Habitat needs our help for their 330th home.

Habitat Greenville’s 330^th Home- The goal is to raise $30,000 in 30 Days for this home,to be built by the collaboration of our community.  Habitat is currently running short of meeting this goal and are asking for your consideration to help and to spread the word. This Habitat home will be a statement of our city coming together in agreement saying, “Enough!” in the face of poverty. If you can help,please visit the link below.

Support the 330^th Habitat for Humanity Community Home with a Donation of any Size by Clicking Here. Please be sure to type in the Comments section, “330^th Community House.” 

 

There are many families out here in Greenville County that we can all relate to in some way, whom are struggling and need a hand of hope. We have the means to extend that hand. This is not a “hand out”. This is a “hand up” for a family to achieve what they thought was impossible. You are encouraging them to say “I’m Possible!” and removing the “I can’t” lies they’ve lived and been told. You are letting them know that the future of their family and our community can be strengthened by action.

Thank you for your support and participation and as supporters of Habitat for Humanity and other industry organizations in our community we look forward to reaching the $30,000 in 30 Days Goal for the 330^th Habitat of Humanity Greenville Family!

Welcome to our newest members.

The HBA of Greenville and SMC of the Upstate would like to WELCOME the following new members.

This week we would like to Welcome!

Jillian Hudgins- The Tile Shop
Dan Barkley- Whirlpool Corporation
Sherry Criminger- Ryan Homes
Kit Fucile- Ryan Homes
Nancy Martin- The Garage Authority
Nathan Owens- Stock Building Supply
Thomas Collier- Homes and Land of the Upstate
Kimberly Collier- Homes and Land of the Upstate
Kelly Keffer- General Shale Brick and Block
Robert "Bo" Armfield- General Shale Brick and Block
Jennifer Smith- Gateway Supply
John Kent- Conservus Realty
Lindsey Johnson- Carolina Closet
Chelsea Temm- Carolina Closet
AAA Supply, Inc- Lewis Cole
Sarah Noel Radcliff- Habitat for Humanity
Barbara Martin- Habitat for Humanity

Here again is a run down of this month's newest members!

Lavonne Goldberg- The Haro Group of Keller Williams
Laura Moore- D.R. Horton
Amanda Shevey- D.R. Horton 
Kim Keable- Keable & Brown, PA
Ryan Brown- Keable & Brown, PA

Kelli Morgan- Nelson & Galbreath, LLC
Nathan Galbreath- Nelson & Galbreath, LLC
Caleb Pyle- Ryan Homes
Kimberly Ryan- Ryan Homes
Shawn Codd- Ryan Homes
Mark Santoro- Ryan Homes
Bryn Brutosky- Ryan Homes
Tanner Carter- Ryan Homes
Kris Duncan- Ryan Homes
Darrel Prescott- 31-W Insulation

These folks made just in time for Monday's Member Only event at The Greenville Drive. Your HBA of Greenville and SMC of the Upstate will have more exclusive members only events so if you are interested in membership or know someone who might be call the HBA of Greenville office at 864-254-0133.

New Member Reception and Meet the Board TONIGHT!

New Member Reception sponsored by PestBan tonight, April 16, 5:30- 7 p.m.

 
The HBA of Greenville would like to officially welcome you, please join us for new member orientation at the HBA office. The reception will start with a short meeting on what the HBA of Greenville is about and how you can get the most out of your membership and get involved. After which, please stay for a reception with the board of directors and current members of the HBA.
We hope that you will join us!
It's not to late- for more information or to register for this event please contact the HBA office (864) 254-0133

Habitat for Humanity receives South Carolina Nonprofit Excellence Award

Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County has been awarded the 2015 Nonprofit Excellence Award, given annually by the SC Association of Nonprofit Organizations (SCANPO).

The Nonprofit Excellence Award recognizes Habitat Greenville for exemplary governance and management and excellence in implementation of SCANPO’s Guiding Principles and Best Practices. Recipients of the Nonprofit Excellence Award are considered models for nonprofits throughout South Carolina and are asked to serve in peer leadership roles.

