We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Oren Amir. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Oren below.
Hi Oren, thanks for joining us today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?
Nothing prepares you for the moment when your phone rings at 3 AM and it’s a client whose home is literally burning to the ground. As one of the leading home builders in Altadena, we’ve seen our share of challenges, but the Eaton fire that swept through our community last year changed everything about how we view our purpose.
The devastation was unlike anything we’d witnessed before. Familiar streets in Altadena became unrecognizable, with homes reduced to ash and foundations. What made this experience truly extraordinary wasn’t just the disaster itself, but how our community and our team at GO Home Builders responded.
I remember standing on a property where just weeks before, we had been discussing a simple kitchen renovation. Now, there was nothing left. The homeowners—a couple in their 40s with two young children—stood beside me in shock. Their faces reflected both devastation and determination.
“We need to rebuild,” the husband said with his voice breaking. “Can you help us?”
That single question became the catalyst for what would become the most challenging and rewarding chapter in our company’s history. Within 72 hours of the fire, our office had received calls from seventeen families who had lost everything. They weren’t just looking for home builders in Altadena—they were looking for partners who understood the emotional weight of rebuilding a life, not just a structure.
We immediately shifted our entire operation. Our design team worked around the clock creating emergency housing plans. Our construction crews volunteered on weekends to help clear debris. We established relationships with city officials to fast-track permits for fire victims. The phrase “home builders in Altadena” took on an entirely new meaning. We became community healers, problem solvers, and shoulders to cry on.
One particular story stands out. An elderly couple, the Wilsons, had lived in their Altadena home for over 40 years. They lost not just their house but decades of memories. When Mrs. Wilson called me, sobbing about family photos and heirlooms that couldn’t be replaced, I felt the weight of responsibility like never before. As home builders in Altadena, we weren’t just rebuilding structures—we were rebuilding lives.
What truly transformed our business was the unexpected community coalition that formed. Local suppliers donated materials. Neighboring families offered temporary housing. Former clients brought food to construction sites. As experienced home builders in Altadena, we became the central hub coordinating these efforts, connecting resources with needs, and providing expertise where it was most critical.
The emotional toll was immense. There were nights I couldn’t sleep, imagining families displaced and uncertain about their future. But with each foundation we poured for a new home, with each wall we raised, there was a palpable sense of healing. The Altadena community was rebuilding together, and GO Home Builders was privileged to lead that charge.
Today, we are helping rebuild fourteen homes destroyed in the Eaton fire, with more currently in the consultation phase. What seemed like a nightmare has transformed into a powerful testament to community resilience and the deeper purpose of being home builders in Altadena. We’re not just constructing houses – we’re rebuilding hope, one family at a time.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Oren Amir, founder of GO Home Builders, and my journey into residential construction began with a simple belief: homeowners deserve better. After witnessing firsthand how traditional contractors often prioritized convenience over communication and speed over quality, I knew there had to be a better way to serve Altadena and the surrounding communities.
My ambition has always been to revolutionize how people experience home construction and renovation. With a background in both design and construction management, I founded GO Home Builders to bridge the gap between vision and execution. My detail orientation borders on obsession—I’ve been known to spend hours ensuring that ceiling lines are perfectly aligned or that custom cabinetry fits with millimeter precision.
GO Home Builders specializes in not just building a house, but a place a homeowner can call home. We work across Los Angeles County, with a particular focus on Altadena and Pasadena. What truly sets us apart is our integrated design-build approach. Unlike traditional construction companies, we handle both the creative design and the physical building under one roof, creating a seamless experience for our clients.
The problems we solve extend far beyond construction challenges. We solve the communication breakdowns that plague traditional home building. We solve the anxiety that comes with budget uncertainty. We solve the frustration of contractors who disappear for days without explanation. Our clients aren’t just getting a beautifully crafted home – they’re getting peace of mind.
Resilience has become the core of our company culture, inspired by the homeowners we serve. Whether facing permit challenges, complex structural issues, or helping families rebuild after devastating events like the Eaton fire, we’ve built our reputation on never giving up when obstacles arise.
What I’m most proud of is the relationships we’ve built. In an industry known for transactional interactions, we’ve created a company where clients become part of our extended family. We’re still invited to dinner by homeowners whose projects we completed years ago. We receive holiday cards featuring families enjoying the spaces we created. These connections remind us daily that we’re not just building homes—we’re building the settings where life’s most precious moments unfold.
For anyone considering a home project in Altadena or the surrounding areas, I want you to know that GO Home Builders approaches each project with the same care and attention we would give to our own homes. We don’t just build houses—we create sanctuaries that reflect who you are and support how you live.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Our true resilience at GO Home Builders has always been inspired by the homeowners we serve, particularly those affected by the Eaton fire in Altadena. Their ability to rise from devastating loss has been nothing short of remarkable.
I remember meeting with a family who had lived in their Altadena home for three generations. The grandfather had built the original structure with his own hands in the 1950s. When they lost everything in the fire, I expected despair. Instead, when we met to discuss rebuilding, they brought old photographs and stories, focusing not on what was lost but on what could be created anew.
“This is an opportunity,” the father told me, “to build something that will shelter our family for the next three generations.”
That perspective changed me profoundly. We’ve heard countless heartbreaking stories from families who lost everything yet found the power to start again. As home builders in Altadena, we’ve had clients call us crying, overwhelmed by insurance paperwork, uncertain about next steps, simply needing guidance through the darkest period of their lives.
These moments test you. When someone trusts you with rebuilding not just their house but their sense of security and belonging, the responsibility is enormous. There were times when the emotional weight seemed unbearable—days when I questioned whether we could really help all these families.
But the resilience of our clients fueled our own. For every challenge we faced, they had overcome something far greater. Their determination to rebuild stronger and more united became our blueprint for how we approach every aspect of our business. We learned that resilience isn’t about never falling—it’s about rising together, supporting each other through the process of creating something new from the ashes of what was lost.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
We have built our reputation as trusted home builders in Altadena and Pasadena project by project, brick by brick, over the years of serving these communities with consistent, good-quality service. Trust in us has been built on three foundational factors.
First, we are not just builders who work in Altadena. We are part of the fabric of the community. For years, we have volunteered at local events, supported neighborhood initiatives, and invested time in understanding the unique architectural heritage and challenges of the area. When the Eaton fire devastated parts of our community, we were already positioned as neighbors helping neighbors, not as outsiders swooping in opportunistically.
We’ve unequally maintained our commitment to communication. Construction projects are mostly bustling with human activity and inherently stressful. They become unbearable when clients feel uninformed or misled. Our clients in Altadena and Pasadena know they can reach us anytime with their concerns, and they’ll get honest, transparent responses. We’ve established text group chats with every homeowner and their contractors. At every project stage, these chats ensure that everyone stays equally informed.
In conclusion, we have established our reputation on the premise that we are building more than just structures; we are building homes. Our perspective informs each and every construction decision we make, whether it involves material selection, subcontractor management, or site supervision. Our clients feel the difference in our approach.
Our most powerful marketing tool has been word of mouth. In communities like Pasadena and Altadena, which are small and close-knit, trust radiates through neighborhood networks. When one family has a positive experience with GO Home Builders, they tell their friends. And when those friends see the quality of our work up close and personal, they call us when they’re ready for their own projects.
The reputation we have developed in Altadena, especially, has been bolstered by how we have responded to acts of community crises, such as the Eaton fire. We have not just shown up when it was convenient – we’ve demonstrated our long-term commitment to this special community we’re proud to serve.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gohomebuilders.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gohomebuilders/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/GO-Home-Builders-Inc-100071591373197/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/go-home-builders
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZmGZhn5XJGMIEYna7BMvvw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/go-home-builders-pasadena?osq=go+home+builders
Image Credits
“Go Home Builders”