Your HBA's Top 12 actions at the national level during the Spring

As a member of the HBA of Greenville, you also are a member of the National Association of Home Builders. NAHB's 3,000 directors and 250 staff have been working hard on your behalf this Spring.  In the series we will publish over the next 12 days we will highlight the Top 12 accomplishments during the Spring of 2012.

Accomplishment 1: introduction of three important pieces of legislation to improve conditions for home builders and remodelers

The Home Building Lending Improvement Act of 2012 (S.2078)

Because the difficulty of accessing and maintaining construction credit continues to be a major obstacle for home builders and the housing recovery in general, NAHB has been aggressively pushing for solutions to this crisis on both the regulatory and legislative fronts. NAHB worked with Senator Robert Mendendez (D-N.J.) to ensure introduction of this bill in early February. The legislation seeks to restore the flow of credit for new housing production in order to create jobs, meet rising housing demand and bolster the economic expansion. It has brought significant attention to the AD&C credit crunch in Congress, and has helped spur questions about credit availability in various congressional hearings, thereby exerting pressure on banks and regulators to help resolve the situation. Its introduction follows up on similar legislation that NAHB helped get introduced in the House last year -- H.R. 1755, the Home Construction Lending Regulatory Improvement Act -- which currently has 95 House cosponsors. For details on S. 2078 or H.R. 1755, contact Scott Meyer (800-368-5242 x8144).

The Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012 (S. 2148)

While NAHB supports measures to ensure that young children and pregnant women are protected from exposure to lead paint, the time and costs associated with the EPA’s flawed Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (LRRP) effectively incentivize home owners to 1) hire an uncertified remodeler who doesn’t follow the rules 2) put off needed repairs or 3) do the work themselves – each of which subverts the intention of the rule in the first place. NAHB has led the charge in Congress and with regulators to try to make this rule more workable and effective, and in early March we made a major step forward when Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and five co-sponsors introduced legislation to improve the lead paint rule. This bill gives remodelers the opportunity to lobby their political representatives in Congress, who in turn can put pressure on the EPA to make specific necessary amendments to the rule. The bill itself would:

• Reinstate the opt-out provision for homes that are not occupied by children or pregnant women, thus focusing the rule on the protection of these specific groups.
• Suspend the LRRP if EPA does not approve a commercially available test kit that meets the regulation’s requirements.
• Allow remodelers the “right to cure” paperwork errors found during an inspection.
• Eliminate the “hands on” recertification training requirements.
• Prohibit EPA from expanding the LRRP to commercial and public buildings until at least one year after the agency conducts a study demonstrating the need for such action.
• Clarify the definition of “abatement” to exclude remodeling/renovation activities.
• Provide an exemption to the regulation for emergency renovations.

The introduction of this legislation is a significant step forward in raising the visibility of issues related to the current regulation, and was urgently advocated by NAHB. Looking ahead, we will rally our members to help build support for this measure in the U.S. Senate and continue our efforts to have companion legislation introduced in the House. For more information, please contact Courtney Flezzani (800-368-5242 x8459).

The Preserve Waters of the United States Act (S. 2245) and companion legislation in the House (H.R. 4965)
The EPA and Army Corps of engineers are getting ready to issue a guidance document that will evade the more transparent rule-making process to eliminate all reasonable limits on the scope of Clean Water Act jurisdiction. As a result, the federal government’s reach would extend to essentially all waters, including storm sewers, retention basins and seasonal streams. This blatant regulatory overreach would lead to many more land development, road construction and residential projects requiring federal permits and would exacerbate permitting delays. In turn, it would increase construction costs, cause job losses, drive down housing affordability and hamper economic growth. NAHB is leading the charge against this possibility by building support for legislation that we successfully pushed to be introduced in both the House and Senate. This legislation has especially strong backing in the House after being introduced on April 27 by Transportation Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) along with ranking member Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), Water Resources Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). Contact: Courtney Flezzani (800-368-5242 x8459).

Learn about employment trends and rules at June 6 Education Forum

The cost of a bad hire and how to avoid it is the title of an article this week by Stephanie Klein in the Denver Business Journal.  In the article, Klein discusses the importance of a well-craft hiring process.  "Hiring the wrong person can cost your business thousands of dollars and have ramifications that echo far beyond that single bad hire," Klein writes.

