Friday, July 2, 2010

HBA of Greenville Holiday Hours

Your HBA of Greenville offices will be closed July 5 for the Fourth of July holiday.

Happy Fourth!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

BMW Hiring 500 New Employees

BMW Manufacturing in Greer announced that is will hire 500 new employees to prepare for assembly of the BMW X3.

Read more by clicking here.

HBA of Greenville Wins Association Excellence Award

The Home Builders Association of Greenville was awarded an Association Excellence Award by the Executive Officers Council of the Home Builders Association of South Carolina.

The HBA of Greenville was recognized in the large association group for its first annual Fall Southern Home and Garden Show held in October 2009. "The HBA staff is gratified to receive this recognition from our peers," Michael Dey, Executive Vice President of the HBA of Greenville, said. "The Fall Southern Home and Garden Show was a team effort from a large group of volunteers, our staff, and our exhibitors. We are looking forward to the second annual fall show this October," Dey said.

Past Associate Vice President Richard Powers of Piedmont Natural Gas accepted the award on behalf of the association at the Celebration of Excellence banquet at the HBA of South Carolina Annual Conference and Trade Show in Hilton Head Island in June.

Gabriel Builders Wins Pinnacle Award


Gabriel Builders of Greenville won a Pinnacle Award in the $5 million or more category for the Brown Residence. The award was presented to Gus Rubio, President of Gabriel Builders, at the Celebration of Excellence banquet during the HBA of South Carolina Annual Conference and Trade Show in Hilton Head Island last month.

Rubio stated that the home, a private residence, "is an authentic Italian Villa consisting of 7,000’ on the main level with an additional basement area, expansive outdoor porches, a guest house, and an airplane runway and hanger located on 200 acres. The house has 12” plaster walls, bronze doors and windows and floor materials imported from Italy."

HBA Membership Drive Yields New Members


During the month of May five teams of HBA members collaborated to recruit 62 new members to the association. Our new members are:

Mr. Alex Acree, Freewood Builders
Ms. Lise Anzelone, Upstate Home Improvement
Mr. Russ Armstrong, PROBuild, East Region
Ms. Karen Arrington, The Appraisal Shoppe, Inc.
Mr. Everette Babb, Babb & Brown
Mr. William Babb, Jr., Babb Paint
Mr. Randy Beaty, Piedmont Plumbers
Mr. Jay Beeson, Mark III Properties, Inc.
Mr. Jeff Brown, PROBuild, East Region
Mr. Tommy Byers, Byers Concrete Construction
Mr. Kevin Chapman, Chapman Landscaping, Inc.
Mr. Ty Cheek, Square One Construction
Ms. Kym Childress, BB&T
Ms. Pam Cofer, ReMax Realty Professionals
Mr. Andrew Coln, Dillard-Jones Renovations
Mr. Howard Cox, Home Builder Ins., LLC a Palme
Mr. Jason Criscillis, Skolas Construction
Mr. Tom Croft, The Croft Company
Mr. Billy Crumpler, Freewood Builders
Mr. Kenneth DeYoung, Classic By Design
Ms. Jane Donaldson, Remax Realty Professionals
Ms. Marie Edlin, GBS Lumber, Inc.
Ms. Jeff Ellis, Closetpro
Mr. Andy Gibson, Three River Stone, LLC
Mr. Keith Goodson, A/V Innovations, Inc.
Ms. Sharon Hanel, SunTrust Mortgage
Mr. Devin Hinson, Central Vac Center, Inc.
Mr. Tim Howard, HGI Cabinetry
Ms. Sophia Jackson, Greenville Cabinets
Mr. Jerry James, Big J's Pressure Washing
Ms. Carol Johnson, Upstate Closets & More
Mr. Tommy Johnson, Citizens Building & Loan
Mr. Scott Johnston, Johnston Design Group
Mr. Tony Lambe, Lambes Grading And Services
Mr. Joe Mabry, Keys Printing Co.
Mr. Gerald Martin, G.J.C.Q. Patrick, LLC
Mr. Randy Mason, Foothills Exteriors
Mr. Gary Mast, Yoders Building Service
Mr. Mark Mayfield, Mayfield Fence & Supply
Ms. Amanda McCall, SunTrust Mortgage
Mr. Brandon McGee, McGee Brothers Co., Inc.
Mr. Dan McNamara, Metro Reprographic
Ms. Melissa Morrell, Prudential C. Dan Joyner Realty
Mr. Craig Perfect, Allcon, LLC
Mr. Mark Perfect, Supakleen
Mr. Tony Phillips, PROBuild, East Region
Mr. Sean Porter, Carolina Foothills Studio, LLC
Mr. Jim Price, ProSource, LLC
Ms. Karen Raines, PROBuild, East Region
Ms. Norma Rider, Norcon
Mr. David Rivers, Rivers Appraisal
Ms. Donna Roper, Remax Realty Professionals
Mr. Jonnathan Shepherd, Freewood Builders
Mr. Lex Stapleton, Donald A. Gardner Architects, Inc.
Mr. James Taylor, SunTrust Bank
Ms. Cindy Thompson, First Choice Custom Homes
Mr. Matthew Tompkins, Carolina Specialty, LLC
Mr. Mike Walsh, AAA Remodeling
Ms. Terri Watson, Crescent Home Referrals
Mr. Chris Wood, Executive Cabinetry
Mr. Larry Young, Remax Realty Professionals
Ms. Sheila Young, Remax Realty Professionals
Mr. Daniel Youngblood, Youngblood Development Corporation

