User:Marnieoursler/sandbox

Marnie Oursler (born 1979) is an American home builder and television personality who currently resides in Bethany Beach, Delaware. She has received a number of awards, including the Professional Builder Magazine's 40 Under 40 Award, Strong, Smart & Bold Award from Girls Inc. and Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Stevie Award for Women in Business.

Following the success of her custom homebuilding business Marnie Custom Homes, Oursler's talents were picked up by DIY Network in 2015. The first season of her show, Big Beach Builds, aired in the Spring of 2016.

Personal Life
Marnie Oursler was born outside of Washington, D.C. in Prince George's County 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 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. Oursler grew up vacationing in Bethany Beach with her family. She loves building things for her niece and nephew and traveling internationally when she has time.

Television
Oursler is the host of DIY Network's show Big Beach Builds. The first season aired in March of 2016 and the second season is airing 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.

Career
Oursler bought her first house at the age of 24 in Bethany Beach, Delaware for $240,000 - costing her all of her savings. She did anything she could to save money to pay for and renovate the house, picking up odd jobs along the way. Not able to afford help, she fixed up the run down home herself using the skills she had obtained from working with her family over the years. Nine months later, she sold the house for $340,000. Oursler used that money to buy a lot in a better location at the beach and began building another home. She lived in that house for two years before selling it and buying yet another lot, closer to the ocean, and building herself another home.

Realizing her talent and passion for the homebuilding business, Oursler began tracking real estate patterns in 2007. She then approached a couple that had previously asked her for a meeting about homebuilding at the beach. They agreed to let her be their homebuilder. She proceeded to quit her job as a real estate agent to start her own company, Marnie Custom Homes.

Marnie Custom Homes
Marnie Custom Homes is a custom homebuilding company located in Bethany Beach, Delaware, owned by Marnie Oursler.

Awards and Recognition

 * Professional Builder Magazine's "40 Under 40"
 * Entrepreneur of the year, 2013 Gold Stevie Award for Women in Business
 * Spokesperson for 84 Lumber's "We Build American" Initiative
 * Construction Advisory Board of Delaware Technical Community College
 * Girls Inc, Strong, Smart, Bold Award
 * 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