Andres GarciaTM

Who am I ?

My mom used to tell me that I was like her Dad, "Don Adolfo Modesto Zuñiga", my dad used to tell me that I had something he was not able to understand but that he liked it. I am the 4th of 7 offspring from Don Galdino Garcia and Doña Antolina Modesto; I was so far the one who caused the most problems in the family (I was arrested at 15) this to mention just a bit of my personal life. 

I was born in paradise... "San Lorenzo", a small town in the state of Veracruz where nature is all around and winters are typically 60° F, how to forget the green of the coffee plantations, the mountains and the tropical breeze coming from the Gulf of Mexico. Raised in the beautiful "Ciudad de las Flores" Xalapa Veracruz, characterized by the contrasting Colonial and Modern architecture, I married the most wonderfull woman, Gema Duran in 1999 and that same year we moved to Chicago Illinois to reach the sweet "American Dream", here is where I have lived the most than any other places I have called home, here I was blessed with 5 wonderful kids, Anthony (tony), Eduardo (lalo), Stephanie (fannie), Valentina (tina), Alexandre (alex)…. Did I mentioned we have a dog named “Cobi” ?

My career ?
Well, I can say I was a gifted kid... I always excelled in math but that was in part because of the big help of " El maestro Leoncio" that since I was in 1st grade at age of 5 (I was accepted in 1st grade when I was 5 years old) he taught me the basics of addition, subtraction, division & multiplication, at a young age my dad taught me the value of work and money by helping him along with my siblings in the care of the coffee harvesting, at age 10 when we lived in the city I used to work on different places such as bagging groceries at CHEDRAUI® , electrician helper to mention a few, at age 13 I was introduced to the architect Anibal Garcia, not my relative; he was a real estate developer and gave me the opportunity to work with him during the weekends as a garbage boy, I remember asking him to let me borrow the blue prints of the projects to read them and although I did not know anything about construction I developed a great love for architecture, my next job at age 15 was as Warehouse Manager in another building/developing company, "Constructora Guillen" while working I enrolled in drafting, design and topography. I also used to work with my uncle Miguel (RIP) in the construction of custom furniture, cabinetry, doors etc, he was the one who taught me to always perfection the work and always delivery the best to the clients.

In 1999 I arrived in Chicago with a single dream... become a Real Estate Developer, I knew that whatever I could not do in my native Mexico here was going to be more difficult but I accepted the challenge, my first job here was hardwood floor installer and refinisher for two years, then I moved to Kentucky...yes KY; for 1 year where I had the great opportunity to master residential framing, I moved back to Chicago more motivated than before where I soon landed a position as construction supervisor in a small construction firm, this opportunity motivate me to return to school, this time I studied “structural components in residential construction”, Real Estate and Construction Science and residential estimation cost... just when I thought I was in a nice path the company went bankrupt and I was without work...

 

My own Story begins...

I was forced to start working on my own in 2003 and initiated GAMO Construction, working on small residential projects such as maintenance, repairs, kitchens, bathrooms, I was able to cross the 2008 recession without much trouble due to my condition as a small company, in 2011 we changed our name to the now famous "IRemodelyourHome.com" having the opportunity to increase our ability to work on bigger projects, having the opportunity to demonstrate my abilities as designer, applied with my knowledge of real estate and all the trades I learned during the years, in the last 6 years our main line of work is working with investors rehabbing & flipping residential properties, but my career is not complete, my DREAM is to become a full time Real Estate Developer which little by little is becoming a reality...

"It doesn't matter how slow you go... as long as you don't stop"... Confucius