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Sunset Builders & Maintenance offers quality, experience

3 min read
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Marc Arnett and his chocolate lab, Samantha, in front of his Serenity Lane home.

Although the husband and wife team of Marc and Vallee Arnett only recently started Sunset Builders & Maintenance, LLC, a residential and commercial construction business offering home remodeling and repairs, energy evaluations, property management and maintenance, they have earned an outstanding reputation with years of industry experience.

“I wanted to start my own business for probably 15 years,” said Marc, a University of Kentucky graduate and eight-year Airborne Army veteran. “I started teaching myself things about the construction business; I learned about wiring and drywall. Then I got an idea about repairing homes and reselling them, but for lack of funds I couldn’t do it myself.”

A former worker at Lowe’s and Home Depot, where he oversaw the commercial accounts department, Arnett met a customer who was assigned to construct a new Circuit City facility in Indiana.

“They were looking for somebody who could do light construction work along with an ability to operate computers,” said Arnett, who seized the opportunity and began a long and successful career as a construction supervisor, eventually relocating to Florida.

Locally, he oversaw construction projects which have included a Super WalMart in Margate, a CVS Pharmacy in Fort Lauderdale, a Walgreens in Fort Myers and Bonefish Plaza in Cape Coral. Here on the islands, Arnett helped construct private homes on the South Seas Island Resort property in Captiva.

“My philosophy is that customers always come first,” said Arnett. “I think I can improve upon what’s going on in this field. I do a lot of ‘active listening’ and draw upon my knowledge to help my customers make their dreams become reality. And get the most bang for their buck.”

Arnett’s wife, Val, is a lifelong Sanibel resident. She ran the Portofino Restaurant during its heyday and is currently a real estate sale associate with Royal Shell Preferred Properties. The pair met via the Internet on Christmas Day in 2004, marrying on Dec. 18, 2005.

“Our business is a 50-50 partnership,” he said, noting that Val handles the accounting for Sunset Builders & Maintenance. “She works in real estate and I work in construction. We work together very well. And when the economy turns around, I think we’ll be able to feed off each other. The market is starting to come around… we’re getting calls regularly.”

Outside of work, Marc is an avid reader, a Civil War and WWII buff and enjoys playing with their chocolate labrador, Samantha.

“Our goal right now is to establish several different divisions within our company – they include property management, commercial and residential construction, remodeling and energy evaluations. I can visit a home and, if they have energy efficient windows installed, the government offers some tax benefits for that,” Arnett added. “Ultimately, we’d like to be a successful part of the island’s business community.”

For more information about Sunset Builders & Maintenance and the services they offer, call 233-2152 or send an e-mail to MarcArnett@yahoo.com.