Thirtyfive HBA members divided into five teams to work together to call on prospective new members and talk about the benefits of membership in the HBA. The teams and members competed for prizes and the honor of knowing that they have shared their association with others in the industry and helped make their Home Builders Association better. The recruiters included:

Team: Titans
Scott Presley, Captain
Christie Hannan
Stephen Wisdom
Eddie Sternberg
Ron McCoy

Team: Small and Mighty
Brad Thompson, Captain
Scott Lynch
Deana Long
Mike Bell
Roy Walters
Chuck Childress
Jim Price

Team: THE Winning Team
Tom Dillard, Captain
Robert Markel
Brian Lazarus
Hardie Peters
Stephen McCloud
Alan Boone
Chris Bailey
Mike Cloys
Elizabeth Stronkowsky
Susan Vernon

Team: THE YAY TEAM
Lou Hutchings, Captain
Keith Smith
Donna Smith
Marie Edlin
Louie Gambrell

Team: TEAM FREEWOOD MEMBERS
Mike Freeman, Captain
Tom Ward
Laura Majszak
Howard Newton
Erika DeRoberts
Frank Frew
Jonathon Sheppard
Roby Hale

The HBA of Greenville was part of a nationwide membership drive during the month of May. Captain Brad Thompson of the Small and Mighty Team was recognized by the HBA of South Carolina as the top individual recruiter in South Carolina.

NAHB's Political Clout Profiled on CNBC

The political clout of NAHB and its coalition partners, the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association, were profiled by CNBC on the heels of Congress' extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit.

Watch the report by clicking here.

Congress Votes to Reauthorize National Flood Insurance Program

The U.S. Senate voted yesterday to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. The House previoiusly approved the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R.5569). The bill must still be signed by President Obama.

The National Flood Insurance Program expired on May 30, 2010, when Congress failed to extend the program by the deadline. As a result, homeowners have been unable to purchase new flood insurance policies, or renew existing policies, under the Federal program. As a result, many home buyers have been unable to close on their home purchases.

Approval of the measure extends authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010, and retroactively reauthorizes the program for the period it lapsed (June 1, 2010, until the measure is signed by the President). Unfortunately, if Congress does not act, the National Flood Insurance Program will be in the same position 90 days from now.

Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension Approved by U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate gave approval to extending the closing deadline for the Homebuyer Tax Credit yesterday. The House previously approved the same measure and it awaits President Obama's signature.

The measure, contained in the Homeubuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R.5623), extends the deadline to close and receive the tax credit to September 30, 2010, for homes under contract on or before April 30, 2010. The effect of the measure is to extend the deadline for closing transactions eligible for the tax credit to September 30 from July 30.

For home builders and lenders the legislation provides three additional months to complete construction and paperwork for home buyers to close on the home and receive the tax credit.

NAHB, the National Association of Realtors, and other associations worked closely with Congress to extend the deadline.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

More than 20 percent of first quarter homes sales were foreclosures

More than 20 percent of home sales in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2010 were the result of foreclosures. Read more at GSA Business.