Joel Montgomery comes from a long-time local family. His father, Joel Montgomery Sr. started Montgomery Builders on Long Beach Island in 1962 after the March storm of 1962. His mother, Wanda Montgomery helped Joel Sr. run the business while Joel Jr. and his sister were in grade school. As they got older. she began to sell real estate on Long Beach Island’s north end.
When Joel Jr. entered high school he began to help his father in the summers and eventually started working full-time. Joel Sr. retired from the building business in 1986 and began selling real estate in 1990. Joel Jr. then started working for other building companies from 1989 to 1990. When the economy began to slow down at that time he did small side jobs on his own.
By 1991 he was doing more of his own work on the side than working for other builders. At the age of 23, Joel decided it was time to start his own building company called J.R. Montgomery Builders. He started small by only doing renovations and repairs at first. In 1993 he built his first new home. Joel Jr. has always been committed to excellence in his craft and has focused solely on building since 1991.