Read the complete article by Stephanie Klein in the Denver Business Journal by clicking here.

Your HBA of Greenville is planning an Education Forum that will help you understand the importance of recruiting and managing a successful team of employees.

The next Education Forum is Wednesday, June 6, 11:30 a.m., at Hubbell Lighting Headquarters.

• Topic: Human Resources: Recruitment, Management, and Diversity
• Speakers: Lawanna Dendy, PHR, GBS Building Supply, and Carrie Scott, SPHR, Find Great People
• Sponsors: GBS Building Supply and Progress Lighting

To register for the Education Forum, click here.

Make the Most of Your Networking Opportunity at the HBA Homecoming Event May 31

by Melinda BrodyMelinda Brody and Company 

Networking…it is one of those things we love to hate. If you are in sales of any kind, you know that networking is a necessary tactic in developing new business and making more sales. So, why do we LOVE to hate networking so much? In my opinion it is because we really don’t know HOW to network properly.

When most of us hear the word ‘business networking event’, an image of walking around a room full of strangers, handing out business cards and trying to think of things to say to these strangers usually comes to mind. Also, if you are part of an organized networking event, you know the dreaded ‘1 minute elevator speech introduction’ is also probably on the docket as well. So the image becomes you walking around aimlessly, trying to think of witty and intelligent things to say to people you don’t know AND you are shaking in your boots about doing your ‘LIVE at the Improv’ 60 second infomercial! No wonder we love to hate networking!

According to Wikipedia Business networking is: a socioeconomic activity by which groups of like-minded businesspeople recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities. A business network is a type of social network whose reason for existing is business activity. There are several prominent business networking organizations that create models of networking activity that, when followed, allow the business person to build new business relationships and generate business opportunities at the same time.

GOSH – it even sounds hideous and boring!

So, how in the world can you network effectively and actually enjoy it?? Well, for starters you need to have a plan in place before you ever walk in the door! Here are 5 simple tips to make your networking efforts effective, and more importantly, FUN!

1. Do your homework. Find out in advance who is going to be there and then conduct a little research on them (Linked In is a GREAT resource for this!). Try to pinpoint 3 – 5 people who you REALLY want to meet before you ever even arrive.
2. Arrive early to the event. This allows you to get comfortable with your surroundings and ‘get in the zone’. Pretend you are the official ‘greeter’ and make a point to welcome and introduce yourself to people as they walk it. This is A LOT easier than walking up to a group of strangers and introducing yourself!
3. Do NOT, and I repeat, Do NOT give out your cards to ANYONE unless they specifically ask for it. In fact, don’t even TALK about yourself, instead ASK questions about the people you meet. Look at networking as a ‘fact finding’ mission….find out as many things as you can about the people in the room. If you do indeed meet someone who you think you could be a resource for, or vice versa, then exchange cards and make a point to follow-up.
4. Practice your 60 second elevator speech until you have it memorized. Trying doing something unique or different. Instead of saying ‘Hi, my name is Melinda Brody and I own a video mystery shopping company’ try something like ‘Who likes to watch themselves on video?’
5. Finally, relax and have fun. Think of business networking for professionals as a fraternity party for college kids (minus the keg of beer!). It is a chance to connect with a wide variety of people from diverse backgrounds and industries.

Networking is a big part of what you do as new home sales professional. So accept and embrace each opportunity. You never know WHO you will meet!

Your next HBA networking opportunity:

Try out what you learned in this article by attending the HBA Homecoming at the Dillard-Jones Southern Living Showcase House on May 31, 5:30 p.m.  Click here for details and to register.

FHFA: House Price Index shows the first annual increase since 2007

U.S. house prices rose modestly in the first quarter of 2012 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) seasonally adjusted purchase-only house price index (HPI). The FHFA HPI was up 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis since the fourth quarter of 2011. The HPI is calculated using home sales price information from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages. Seasonally adjusted house prices rose 0.5 percent from the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for March was up 1.8 percent from February.

“Consistent with other housing market indicators, the FHFA HPI showed stronger house prices in the first quarter, most notably in March,” said FHFA Principal Economist Andrew Leventis.  “Increased affordability and a somewhat smaller inventory of homes for sale are positively impacting house prices.”

FHFA’s expanded-data house price index, a metric introduced in August 2011 that adds transactions information from county recorder offices and the Federal Housing Administration to the HPI data sample, rose 0.2 percent over the latest quarter. Over the latest four quarters, the index is down 1.3 percent. For individual states, price changes reflected in the expanded data measure and the traditional purchase-only HPI are compared on pages 24-26.

While the national, purchase-only house price index rose 0.5 percent from the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012, prices of other goods and services rose 3.2 percent over the same period. Accordingly, the inflation-adjusted price of homes fell approximately 2.6 percent over the latest year.

Significant Findings:

• The seasonally adjusted purchase-only HPI rose in the first quarter in 30 states and the District of Columbia.
• The top five annual increases were Hawaii (10.3 percent), Washington, DC (9.8 percent), Iowa (5.7 percent), Florida (4.7 percent) and North Dakota (4.4 percent).
• Of the nine census divisions, the Mountain division experienced the strongest prices in the latest quarter, posting a 1.4 percent price increase. Prices were weakest in the New England division, where prices fell -0.7 percent.
• As measured with purchase-only indexes for the 25 most populated metropolitan areas in the U.S., first-quarter price increases were greatest in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX area. That area saw price increases of 2.4 percent between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. Prices were weakest in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA, where prices declined 3.3 percent over that period.

The complete list of state appreciation rates is on pages 20-21. The list of metropolitan area appreciation rates computed in a purchase-only series is on page 35. Appreciation rates for the all-transactions metropolitan area indexes are on pages 38-52.

Click here to read the complete report at FHFA.gov.

HBA Board of Directors elects new officers, directors

The HBA of Greenville Board of Directors elected four new members to the association's Board of Directors.  The following members were elected to fill unexpired terms on the Board of Directors:

• Mike Freeman, GMB, Vice President.  Mike is President of ACA Freewood Contracting.
• Susan Peace-Vernon, Secretary.  Susan is Vice President of Dillard-Jones Builders.
• Gus Rubio, Builder Director.  Gus is President of Gabriel Builders, Inc.
• Matt Vaughn, Associate Director.  Matt is market leader for Homeowners Mortgage

The HBA of Greenville  is a consumer resource for finding builders, remodelers, and home improvement specialists in the Upstate region of South Carolina. Membership includes local and national builders, remodelers, specialty contractors, manufacturers, financial and insurance professionals, realtors, and many others that offer products and services for homeowners and first-time homebuyers.

The HBA's Board of Directors includes 20 professionals from within the association's membership.  The Board is led by the association's President, Robert Markel, CGR.  The association is managed by ten professional staff and consultants.

Addison Homes Joins Best Practices Research Alliance®

Addison Homes has joined the Best Practices Research Alliance®, a community of homebuilders collaborating with building performance specialists, business/quality management experts and industry suppliers. Members work together to research, demonstrate and share the technical and business best practices that are moving truly energy-efficient homes into the mainstream.

“We’re privileged to be part of this research-based collaboration,” says Todd Usher, president of Addison Homes, a company that builds 100 percent of its properties to ENERGY STAR® and EarthCraft House™ standards. “It’s a compelling opportunity to share our experience and insights about building high-performance homes with like-minded peers across the country. Continuous improvement can be a rigorous process, but as we move closer toward the ideal of zero energy everyone — from our clients to the community at large — reaps the benefits.”

Founded by IBACOS (Integrated Building and Construction Solutions), the Alliance comprises some 40 homebuilders of all sizes throughout the United States. Research efforts are aligned with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program and key areas of focus include zero energy homes, energy smart homes and business/quality management. For more information on the Best Practices Research Alliance®, visit www.theresearchalliance.org.

NAHB Economists on what the "fiscal cliff" means to Home Builders

In a recent post on Eye on Housing, NAHB Housing Economic's blog, NAHB Economists discuss what the impending "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts may mean for Home Builders.

Read the "fiscal cliff" article at Eye on Housing.