Builder Review Daily: Home Builders Association of Greenville: 8/11/13

Friday, August 16, 2013

HBA of Greenville forms Home Builders Contractor Risk Solutions

Your Home Builders Association of Greenville has formed a new company, Home Builders Contractor Risk Solutions, to offer workers' compensation insurance.

Home Builders Contractors Risk Solutions was established to provide members of the Home Builders Association of Greenville and non-member contractors with a stable and competitive option for workers' compensation insurance. Commercial and residential contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and other businesses affiliated with the construction industry also will benefit from participating in the program.

Founded, owned and operated by the HBA of Greenville
Worker's compensation insurance at competitive rates
Coverage in all 50 states keeps your workers' compensation insurance under one policy
Available to non-builder contractors and associated businesses
Proactive risk management to prevent injuries and claims, reducing your insurance costs
Sold through professional, independent insurance agents

Administration of the new program will be handled by J. Freeman and Associates in Greenville, SC, with Patriot National Insurance Group as the insurance underwriter.

All HBA of Greenville members participating in the plan will receive a 5 percent discount on their premiums. Combine this discount with superior claims handling and group purchasing power and you have a program worth considering!

For a no-cost, no-obligation quote, please contact your insurance agent or call Christie Hannon at J. Freeman and Associates at 864-331-4400.

Featured M2M: Dipple Plumbing

Featured Member-2-Member discount:

Dipple Plumbing Electrical Heating & Air
211 N. Pleasantburg Drive
Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 271-1205
info@dippleplumbing.com

DISCOUNT: $50 Off any service. Cannot be used on dispatch fee or combined with any other offer. Please tell dispatcher at time of appointment about discount.

For more information on the M2M program or to have you company featured please click here.

Quinn, Dey meet with Senator Tim Scott's Chief of Staff

HBA of Greenville President Rick Quinn and Executive Vice President Michael Dey participated in a roundtable discussion with Mike Bennett, Chief of Staff of United States Senator Tim Scott. Bennett visited Greenville this week and met with several business and economic development leaders from the Upstate.

Quinn presented data from the Economic Impact of Home Building Study commissioned by the HBA of Greenville. Quinn and Dey emphasized the association's position on the following Federal issues:

Preserve or gradually phase out the Federal government's role in housing finance
Maintain the current Mortgage Interest Deduction
Address the over regulation of housing and small business which is stifling economic growth

Quinn and Dey discussed the importance of home building to the economy and the need to avoid Federal action that could cause another housing recession.

HBA Board Proposes Bylaws Amendment to Reduce the Size of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the HBA of Greenville has recommended several amendments to the association's Bylaws. The primary purpose of these amendments is to implement a reduction in the size of the Board of Directors from 20 members to 12 members, and to eliminate the Executive Committee as a standing committee and delegate its responsibilities to the Board of Directors.

The make up of the Board of Directors will be as follows:

President (term of 1 year)
President Elect (term of 1 year)
Vice President (term of 1 year)
Associate Vice President (term of 1 year)
Treasurer (term of 3 years)
Secretary (term of 3 years)
Immediate Past President (term of 1 year)
Five Directors (terms of 3 years)

The bylaws changes are summarized on the HBA's website at HBAofGreenville.com/bylaws.php.

Members have been mailed the proposal, which will be voted on at a special Business Meeting prior to the Chili Cook Off and Oyster Roast sponsored by Clark's Services and Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet.

When: Thursday, September 12, 5 p.m.
Where: Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet

Members also can vote online by clicking here.

Recommendation
The Board of Directors recommends that the members of the Home Builders Association of Greenville approve the amendments to the Bylaws outlined above. A copy of the Bylaws showing the proposed changes is available for download at the association’s website, HBAofGreenville.com/bylaws.php.

Charles "Bud" J. Wolfrom

On behalf of the Board of Directors and Staff of the Home Builders Association of Greenville, we extend our sincere sympathy to the family of Charles J. "Bud" Wolfrom, of Dublin, OH, father of HBA member John Wolfrom of Providence Realty and Marketing.

