GBS Building Supply named Presenting Sponsor of 2013 Bridge Awards

As a way of recognizing the best craftsmanship and professionalism in the industry, The Home Builders Association would like to present the First Annual Bridge Awards presented by GBS Building Supply . This Awards ceremony will recognize the best and brightest of the categories, outlined below.

·         New Homes

·         Full Home Remodel

·         Partial Home Remodel

·         Green Building

·         Special Feature

·         Sales and Marketing

o   Web-Based Marketing Program

o   Community Promotion (Community of the Year)

o   Special Promotion

o   Individual Sales Achievement (Million Dollar Circle)

·         Individual (in addition to HBA recognition)

o   Builder of the Year

o   Associate of the Year

o   Remodeler of the Year

o   Sales Agent of the Year

-  Unit Volume

-  Dollar Volume

o   Sales Executive of the Year

-  Unit Volume

-  Dollar Volume

o   Lender of the Year

The New Home, Full Home Remodel, Partial Home Remodel, and Green Building Categories will be broken down into price after all entries are received.

For more information on entry and sponsorship opportunities click here . Entries will be judged January 6-10 and the winners will be recognized at the 2013 Bridge Awards Ceremony on January 30, 2014. Don’t miss your opportunity to showcase the craftsmanship and professionalism you put into your projects, enter today!

HBA Secures New Favorable Policy on Irrigation Meters

The Greenville Water System adopted a new policy on Irrigation Meters that will save home builders installing irrigation systems more than $1,320 per house and homeowners hundreds of dollars a year in sewer treatment fees.  The Irrigation Meter Policy was adopted September 10, 2013.

The policy allows builders into install a "Y" fitting at the end of a standard water main tap and install two meters on the tap.  Both meters may be installed in a common box.  The builder will pay a tap fee of $100, two meter fees totaling, $700, but just one capacity fee of $1,320, rather than two capacity fees.  If water service already exists and a second meter is being installed on an existing tap, the meter fee for the second meter is $500, but the capacity fee is waived (the contractor has the option of excavating and back filling the meter location, in which case the meter fee is discounted by $150).  Both meters must be installed on the same tap, however.  Larger taps will have a different fee structure, but the capacity fee is still waived if both meters are on a common tap.

A condition of the new policy is that the irrigation system must be governed by a weather-based controller tied to a rain sensor.

This policy change is the product of ongoing and regular discussions HBA staff and the Government Affairs Committee are having with Greenville Water System officials.  Similar discussion are ongoing with other utilities, municipalities, counties, and school districts.  All are the dividend the Home Builders Association produces for its members.

Click here to download the Irrigation Meter Policy and instructions.

Support Rep. Bill Sandifer

If you don’t know Rep. Bill Sandifer, you should.

Rep. Sandifer has been awarded the Hammer and Trowel and has been recognized for his career-long contributions to the home building industry by being inducted into the S.C. Housing Hall of Fame.

Chairman Sandifer also is our “go to guy” for legislation that benefits our industry and members. Now Rep. Sandifer is being harassed by anti-business, anti-growth and anti-building groups. Among other things, Chairman Sandifer personally led the legislative efforts to stop the Fire Sprinkler Mandate in 2011.  In 2008 he sponsored the legislation that shorted the Statute of Repose by 5 years.

We need the Chairman’s help to support our initiative on curtailing the expansion of the Building Code, addressing abusive business license fees, as well as several other bills that directly affect our industry.

You are invited to a reception honoring Representative Bill Sandifer, Chairman, SC House Labor, Commerce and Industry, on Tuesday, November 19, 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., at the The Solé Gril, 700 Bypass 123, Seneca, SC. Even if you cannot attend the event, please consider making a contribution to Chairman Sandifer's reelection campaign, and help find a friend in the industry who will do the same.

Sandifer For the House

Help us help you secure financing for your next project

For the last several months your HBA has been working on a potential solution to the problem some builders are having securing financing for their construction projects.  The solution lies in a partnership between Wall Street investors, your Home Builders Association, and the South Carolina Housing, Finance, and Development Authority.

To gather the information necessary to put this new program together, we need your help by completing a survey.  Please answer the questions as they pertain to the specific financing of a typical home you have completed and sold within the past 18 months. Completed surveys should be returned to Mark Nix, HBA of South Carolina, 1419 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC 29201.

Please click her to download the survey.

Traditionally, commercial banks and savings institutions have provided most of the credit for residential AD&C activities. However, even in the recovery from the recession a more restrictive regulatory environment is limiting the capacity and willingness of these lenders to resume that dominant role. Private debt and equity funds are expressing interest in filling the construction lending gap.

In an effort to provide the investors with a better understanding of construction financing needs, your HBA is conducting the survey to obtain examples of construction loans that can illustrate a typical deal structure for small to mid-sized home builders.

This project is being coordinated by the National Association of Home Builders.  Columbia HBA member Ken Ormand, a member of the state housing authority board, also is assisting with this project. 

South Carolina ranked 7th in nation for business climate

Site Selection magazine ranked South Carolina 7th in the nation for best business climate.  Click here to read the complete report at GSA Business.