10 Best Management Reports
Stay on top of the details in your home building business with these regular snapshots

The records you keep for your lending partners and the IRS are useless for helping you understand your company’s profitability and growth (or lack of it). Instead, Bob Whitten of SMA Consulting offers “10 Best Management Reports” home builders can use to monitor and improve their business.

In a presentation at the 2006 International Builders’ Show, Whitten advised: stay on top of the details of your home building business with regular management reporting.

“Don’t fool yourself with land profit,” SMA President Steve Maltzman says. If you are a production builder, you are in the manufacturing business and you should always view your numbers in that light. Read “10 Best Management Reports” here.

Builders, Brokers Offer Perspectives on New Home Sales
By Natalie C. Holmes
Your company’s growth, whether you sell on scattered sites, if you are expanding into new markets, and, most importantly, the best ways to boost sales, factor into a decision about opening a sales office or selling through brokers.

Two production builders doing similar volume--one who partners with a broker, the other who recently opened up her own sales office--as well as two brokers, offer their expertise in this new Business Management Resource sponsored by American Home Bank. Read it here. [return to top]

Creating Customers for Life--Part 4: Streamlined Selling
By Steven Lewkowitz
In the heat of a seller’s market, the discipline of selling may have become more freewheeling. In some companies, the role of salesperson may even have devolved into order-taker. But as market conditions change, rigor and consistency must be brought back into the sales process. Read about how technology can free your sales staff to focus on the higher-order skills involved in selling in this new NAHB Business Management Resource on streamlined selling. [return to top]

Go to http://www.nahb.org/TSD for Technology Solutions
Go to a popular search engine like Google or Yahoo, type in “construction software,” and, guess what? You’ll get about 213 million results.

You could spend time wading through them or you could go to NAHB’s new Technology Solutions Directory and get a list and contact information for companies and consultants ready, willing, and able to help you now with estimating, scheduling, accounting, and other aspects of automating your business.

This new directory is searchable by keyword, or by software or solution type. 

Following are a few of the software and technology categories that you can search on:

• Accounting
• CAD
• Estimating
• Financial Control
• Project Management/Scheduling
• Sales Automation/Marketing
• IT Consultants
• IT Training
• Web Site Development

The Technology Solutions Directory, which is continuously updated, should be a frequent stop for any home builder seeking to modernize the way you do business. To access the directory, go to http://www.nahb.org/TSD.

More Help with Technology

For background, read the Tech Talk series of concise articles at http://www.nahb.org/TechTalk. Among the titles in this series, written by builders and consultants, are:

• What Do You Need from Estimating Software?
• A Guide to Preserving Company Data
• Getting the Most from Wireless Devices

New Tech Talk articles are frequently added, so bookmark this section along with the Technology Solutions Directory for easy access to this valuable Business Management content from www.nahb.org/biztools. [return to top]

OSHA Local Emphasis Programs Compel Home Builder Vigilance
OSHA's Local Emphasis Programs (LEPs) are directing a special focus on the residential construction industry in several areas across the country.

These LEPs are aimed at addressing hazards, through OSHA's regional or area offices, that pose particular risks to workers. The focus is on key safety issues such as fall protection, scaffolding, ladders, trenching operations, electrical and housekeeping procedures.

LEPs currently are focused on home builders in:

• Hartford, CT
• Philadelphia, PA
• Wilmington, DE
• Cleveland and Toledo, OH
• Louisiana, Arkansas, Okla., Texas, & New Mexico
• Kansas City and St. Louis, MO
• Wichita, KS
• Boise, ID
• Englewood, CO

NAHB's University of Housing offers a special course, Recognizing the "Big Four" Safety Hazards for the Home Building Industry. To register, contact registrar@nahb.com.

Also, a new English-Spanish Jobsite Safety Video developed by NAHB provides an overview of the key safety issues residential builders and workers need to focus on in order to reduce accidents and injuries and to comply with OSHA regulations. To order the Jobsite Safety Video from BuilderBooks.com, click here, or call 800-223-2665.

For information on NAHB resources related to construction safety and health, contact Rob Matuga at 800-368-5242 x8507. [return to top]

Builders Embrace Training, Designation for Superintendents
The continued success of Home Builders Institute’s (HBI) Residential Construction Superintendent (RCS) designation has allowed HBI to offer the RCS designation courses across the country. 

Many prominent home builders’ associations (HBAs) and companies, including those in Florida and California recognize the value of the RCS courses and offer them to their employees with increasing frequency. 

California Building Industry Foundation (CBIF) has received significant support of the RCS training from builder D.R. Horton. One of the first builders to sign up for the series – an eight-course curriculum earning the nationally-recognized RCS designation – D.R. Horton recently opted to make this certification a mandatory program for all its field personnel throughout the state.

The company’s Chief Operating Officer, Tom Noon, committed to offering the series. “We want our project superintendents to be professional and accredited, for their own self-worth as well as our training regimen” says Noon.

Geared toward home builders in need of field personnel with an understanding of all aspects of the homebuilding, the RCS designation serves as an ideal training curriculum. The eight-course series tackles the day-to-day issues encountered by site superintendents. Completion of the eight courses earns the participants the nationally-recognized RCS designation.

