Dan Rawls installed as Greenville County Councilman from District 26

Dan Rawls was installed January 4 as the newest member of Greenville County Council. Rawls is a past president of the Home Builders Association of Greenville and the Home Builders Association of South Carolina.

Rawls, a Republican, won the seat vacated by Judy Gilstrap, who gave up the seat to run for the S.C. House of Representatives. South Carolina Builders PAC supported Rawls' campaign.

Rawls told the Greenville News his number one priority is cutting crime.

Rawls continues to be an active member of the Home Builders Association. He serves as a Director of the HBA of Greenville and a Life Director of the Home Builders Association of South Carolina and the National Association of Home Builders.

Also on January 4 Butch Kirven was reelected chairman of Greenville County Council and Dr. Bob Taylor was reelected vice chairman.

Upstate is at the center of the largest growth region in the country

According to a report in the Greenville Journal on December 31, 2010, the Upstate is in the heart of what is projected to be the fastest growing region in the country in the next 40 years.

The Piedmont Atlantic Mega Region, which stretches from Atlanta to Charlotte, "is expected to account for half the nation's population growth and two thirds of its economic growth through 2050." The projection is according to studies by Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

Stephen Mungo Featured Speaker at January 20 HBA General Membership Meeting

Mark your calendars for Thursday, January 20, when your HBA of Greenville will celebrate the accomplishments of 2010 and look toward an improved 2011.

This HBA General Membership Meeting at the Carolina First Center will include installation of our 2011 Board of Directors and presentation of the Builder of the Year and Associate of the Year Awards.

Our speaker will be Steven Mungo, President of The Mungo Company in Columbia, and Immediate Past President, HBA of South Carolina.

• What: General Membership Meeting
• When: Thursday, January 20; Social-5:30 p.m., Dinner-6:15 p.m.
• Where: Carolina First Center
  

Click here to register for the General Membership Meeting.

Tabletop Sponsors for this event:

• Steamatic
• James Hardie
• Homes and Land Magazine
• The Great Outdoors Inc.
• Capital Bank
• Heirloom Stair & Iron Inc.
• Priority One Security
• Palmetto Exterminators Inc.
• Lowe's Of Greer
• Homeowners Mortgage.
  

2008 NAHB President Sandy Dunn Offers Advice to Builders on Appraisals

December 29, 2010

Dear Fellow NAHB Members:

For the past several years one of the major problems our builders have been facing are low appraisals. NAHB has been working diligently to help solve these problems. Two Appraisal Summits were held in the last quarter of 2009 and the third Summit was just recently held. All the players were gathered in one room at the Housing Center to try to come up with solutions. Progress is being made.

In the meantime while NAHB is working to solve the problems with the process I thought I would tell you some things you can do to help bring your appraisals in at Market Value:

1. Help yourself by helping the appraiser....most appraisers today are under such a short time line that they only look at sales that are recorded in the MLS. A lot of new construction never makes it to the MLS, therefore you should talk to other builders to see what they have sold....this will be beneficial to both of you. Then access courthouse records and see what other sales have been recorded.
2. Go to nahb.org and in the search engine type in "appraisals". Then click on "capturing new home sales information for use as appraisal comparables" and go to the last sentence in the second paragraph and click on the highlighted area. An appraisal form will now appear with one column. This is the same information the appraiser gathers. Fill this form out for each sale you can find. Then take a picture of each house that has sold and attached it to the form. When the Appraiser comes to appraise your house give him/her this information and tell them that this is some information you have gathered that you thought they might find helpful. This is legal and trust me when I tell you it will be greatly appreciated! I am a Certified General Appraiser and if a seller did this for me I would kiss the ground they walk on.
3. Last but not least make a list of all of the up-grades you have put in your house that might not be in a comparable sale. Meet with the Appraiser and explain all of the pluses your house has that may or may not be seen by the naked eye.
   

If you follow these three simple steps I promise that your appraisals will improve....they may not be perfect, but you will get better results than you're getting now.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Sandy Dunn, 2008 NAHB President

South Carolina and North Carolina end Water Dispute

South Carolina and North Carolina have ended a lawsuit over water withdrawal from the Catawba-Wateree River Basin and agreed to a joint plan to regulate water withdrawal from the river. The dispute involved a proposed withdrawal of water from the Catawba River by a North Carolina city that is in a different river basin, commonly referred to as an "inter-basin transfer."

The lawsuit, and the settlement, could have long-term implications for the Upstate. The Greenville area, which is in the Saluda-Reedy River basin, withdraws water from Lake Keowee, a part of the Savannah River basin.

Read the full report on the settlement at GSA Business.

Builder Review, December 28, Published

Builder Review is an e-newsletter published twice a month by the HBA of Greenville. The latest issue, published December 28, 2010, is ready for you to read.

Click here to read Builder Review.

Reports indicate positve signs for housing market in 2011

Three national reports show positive signs for the housing market in 2011.

• New home sales rise 5.5 percent in November.
  
• Pending home sales were up more than expect in November.
• Housing starts seen rising to three-year high.

NAHB projects a 60 percent rise in new home starts in the Greenville area in 2011. Reasons cited for the rise are low inventory, low foreclosures, low interest rates, and high demand generated by job creation.