Don't Lose Money--Submit Your 2015 Claims to Member Rebate and Save!

DEADLINE EXTENDED:
The 4th Quarter deadline for rebate claim submission has been extended to Friday, March 4th, 2016! This provides all Builder and Remodeler Members an extra two weeks to claim completed residential addresses from July 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. Builder & remodeler members can submit a claim for any completed residential addresses from July – December 2015 that used any of the Member Rebate Program's 50+ Manufacturer brands in order to save money. This is the LAST Chance to claim rebates on work completed in 2015!

Why should you?

Participating members earned an average of $1,010 in rebates in 2014, and all members of the Home Builders Association of Greenville are eligible to participate. Over 70% of 2014 participants received more than their annual association dues in rebates.

How can you?

1. Register here

2. Submit a rebate Claim

3. Receive a rebate check

Need more help? Here are some helpful links:
Builder Testimonials: http://bit.ly/1HQGSeF
Webinar Schedule: www.HBArebates.com/webinar.html
Member Rebate Program Tutorial Videos: www.HBArebates.com/tutorial.html
Member Rebate Program Claims Process: www.HBArebates.com/claimsprocess.html

Melissa Morrell Honored as Top Agent at Berkshire Hathaway C. Dan Joyner

Your Home Builders Association of Greenville is proud of our member Melissa Morrell, of Berkshire Hathaway C. Dan Joyner Realtors, for being recognized as their top agent. This is not the first time her excellence has been noticed, but rather the fifth consecutive year that Morrell has been named the named the #1 Agent for ALL of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services C. Dan Joyner REALTORs companywide. We are glad to have her as a member!

CFPB To Hold March 1 Webinar on ‘Know Before You Owe’ Rules

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has announced it will be holding a free webinar on March 1 from 2-3 p.m. ET to “address specific questions relating to the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule and construction lending.” The webinar will be hosted by the Federal Reserve.

The mortgage lending rules instituted last fall eliminated the Good Faith Estimate, the Truth in Lending and HUD-1 Settlement Statements and replaced them with the CFPB’s new integrated disclosure forms, the “Loan Estimate” and the “Closing Disclosure.”

The biggest change is that the Closing Disclosure must be provided to the consumer a full three days prior to closing, and if there are certain changes during that 72-hour period, the closing could be delayed. The three-day period is designed to give consumers more time to review their loan documents.

Register for March 1 seminar here.

View CFPB resources and previous webinars to help you comply with the lending rules.

Learn more about the new rules and download resources to help you comply.

Thank You to Our Dedicated Volunteers and Those Who Donated Materials

This past Saturday, February 13, your Home Builders Association of Greenville stepped out to help Habit for Humanity rehabilitate and weatherize a family's home in Greer. With the help of donations from our members and volunteers from our Community Service Committee, we were able to complete the project despite the cold weather.
Thank you to Gateway Supply for donating the plumbing trim out needed for the bathroom and kitchen; thank you to Davis Services for taking care of the HVAC system; thank you to STEAMATIC of Greenville for taking care of the carpet and vinyl floor cleaning; and thank you to Tuck Williams of HomeWorks for taking care of pressure washing the siding and driveway.

Jon Statom of Palmetto Exterminators works with his son on interior projects like painting, adjusting doors, and installing some of the plumbing trim out that was donated by Gateway Supply.

Tuck Williams of HomeWorks works with other volunteers to cut trim, measure, and install newly weatherized exterior and interior doors.

Interested in volunteering? Join your Home Builders Association's Community Service Committee to hear about all of the projects we are involved in. Call (864) 254-0133 to join!

Thank you again to those who donated:

EPA Makes Changes to Lead-Safe Re-certification Process

Remodelers who are certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work on homes that may contain lead paint under the Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule now have the option to complete refresher training online, according to an EPA announcement.

However, EPA re-certifications obtained via an online refresher course will be valid for only three years – versus five years for hands-on training courses – and can only be exercised every other re-certification cycle.

“As a longtime advocate for a simplified re-certification process, National Association of Home Builders Remodelers Council appreciates that EPA’s changes provide some flexibility, but the limited and convoluted parameters of the online training option are unnecessarily complicated and could affect the number of renovators who opt to become re-certified,” said NAHB Remodelers Chair Tim Shigley, CGR, CAPS, CGP, GMB, GMR, a remodeler from Wichita, Kan.

“Whether they choose to refresh their training online or in person, with the March 31 re-certification deadline looming for over 100,000 remodelers, and thousands more later in 2016 and 2017, remodelers are left with precious little time to meet their re-certification obligations.”

Additionally, certified renovators who were grandfathered in under a HUD or EPA lead-based paint training course before the RRP rule was adopted must attend a refresher course with a hands-on component. The rule also made several streamlining and clarifying changes to RRP provisions that apply to training providers.

EPA’s changes only apply to those states where EPA administers the program. The 14 states that administer their own programs will have to take legislative or regulatory action to adopt the online refresher course option.

The White House Office of Management and Budget released the final rule to EPA on Jan. 21.

For online or in-person refresher training, remodelers should contact their Home Builders Association of Greenville, or they can find a course on EPA’s website. More information on how to determine specific deadlines can be found using “What You Need to Know about EPA Lead-Safe Re-certification.”

RHS Releases Final Rule for Single Family Loan Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service (RHS) published a final rule on Feb. 8 implementing changes to its Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP).

Designed to streamline the program, the final rule:

• Removes the cap on the number of units per year for a single contractor or builder under the combination construction and permanent loan feature. It also allows a combination construction and permanent loan to be used for a manufactured home if the builder’s contract includes the sum of the cost of the unit and all on-site installation costs.

• Allows discount points as a permissible loan purpose to “buy down” the interest rate for moderate-income borrowers, as well as for low-income borrowers.

• Extends the SFHGLP guarantee to coincide with the terms of a loan modification, including an extended-term loan modification so that the guarantee will cover the duration of the loan.

• Permits lenders to charge a maximum interest rate equal to the Fannie Mae posted yield plus 1%, but removes language from a 2013 interim rule referencing the Freddie Mac required net yield, since Freddie Mac no longer publishes its net yield rate.

The final rule becomes effective March 9, 2016.

Enjoy Member Discounts on Ram, Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, and Fiat

Member Advantage has launched a new affinity program that allows members to get discounts on select 2016 Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck and FIAT brand vehicles.

The FCA US LLC affinity program allows Home Builders Association of Greenville members, their employees, and their immediate family members at the same residence to receive a $500 cash allowance toward the purchase or lease of select 2016 Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram truck and FIAT brand vehicles. The $500 discount is off the final negotiated price and in most cases can be combined with other offers to increase savings.

Brand vehicles include:

• Ram: 1500, 2500, 3500 pickups – All cabs; 3500,4500, 5500 Chassis Cabs; ProMaster Van, and Cargo Van
• Jeep: Grand Cherokee (Excluding SRT) and Cherokee
• Chrysler: 200 (Excluding LX), 300/300C (Excluding SRT) and Town & Country
• Dodge: Dart (Excluding SE), Charger (Excluding SRT), Journey, Durango, and Grand Caravan (Excluding AVP)
• FIAT: 500L

Visit nahb.org/fca for information on eligibility and how to take advantage of this discount. Learn more about the Member Advantage program or contact Christy Ronaldson for details.