“Everything we do at Habitat is centered on our homeowner families,” said Monroe Free, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County. “Our Board, staff and volunteers continuously work to the highest standards for their benefit, and we are honored to be recognized for that effort.”

Habitat received the award at SCANPO’s annual 2015 Nonprofit Summit in Charleston in Feburary. Founded in 1997, the SCANPO brings together South Carolina nonprofit leaders to strengthen the state’s entire nonprofit sector.

Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County was formed in 1985 and provides home ownership opportunities to low income families.  Since its founding, Habitat has provided 323 Greenville County families with the American Dream.  Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County is an Approved Professional Builder.

Making the Case for Housing Tax Incentives

While HBA members were busy Bringing Housing Home™ during in-district meetings with lawmakers, tax staff at the National Association of Home Builders were on Capitol Hill fighting to protect home ownership tax incentives, including the mortgage interest deduction, in any future tax reform effort.

The Senate Finance Committee is currently examining tax reform efforts and conducted a roundtable on home ownership tax rules that also included tax staff from industry groups and economists from Washington think tanks and local universities.

During the roundtable, NAHB staff and representatives from the Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors® provided research and data explaining the history, role and beneficiaries of the mortgage interest and property tax deductions. The mortgage interest deduction is widely claimed by the middle class, providing nearly $70 billion in tax benefits a year to our nation’s home owners. Moreover, the benefits tend to be collected by younger households, who being in the early years of a mortgage, are paying more interest and thus claiming larger deductions.

The roundtable also discussed the capital gain exclusion, an important rule particularly for older home owners looking to relocate, as well the deduction for mortgage insurance (include PMI) and the exclusion for forgiven mortgage debt.

A Trillion-Dollar Hit
While economists from the think tanks made the argument that the housing tax incentives should be transformed, weakened, or perhaps eliminated, our housing experts explained to the Senate staffers the significant economic harm that would come from increasing the cost of home ownership. Citing studies from NAHB's Housing Economics team, academics, and tax think tanks, our team reported that repeal of the mortgage interest deduction would reduce GDP by $100 billion a year, eliminate at least $1 trillion in household net worth, and delay home ownership for younger households.

The Senate Finance Committee also will be holding other tax reform working groups and the collective findings could be used by members to craft a comprehensive tax reform bill later this year.

Many tax analysts believe that the 2015 political environment will not allow for consideration of comprehensive tax reform that includes changes to the individual side of the tax code. However, there is a window in 2015 for debate of business-only tax reform.

Your Home Builders Association has argued that business tax reform must include rate reductions for pass-through entities (S Corporations, LLCs), as well as C corporations. And business tax reform should protect key tax rules that encourage investment and economic growth, such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, business loan interest deductibility, like-kind exchange, and tax accounting rules for home construction contracts.

As the association has been doing during earlier rounds of tax reform discussions, your Home Builders Association will continue to be highly engaged, presenting our research concerning housing and tax policy and the economic benefits of housing, home ownership and residential construction.

FHFA House Price Index Up 0.3 Percent in January

U.S. house prices rose in January, up 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.8 percent change in December was revised downward to a 0.7 percent change.

​​The FHFA HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. From January 2014 to January 2015, house prices were up 5.1 percent. The U.S. index is 3.5 percent below its March 2007 peak and is roughly the same as the December 2005 index level.

For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December 2014 to January 2015 ranged from -0.4 percentin the Middle Atlantic and South Atlantic divisions to +2.3 percent in the East South Central division. The 12-month changes were all positive ranging from +1.7 percent in the Middle Atlantic division to +8.2 percent in the Pacific division.

FHFA Index Shows Mortgage Interest Rates Decreased in February

Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from January to February, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts.

The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders index was 3.77 percent for loans closed in late February, down 11 basis points from 3.88 percent in January.

The average interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.77 percent, down 12 basis points from 3.89 in January.

The average interest rate on conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $417,000 or less was 3.91 percent, a decrease of 15 basis points from 4.06 in January.

The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.92 percent in February, down 12 basis points from 4.04 percent in January. The effective interest rate accounts for the addition of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage.

The average loan amount for all loans was $294,200 in February, up $2,900 from $291,300 in January.