Construction Underway On The Cottage Group's All American Cottage Sponsored By Southern Living, This Old House

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GREENVILLE, SC - The Cottage Group LLC/A Dillard-Jones Co. is building the All American Cottage, a 2,400-square-foot classic style home that will open for public tours May 2-19 at Ruskin Square in Hollingsworth Park.

Approximately 97% of the products used in the construction of the All American Cottage are made in the United States. Interior finishes include many American-made products such as Wellborn Cabinets, a project sponsor. The home will be featured in the July issues of Southern Living and This Old House, and on magazine websites.

"As a former manufacturing guy, I've seen first hand the results of taking a raw material to a finished product that is sold in the open market. Manufacturing means jobs, and a lot of them. After almost a decade in the custom home building business, I have seen a decline in U.S. construction jobs - a lot of it due to the use of materials and products made somewhere other than the United States," said Tom Dillard, president of The Cottage Group LLC. "When I saw the news coverage on Montana homebuilder Anders Lewendal and his commitment to build a home with materials made in the USA, I was inspired to try it myself, especially after reading that the use of just 5% of USA-made materials in the construction of a new home means 220,000 jobs. The Cottage Group, LLC is excited to partner with Southern Living and This Old House to build the All American Cottage - a project that we hope will inspire a Made In The USA movement among homeowners and home builders."

Presented by Hollingsworth Park at Verdae and sponsored by Southern Living and This Old House, the All American Cottage will feature ample outdoor living space including a sitting porch on the front, with a screened porch and second sitting porch on the rear of the home. The three-bedroom cottage plan by DM Designs features a master suite on the main level, with two upper level bedrooms separated by a loft overlooking lower level living space.

The All American Cottage will be open to the public Thursdays through Sundays May 2 – 19. Tour hours are: Thursdays, 1-6 p.m.; Fridays 1-6 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Sundays 1-6 p.m. There is no admission, however donations of items or cash contributions will be accepted to benefit the Child Life Program of The Children’s Hospital of Greenville Hospital System.

A sister company of Dillard-Jones Builders LLC and a member of the Southern Living Custom Builder Program, The Cottage Group LLC offers a growing collection of house plans including the company’s own Cottage Group portfolio along with some of the most popular Southern Living house plans ranging from 2,000 to 3,500 square feet. Many of the company’s plans will be for sale from the Southern Living House Plans website.

The Cottage Group is dedicated to building smaller footprint homes that are defined by thoughtful design and attention to detail. Homes feature quality craftsmanship and materials primarily found in larger homes such as brick, stone and Hardie exteriors, and inside features such as granite countertops and stainless appliances. Floor plans are flexible, giving buyers the opportunity to have a unique home that reflects where they live and the way they live.

For more information, call (864) 640-0111 or visit www.thecottagegroupllc.com.

More Savings for HBA Members with Verizon and NPP

Have you ever wondered how some people just always know how to get the BEST deals? Well, now you can be in the know. Your HBA of Greenville has partnered with National Purchasing Partners (NPP) to save members money on their Verizon telephone plan. 

• Members save 22 percent on their Verizon monthly access fees

For many of our members, the savings on the monthly access fees exceeds the cost of your annual dues!

In addition, each quarter the program offers special deals you won't want to miss.  update their deals frequently and often include the most popular brands and services. This quarter Verizon has several promotions to keep your phone up to date and the service to help keep you connected without such a hard tug on your budget. Listed below are the deals for Verizon however, for the most up to date info on the details click here .

• $100 per line credit for smartphones, netbooks, tablets, and Internet devices
• $75 per line credit for any basic device
• Great deals on new phones including push-to-talk devices

For more information on the NPP program/membership please call  800.810.3909 or email customerservice@mynpp.com. 

NAHB: Top 12 Accomplishments 2012, Number 10: Webinars

Builder Review Daily is highlighting the top 12 actions taken on behalf of Home Builders so far this Spring.

Accomplishment number 10: Production of a Wide Variety of Educational Webinars that Have Given our Members Access to Top Industry Experts and Advice

NAHB has produced 20 educational webinars and has 15 more informative offerings to come in 2012. NAHB webinars offer expert discussion on industry issues, trends and best practices, and give our members access to top industry experts.

Designed to meet the needs of a broad range of participants, our webinars are relatively inexpensive to produce and provide a cost-effective way to reach our members with the information they need to improve their businesses. One of the recent highlights of the NAHB webinar program was the well-attended and well received State of the Industry: A Mid-Year Update webinar in July. Speakers included NAHB CEO Jerry Howard, Chief Economist David Crowe, and Chief Lobbyist Jim Tobin. More than 500 individual sites were registered for this offering, which was a record high. Another very popular offering was the Financing for Home Builders webinar, which was provided free to members and gave guidance on how home builders can access and maintain credit for their projects. Our webinar speakers have been evaluated as top experts in their field, and 94% of webinar attendees surveyed said it is likely they will participate in a future such event. In total, more than 1,700 sites and more than 50 HBAs have participated in NAHB webinars this year. For all of NAHB’s upcoming Wednesday Webinars, go to www.nahb.org/webinars.

Real Estate Directional Sign Enforcement in Greenville County

As the pace of home building increases, so does the frequency of violations of local sign ordinances.  Your HBA was contacted this week by Greenville County Code Enforcement officials about violations of the county's sign ordinance. 

Please consider the following standards when placing directional signs promoting your homes and neighborhoods:

• Directional signs must be no larger than 4 feet by 8 feet in total size
• Directional signs are not allowed in the sight triangle at intersections
• Directional signs must be at least 15 feet from the right-of-way
• Directional signs must be located on private property, with the permission of the property owner

Please be respectful of these standards.  Greenville County is a great partner with the home building industry and makes it possible for home builders to use directional signs off of the property being promoted.  Violations of these standards could result in the county taking action to eliminate this privilege.

Mungo Homes NOT Sold

Dear fellow HBA members,

I normally don't address rumors, but several members have approached us concerning a rumor that we had sold Mungo Homes to a national builder.

For the record, this is absolutely false and further, we have not even been approached concerning any of our divisions. We do business with many associate members and those relationships are very important to us, so it was important to let everyone know the truth with certainty.

We thank Earl and the HBA board for allowing us to distribute this through the HBA channels so everyone will know the truth.

Sincerely,

Steven Mungo, CEO