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Marnie Oursler (born in 1979) is an American home builder and television personality. She is the owner and operator of the homebuilding business Marnie Custom Homes, which is featured on the DIY Network show, Big Beach Builds.
Biography
Early life and education
Marnie Oursler was born outside of Washington, D.C., in Prince George's County, Maryland into a family of homebuilders. The tradition began with her great-great-grandfather and has been passed down through five successive generations. Her father, Marvin Oursler, owns Marrick Homes in Prince Frederick, Maryland. She attended Northern High School and graduated in 1996. During high school, Oursler spent her free time working at construction sites in the area with her uncles and her brother, Chris. She attended the Naval Academy for one year before transferring to East Carolina University, where she was on the softball team. She proceeded to get her Master's in Business Administration from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
Career
Oursler bought her first house at the age of 24 in Bethany Beach, Delaware for $240,000 - costing her all of her savings. Unable to afford workers, she renovated the house using skills she obtained from working with her family. Nine months later, she sold the house for $340,000, using the profits to build another beach house. After living in that house for two years, Oursler sold it and built a third house.
Realizing her talent and passion for the homebuilding business, Oursler began tracking real estate patterns in 2007. She approached a couple who had previously asked her about homebuilding at the beach. When the couple agreed to let Oursler be their homebuilder, she quit her job as a real estate agent to start Marnie Custom Homes.
Television
Oursler is the host of DIY Network's show Big Beach Builds. The first season aired in March 2016 and the second season aired in the spring of 2018. On the show, Oursler makes fantasy beach homes on the coast of Delaware a reality by transforming dated houses into custom properties.
She was also the host of the HGTV Dream Home 2018 alongside fellow television personality Brian Patrick Flynn.
Awards and recognition
- 2012: Spokesperson for 84 Lumber's "We Build American" Initiative
- 2013: 40 Under 40, Professional Builder magazine
- 2013: Strong, Smart, Bold Award, Girls, Inc. of Delaware
- 2013: Gold Stevie Award, Entrepreneur of the Year, Stevie Awards for Women in Business
- Construction Advisory Board of Delaware Technical Community College
- Best of Houzz 2015, Design
- Member, Board of Advisors for the Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University
References
- "Meet Marnie Oursler, the Force of Nature Behind DIY Network's 'Big Beach Builds'". HGTV. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
- Fallin, Sarah (2017-03-08). "Northern High grad to star on DIY Network show". The Calvert Recorder.
- Madden, Marty (2017-03-08). "Building a dream by the ocean". TheBayNet. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
- ^ "Marnie Oursler". DIY. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
- Entis, Laura (2016-06-02). "How This Home Builder Survived the Recession and Landed a TV Show". Fortune.
- Kane, Libby (2015-09-21). "How one woman went from making $11 an hour to building a business that earns nearly $7 million a year". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
- Nardone, Mark (March 2013). "Bethany Beach's Marnie Oursler Promotes Use of American Construction Products Through Marnie Homes". Delaware Today.
- Clapham, Kyle (27 March 2013). "Professional Builder 2013 40 Under 40 Awards". Professional Builder. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- "Marnie Oursler wins Gold Stevie Award for Women in Business". Cape Gazette. 15 Nov 2013.