For more information on the RCS designation courses or a schedule of courses please visit HBI’s Web site at http://www.hbi.org/ or contact Joseph Krinock at 800-795-7955 x8928. [return to top]

Green Building is Going Mainstream
Production home builders are heeding the call from an ever-increasing number of consumers for environmentally sensitive features and products. Helping usher in this new era for home building, NAHB President David Pressly joined with Raleigh, NC Mayor Charles Meeker and state Sen. Janet Cowell this month in a groundbreaking ceremony for a home that's being constructed as part of a subdivision just outside North Carolina's capital.

The house will adhere to NAHB's Model Green Home Building Guidelines, which are a great tool for individual builders who want to "build green" as well as HBAs that are interested in developing their own green building programs. In all, 70 percent of newly built homes purchased each year are constructed by large building companies that have been seeking ways to incorporate additional green-built features into their products. See NAHB's press release or contact Calli Barker Schmidt at 800-368-5242 x8132 for more.

At a time when consumers are expressing increasing interest in green-built products, NAHB is making sure that our members can meet this demand through green building education and voluntary building guidelines while expanding public awareness of green home building through the National Green Building Conference and extensive media outreach. [return to top]

Don't Miss Your Chance to Educate Congress About Housing
With just a few weeks left before NAHB's most important grassroots lobbying event of the year, NAHB was close to its goal for attendance at the 2006 NAHB Legislative Conference on May 10, prior to the spring board meeting. You could help the federation meet its goal, while educating your members of Congress about important issues such as immigration, environmental regulation, and tax reform.

"The cost is minimal – the potential return for your business is huge," says Dave Stormont, Stormont & Company, a custom home builder in Kitty Hawk, NC, who chairs NAHB's Custom Home Builder Committee and is a member of the Single Family Small Volume Builder Committee.

"This is just one small part of the return on your NAHB membership investment. You will become knowledgeable on the issues affecting our industry and your very own business. You will meet builders like you who undoubtedly will share a nugget for success with you," Stormont says.

Talking points for priority issues to be discussed at the Legislative Conference have been posted to NAHB's Web site for participants to review. For more information, contact: Jessie Boyce, 800-368-5242 x8334. [return to top]

Building for Boomers and Beyond
The fastest-growing segment of the housing industry is active-adult buyers, with America's population of 50-year-olds and up poised to hit 100 million by the year 2010. Targeting these consumers will be a prime focus of the upcoming Building for Boomers and Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium, April 24-26 in Phoenix, AZ. Considered the premier educational and networking conference for the 50+ market, this event will offer separate education tracks in design, multifamily, operations, planning, and sales and marketing. You can still register on site. For more information, contact Office of the Registrar, registrar@nahb.com, 800-368-5242, x8338. [return to top]

Majority of States Have Notice and Opportunity to Repair Laws
Wisconsin recently became the 28th state to approve a notice and opportunity to repair (NOR) law and a Virginia NOR bill was awaiting Governor Tim Kaine’s (D) signature late last month. 

Several other states are also considering NOR legislation in the current legislative cycle.

"It's worth noting that more than half of states have enacted notice and opportunity to repair laws," said NAHB President David Pressly. "This is certainly not a coincidence. Across the country, state legislators and governors have recognized that contentious litigation is not the best way to resolve construction defect disputes."

"Notice and opportunity to repair laws provide a common-sense approach to dealing with construction defect problems," Pressly added. "It's an approach that has received widespread and bi-partisan support across the country. This support goes beyond government officials to the members of our industry and the public in general. This is just one of the many key industry issues the Wisconsin Builders Association has been successful in moving forward for their members.”

For more information on Wisconsin’s new law, e-mail Brad Boycks with WBA, or call him at 800-362-9066 x16. If you would like more information on NOR laws across the country, e-mail Gerry Keegan in NAHB's State & Local Government Affairs department, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8326. [return to top]

Dell's Double Discount for NAHB Members Ends This Month
During April, Dell is offering double discounts to NAHB members on an array of products designed to meet the technology needs of your company. That means the normal discounts of 3-5% will double to 6-10% on essential small business technology, including business-class desktops and cutting-edge notebooks.

Dell not only has the technology to make your home building business run more efficiently — it also offers NAHB members a more efficient way of doing business. 

Dell’s “Double Member Discount” offer is valid through April 30.

To get your discount, visit www.nahb.org/MA and click through Dell.

To maximize your Dell Member Advantage Discount, after you make your selections and are ready to purchase: Call your dedicated Dell sales representative at 888-577-3355, Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. (CST) and Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (CST).  Your sales representative will apply your NAHB member discount to your order.

Other Member Advantage Discounts

For the most up-to-date details on the Member Advantage discount program and all of the participating companies, go to www.nahb.org/ma.Body text here. [return to top]

'Residential Design & Build' Excellence Award Entries Due April 28
The deadline to submit an application for the 2006 Excellence Awards has been extended to April 28.

Businesses that receive an Excellence Award will be written up and prominently featured in RDB magazine's July/August 2006 issue. To become a 2006 Excellence Awards winner, simply complete and submit an application. The entire process is FREE. You can download an application from the following address: www.rdbmagazine.com/awards.

For more information, contact rob.heselbarth@cygnuspub.com or call 847-454-2714.

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