeling defeated and giving up because we quote-unquote bumped our head against a wall or something there. So Harrison, this question, because I mean, again, I love this space. I love this concept, but this particular space and such, the future of this industry, you may mention of shortages, which we’re a couple of million short on units, quote-unquote to meet demand as a whole in our country. But where do you think this portion of the industry will be in the next five years? Will we see a dramatic increase in the number of panelized modular construction homes that are being built? Will, do we think it will be a more gradual or subtle increase? Where do you perceive the industry going?
HARRISON:
Yeah. I mean, it all comes down to cost in the end, especially for the bigger players, building apartments, doing track homes, doing 50, a hundred homes at a time that really drive the standard of the industry. And with lumber prices going up and tariffs on steel, our fiberglass panels really getting better and better. So right now that we’re cost comparative or a little less costly than what’s currently out there will be what we put into more and more jobs and just proven people want to see it to believe it. So you have to have market success and some smaller areas. And it really grows from there. Word by mouth is probably the strongest growth that we have. So you’d make every project, it’s a marketing campaign. It goes smoothly and you project that you’ll get a bunch more, you’ll get 10 more. So the growth is there. The demand is definitely there. The educational part and just making people aware of what’s possible is the hard part. We’ve worked for a long time to find a national lender and finding one was a big relief. So because most people don’t want to touch those smaller loans under like 50,000 or 60,000.
CORWYN:
Yeah. And it’s interesting in the bank relationships. I mean, obviously you know it, but the bank relationships used to be a lot more personal than what they are. So you could go to the bank and walk down, sit down with your person at the bank and, Hey, I’m looking to do this. And they would, okay, well, that’s a good idea. I like that. And they reach across and shake your hand and they say, well, going up, they said to tell, take this paper up there and they’ll give you the money or they’ll do X, Y, Z, but that isn’t a relationship in banking anymore. So now it’s so standardized that these niche and niche niches that exist are not served or completely underserved because nobody’s looking at them because it’s so standardized. So I definitely can understand that on that.
HARRISON:
Now those local credit unions should do better.
CORWYN:
I could agree, but again, you got to bring it down. Sometimes you got to scale it. Big, big banks do big construction of financing for development and things in the middle and they all come down. But then when you get to, like you say, your small local credit unions or small local banks, these kinds of things, because they’re uncertain and they see this going on at this level and this, at this level, they don’t want to invest where if you will invest where they are at times. So I definitely think there is an opportunity being missed there in those particular situations and scenarios. So, so Harrison, we’re quickly getting to the, to the end of the day show. So let me run, how can people reach you? Like, where can they find out more information, reach out to you, your company, otherwise connect, where can they get to yet?
HARRISON:
Yeah. MDLRbrands.com. They can sign up for a calendar and talk about their project, what they have going on. We have email addresses and phone numbers on there too. So they can always reach out and get ahold of me.
CORWYN:
Okay. Perfect. Perfect. So you kind of went into this space like immediately after college is what I gather. Is that correct?
HARRISON:
Yeah. My first project was on Cooper street down in Charleston. So.
CORWYN:
Okay. Great. Straight out. So along that vein, you’ve learned a lot based upon what you’ve learned. What, if anything, would you have done differently if you knew at the beginning, what you know now?
HARRISON:
It’s all about perception, not about reality. So put all your money in marketing because that’s where you get your return, get you out there, especially if you’re a small business, you don’t need a prototype. You just need an idea and you just need to promote that idea. I tried to build everything first and all these models, but now everyone’s custom, their own thing. And you see a lot of that. You have a couple of large companies that have done quite well just with the marketing side, like Voxable. They’ve raised 200 million, but they haven’t done a lot of homes. So you got to watch out for that as well. You have other groups like Zinni Homes that spend a lot less on marketing, but it built a lot more homes, less known. And then companies like Elevation, they went out, did two years pre-sales and built a factory at the same time. And after a year, got a $900 million valuation and sold it as a company. There’s a lot of ways to do it in this industry and it all revolves around marketing.
CORWYN:
That’s interesting. That’s interesting as well. Trustfully, prayerfully, this helps you to get the word out so that you can in turn get the message out there that this is an option and a formidable alternative to traditional construction, not only in comparable in quality, but differentiated in cost and time. Let me get this out because we didn’t really focus on this. You guys get out of factory and you may mention with a small crew of people, a few people, depending upon the size of the project, you can erect this in a few days.
HARRISON:
The ADUs, they go together in the morning. If you got four or five guys, you’re putting five panels together. It’s quick. You have a concrete pad and then you have a cool dark shell. You got a structure. One day, it’s crazy. It blows people’s minds, especially with skilled crews. You can start working out of the heat immediately. It’s super insulated. It keeps you cool.
CORWYN:
I love it. I love it. Factory time for you guys with this, let’s add that component in because I don’t want our listeners to miss that. The factory component, how long does it take you guys to build?
HARRISON:
The smaller kits, we should have them in stock. You can have them in two to three weeks. Usually, it’s two to three months for a new order, especially if it’s a custom one or anything special. We can get them out to you.
CORWYN:
The reality is literally within a few months. Worst case, it probably isn’t already stocked. Within two to three months, you got a house on the ground and done.
HARRISON:
For the ADUs, they’ll go get your structure up, send you what you need for permitting, your foundation, monolithic pad. You’ll probably do a lot more monolithic pads, not a lot of concrete. You need to get a little elevated in those flood zones.
CORWYN:
I love it.
HARRISON:
Block walls. We have those plans already done. You just got to apply them to your lot. Go get your permits, get that foundation so we can get your structure up.
CORWYN:
That is awesome. That’s awesome. My final question for you, well, matter of fact, I already asked that question. I appreciate your response to that, but I appreciate the segue question I asked on the back end because I wanted, again, to make sure that our listeners got that information. Harrison, I want to thank you. Thank you for taking time out. Again, this is an arena and a space that I’m very intrigued by. I love it because it’s an affordable alternative. I thank you for taking time out of your business schedule to be on with us and give our listeners some insight into this realm. I really appreciate that.
HARRISON:
Thank you, Corwyn. It was great being on.
CORWYN:
Awesome. For our listeners, guys, look here. Y’all got it, but y’all didn’t get it from me. Y’all got it, quote unquote, from the horse’s mouth. You got it from the source. You got it from somebody who’s there at the point of foundation and is helping you build it and grow it. Guys, I thank you so much for tuning in. I thank you so much for being faithful and loyal listeners. Please continue on this journey with us. I appreciate you. As you always know, as our listeners, you’ve heard me say this repeatedly. Y’all know how I feel. Y’all know what I say. Y’all know I put the two of those things together, and I give it to you this way, which is to tell you that I love you. I love you, and we’re going to see you guys out there in those streets.