The family will receive friends Friday, August 16, 2013, 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., at Shoedinger Worthing Chapel, 6699 N. High St., Worthington Ohio. The funeral service is Saturday, August 17, 2013, 10:30 a.m.

Charles J. "Bud" Wolfrom, age 94, of Dublin, OH, formerly of Worthington, passed away on August 13, 2013. Bud was born and raised in Cincinnati Ohio and graduated from Miami University in 1941, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

As a member of Eighth Air force, Bud was shot down over Europe in the summer of 1943 and was a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft 3, Germany. After being liberated in April 1945, Bud joined Prudential Insurance Company in Real Estate Investments. He retired in 1982 after 35 years of service. He was a long-time member of Delaware Golf Club.

Bud was preceded in death in 2003 by his loving wife, Susana. He is survived by four sons, John, Greenville, SC, David (Molly), Westerville, OH, Scott (Gayle), Scottsdale, AZ, and Bob (Elizabeth), Mobile, AL; eleven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the American Heart Association, OH Valley Affiliate, 5455 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43214. To share memories or condolences, visit www.schoedinger.com.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Value of Membership: Appraisal Reform

Builder Review continues its highlight of the more than 100 initiatives by your HBA that have saved HBA members during the last year. Below is another way your HBA is saving our members money.

Taking the Lead to Ensure that Appraisals Accurately Reflect Market Values. Acting aggressively to identify solutions to improve the accuracy of appraisals, NAHB’s Appraisal Working Group is focusing on changes in the areas of regulation and oversight, appraisal practices and standards, appraiser education and experience requirements, and data and technology. Meanwhile, NAHB is calling on Congress and regulators to strengthen appraiser qualifications, develop new appraisal standards and oversight, and create an expedited appeals process.

NAHB has developed tools to help members secure accurate appraisals and continues to hammer home the message to lawmakers, regulators, banks and the appraisal industry that distressed properties should not be compared to new homes. Builders should not be losing sales to an appraisal process gone awry. NAHB continues to make progress with regulators and members of the appraisal industry to correct these major flaws in the appraisal process, ensure that appraisals accurately reflect
true market values and prevent builders from losing sales due to faulty appraisals. For more information, go to www.nahb.org/appraisals.

Why would I use the HBA logo on my company's marketing material?

Q: Why would I, a member of my Home Builders Association, include the HBA logo on my marketing materials and website?

A: When you include the logo of the Home Builders Association of Greenville and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in the marketing of your business, you have just told your customers that you think enough of your industry to invest in the organization that supports your industry. And you have told your customer that you care enough about them to pay attention to the cost of the product you offer for sale by advocating for less regulation, participating in continuing education for yourself and your team, and accepting the highest standards of ethics and professionalism. You have told your customers that you are partnering with other professionals in your industry to advocate for strong but reasonable building codes, environmental regulations, and safety standards.

So when your customer sees that logo and asks you about it, you can tell them you have a good team behind you, and them, helping to make their new home safe, comfortable, and affordable.

Where should you display the HBA logo?

bid sheet and other contract materials
front window of your office
business cards
letterhead or any other method of communication to customers or perspective customers
brochures and other collateral
signs and advertising
website

RealtyTrac: Foreclosures Down 36 Percent in Greenville

Foreclosures are down in the Greenville MSA (Greenville, Pickens, and Laruens counties) 35.78 percent in July compared to the same month last year. According to RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures, one in 714 homes were foreclosed in Greenville last month. That compares to one in 1,001 homes in the nation, and one in 785 homes in South Carolina.

Statewide, foreclosures are down 28 percent, and nationally they are down 32 percent. Foreclosures dropped about two percent in Spartanburg, and about 3 percent in Anderson.

Read more about foreclosures at GSABusiness.com by clicking here.

HBA of Greenville Voted Best of the Upstate

Thank you to the readers of The Greenville News for voting the HBA of Greenville Best Professional Organization of the Upstate!

Annual Chili Cook-off and Oyster Roast September 12

Thursday, September 12^th @ 5:30p.m. at Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet