HBA of Greenville expands into Laurens County

Your Home Builders Association of Greenville expanded its market area to include Laurens County.  The expansion was the result of action by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Home Builders.

NAHB members presently in Laurens County are now members of the HBA of Greenville.  The HBA of Greenville welcomes the following new members:

• Carolina Concrete Company
• West Fairview Landscaping
• Scott Brown Builders, Inc.
• Shultz Enterprises, Inc.
• JMB Builders
• BR Builders
• Laurens Electric Cooperative
• Wickliffe Insurance Services
• Team Builders, Inc.

Please welcome these new members.

The association that previously represented Laurens County, HBA of Laurens-Newberry, will dissolve.  Newberry County is now a part of the HBA of Greater Columbia.

Your HBA of Greenville market area now matches the boundaries of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area and includes Greenville, Pickens, and Laurens counties.  If you do business in our market, shouldn't you be a member of the Home Builders Association of Greenville?

21st Century Building Expo & Conference 9/26-9/28

The 10th Annual 21st Century Building Expo and Conference will be underway September 26 through September 28 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC. This trade show will offer courses and networking opportunities to help you make the most of your time. During this three day event you can obtain many certifications and designations such as your Certified Green Building Professional or Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist designation. There will also be many other opportunities for continuing education.

The event will be open daily from 7:30 a.m to as late as 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 27.  The Expo ends at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, September 28.

For more information and a complete list of events and classes or to register please call 1-800-662-7129 or visit the 21st Century Building Expo website.

Local HBA members to receieve Builder Member and Associate of the Year awards.

The Home Builders Association of South Carolina is to recognize the recipient of The Thomas N Bagnal Builder Member and Associate of the Year Award on Thursday September 20th at the annual Celebration of Excellence. The awards will go to Steven Mungo, CEO of Mungo Homes and Ed Byrd of Southeastern Insurance Consultants, Inc. Both awards are given to members who demonstrate the qualities of Thomas N. Bagnal- tireless service to their community, home builders association (HBA) and to the home building industry.

Steven Mungo has been a member of the HBA since 1986 and has expanded his business outside of South Carolina to both North Carolina and Georgia. In 2008, Mungo Homes was the first builder in South Carolina to receive the National Housing Quality Award and in 2012 was named America's Best Builder by Builder Magazine.

Ed Byrd has been a member of the HBA for over 25 years and has testified in Senate and House Committee hearings on behalf of the home building industry and the citizens of South Carolina. He is a member of several local HBA's at the HBASC.

The HBA of Greenville would like to thank both men for their service and commitment to our industry and to their community.

The Celebration of Excellence will be held at the River Banks Zoo and Garden in Columbia on Thursday, September 20th. Tickets are available for purchase at the Home Builders Association of South Carolina. Please call 803-771-7408 for more information or click here to visit the South Carolina HBA website .

HBA Softball Tournament Champs- Stageberg Builders.

It's "SAFE" to say that Friday, September 7th was a great day in which Stageberg Builders beat out the Greer State Bank Giants and the Vass Markets Bull Dogs in a 3 game tournament to take the HBA Championship. It was a great afternoon at Butler Springs Park and there were some great plays by several players including the HBA staffs own Michael Dey who hit a triple and was cheered on by his Vass Markets team garnering the white and red jersey. The event was sponsored by Progress Lighting and there was a BBQ dinner hosted by the HBA of Greenville afterward.
The team rosters were as follows.  
Stageberg Builders: Joe Hoover, Silas Lewis, Rhett Hancock, Mark Pittman, Skylar Jackson, Greg Gambrell, Nick Campbell, Nick Klaus, and Dan Stageberg- team captain.
Vass Markets, Bull Dogs: Clay Guthrie, Todd Voyer, Keith Goodson, Brian De Young, Michael Dey, Thomas De Young, Will, Dawson, and Kathy Vass- team captain.
Greer State Bank, Giants: Michael Galloway, Mark Galloway, Alex Galloway, Jimmy Francis, Tim Kallainen, Justin Kalliainen, Joy Kamees, Mindi Calvery, Robin Williams, Dee Bowen, Blake Presley, and Scott Presley- team captain.

                                                     The winning team, Stageburg Builders! (above)

Until next year! Thank you to all the participants and to Progress Lighting for their sponsorship.

$6000 in Down Payment Assistance? WOW!

Newly Constructed Homes May Qualify for $6000 in Down
Payment Assistance

(Columbia)-Perhaps the only thing more exciting than buying your first, new home would be getting $6000 to help with the down payment and closing costs. 
Beginning September 15, the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC State Housing) will launch the SC Housing New Construction Initiative for qualified homebuyers in the state to purchase newly constructed homes.  Funds may be used to help cover a down payment, closing costs and prepaid items.
The program hopes to not only help new homebuyers make the move to homeownership, but to help boost the building industry in South Carolina as well.  “Homebuilders and the home construction industry mean jobs, revenue and stronger communities for our state,” said Mark Nix, Executive Director of the Home Builders Association of South Carolina. “When the home building industry does well, the whole economy benefits.  We don’t just build houses; we build jobs, and we build communities.”
In addition to the $6000, the program offers a low, fixed 4% interest rate. Teachers, nurses, law enforcement officers, firefighter, veterans, correctional officers, and EMS workers may qualify for an even lower 3.5% interest rate through SC State Housing’s Palmetto Heroes program.
“Our homeownership programs are focused on driving economic development in South Carolina,” said SC State Housing Executive Director Valarie M. Williams.  “This program will help the homebuilders create new jobs, real estate professionals make more sales and families and individuals build the equity that owning a home makes possible.”
Borrowers must meet SC State Housing income, home price and credit requirements. 
Details may be found by visiting www.SCHousing.com or calling SC State Housing at
(803)-896-9009.
SC State Housing is self-sustaining and receives no state appropriations.  For more
information, visit www.SCHousing.com.

If you would like additional information or have questions about this topic, please contact
Clayton Ingram at (803) 896-9520 or Clayton.Ingram@SCHousing.com

Huffington Post: A Rental Society is not the Answer

The Irreplaceable Opportunity of Homeownership: A Rental Society Is Not the Answer

Some have recently suggested that in the wake of the housing foreclosure crisis, America should become a society whose housing is more centered on rental units than homeownership. A move in that direction would be a mistake.

One of the persistent and unfortunate myths of the housing crisis is that a push to expand homeownership was culpable for the housing crash. This is plainly and demonstrably false.

Read the entire report at HuffingtonPost/Business by clicking here.

Jim Brophy Joins Dillard-Jones Builders

Jim Brophy has joined the staff of Dillard-Jones Builders, LLC as marketing and sales manager for the lake region of Oconee County.

Brophy recently retired from Caterpillar Inc. after a 40-year career serving in various executive positions including product manager, operations director, plant manager, and managing director of a Caterpillar subsidiary in Europe. His experience includes design and development of Caterpillar earthmoving and agricultural products, as well as production processes and customer support of those products.

Most recently a resident of Raleigh NC, Brophy now resides in The Cliffs at Keowee Falls in a Dillard-Jones home completed in 2008.

“As a satisfied customer of Dillard Jones builders, I believe and trust the Dillard Jones team, the quality product they deliver, and their commitment to customer satisfaction after the completion of the house,” Brophy said. “This opportunity to work with the Dillard-Jones team will allow me to share and enhance that opportunity for others."

Established in 2004, Dillard-Jones specializes in high-performance, luxury homes ranging from the $500,000’s to more than $2 million. A member of Southern Living Custom Builder Program since 2006, Dillard-Jones was named the 2011 Southern Living Custom Builder of the Year – the only two-time winner in the program’s 18-year history, having also won the prestigious national award in 2009. Dillard-Jones also is a member of The Cliffs Signature Services program. For more information, visit dillardjones.com.