| November 16, 2009 |
By Joe Robson
NAHB Chairman and
Jerry Howard
NAHB Chief Executive Officer |
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Resources to help you promote the home buyer tax credit
to potential customers are now available for free download by NAHB members.
 Now that the law extending and expanding the $8,000 home buyer tax credit has been signed, sealed and delivered, we are churning out member resources to help you inform your customers about the appealing opportunity that has just been opened to them. After all, it isn't just a first-time buyer tax credit anymore; as of now, move-up buyers, move-down buyers, and others who have previously owned a home can also qualify for a significant $6,500 tax credit – in fact, nearly 70% of all potential buyers should now qualify for some form of the credit. But they'll have to move fast. And with the window for qualifying deals closing at mid-year 2010, we have to get the word out as quickly as possible. That's why NAHB has prepared a multitude of materials, including talking points, print ads, a flyer, a fact sheet and Web site ads for your easy
 download and use. Your "one-stop shop" for these materials is: www.nahb.org/taxcreditmaterials. Use the talking points for media interviews or explaining the credit to your sales staff; use the handout materials in your sales office, in your show homes and at consumer events. If you have questions about any of the tax credit resources, contact NAHB Public Affairs, or call 800-368-5242, ext. 8447.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: Your NAHB membership gives you exclusive access to valuable resources that would otherwise cost your company significant time and money to produce. And, our staff experts are here to help you implement them to your best advantage. Meanwhile, NAHB is broadcasting news about the tax credit through every available communications channel. Together, our messages will reach thousands of potential home buyers much more quickly than would otherwise be possible, thus ensuring more potential sales prospects coming through your doors!
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Wall Street and Main Street will come together at the IBS
 this January, thanks to an exciting new offering called the Partnership Pavilion. In light of the severe financing challenges that so many of our members are experiencing when it comes to obtaining credit for viable new projects (as well as viable existing ones), some of the best minds at NAHB have developed this innovative forum as a place where builders and developers can have the opportunity to discuss their funding needs with representatives of a variety of capital sources and financing advisors. The Partnership Pavilion will have private meeting space where NAHB members can schedule and conduct business efficiently in a confidential setting while at the International Builders' Show (IBS). NAHB CEO Jerry Howard explains the new concept in a brief video that you can view right here.
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS: Prior to the Builders' Show, NAHB members will have the opportunity to submit project information and specifications on their companies through a special portal on NAHB.org. At that time, several potential funding sources will review this information, and those who are interested in further exploring a given deal will be able to schedule a meeting at the Pavilion with the designated applicant. This report will tell you when and where to go to submit your specifications as soon the portal on NAHB.org is up and running. Send questions to: MondayMorningQuestions@nahb.com.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: The Partnership Pavilion offers you, as an NAHB member, a unique opportunity to have your project considered by a variety of potential funding sources at a time when credit for housing production has been extraordinarily difficult to come by. This venue is envisioned as a way that NAHB can help get funds flowing back to housing by helping you find new sources of debt and equity financing and reinvigorating the traditional sources of housing credit.
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MONDAY ALERT: Live video discussion with the SBA Administrator
 NAHB has been notified that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is holding an important live video discussion on credit conditions for small businesses this Monday, Nov. 16, in which small business representatives are invited to participate. Participants will have the opportunity to submit questions and comments directly to SBA Administrator Karen Mills, who, in turn, plans to share what she hears in this "chat session" with President Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner during a forum that the SBA and Treasury will be holding later this week. President Obama requested that the forum be held to discuss ways that the Administration can help get credit flowing to small businesses and put them in a position to weather this recession, grow, and create jobs.
While NAHB will certainly be weighing in on behalf of our members, we also encourage you to provide input to the SBA Administrator during the live video discussion that will be held on Monday, Nov. 16 starting at 3:15 p.m. EST on WhiteHouse.gov/live. You can also access this online discussion through the White House's live-chat application on Facebook. And even if you can't participate in realtime, submit your questions and comments about what the Administration should do to expand the flow of credit by e-mailing the SBA in advance at smallbusinessforum@sba.gov. Later, you'll be able to tune into the SBA/Treasury conference via live streaming video on the White House blog page at WhiteHouse.gov/blog on Wednesday, Nov. 18th, starting at 9 a.m. EST. Check the SBA Web site for more information as it becomes available.
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NAHB's FederalHousingTaxCredit.com site is a hit!
 Many of this report's readers are well aware of NAHB's http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/ Web site, which was created some time ago to provide timely information on the first-time home buyer tax credit to consumers. On the same day that President Obama signed the bill to extend and expand the tax credit, we updated this site to reflect the latest changes. This Web site is unequivocally the most comprehensive and user-friendly resource for consumers who want to know if they qualify for the credit, how to access funds from the credit upfront to use at the closing table, and more. It's a great location to send your potential clients who may be asking you for clarification on the credit's parameters, too. Even before the latest congressional action, the FederalHousingTaxCredit.com site had logged more than 4 million visits. However, since the latest news that the tax credit is being extended into 2010 and its eligibility guidelines have been expanded, interest has exploded. In fact, on the Monday following the bill's enactment into law, our site logged more than 70,000 visits – more than any single previous day. The Wall Street Journal even mentioned our site in an article on the tax credit this week; check it out right here.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: NAHB has developed an essential resource for helping consumers understand the home buyer tax credit and their eligibility to claim it. In doing so, we have also created a one-stop shop for answers to your clients' questions and concerns. Moreover, because our site is recognized as a leading source of information on the tax credit, many media outlets are citing it in their own reports, which should further help to drive home sales in local markets.
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Attention all NAHB members who work in homes built before 1978:
 Your comments are needed to help combat a recent proposal by the EPA that would add more requirements and costs to its Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule that will go into effect in April of 2010. Among other changes, you should know that EPA has proposed removing an “opt-out” provision that was part of the original rule. This means that, with very few exceptions, remodelers, HVAC contractors, painters, insulation installers – any company working in homes built before 1978 – must be certified under the new rule. And as professional remodelers who have already been preparing for next April know, the training, cleaning and recordkeeping requirements for certified firms are neither trifling nor inexpensive. Bottom line: this isn’t just a rule for remodelers: It will apply to anyone doing work in 68% of all homes in this country.
NAHB will submit comments on the changes to the rule by the Nov. 27 deadline; that said, the more comments EPA receives, the better. The agency must understand why its proposals won’t make children any safer; in fact, by encouraging more “DIY jobs," they may be placing more children at risk for exposure to lead paint.
Members who wish to send comments to the EPA can download and complete a letter template created by NAHB. The letter includes a form where you can detail the added costs of complying with the proposal.
Read more about the LRRP rule and proposed changes to it in Nation's Building News Online. Send questions to MondayMorningQuestions@nahb.com.
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Regulation of post-construction storm water management permits
 is the topic of a study that is now underway by NAHB environmental experts as home builders and developers are starting to be affected by EPA reauthorizations of certain permitting programs. NAHB Environmental Issues Committee Chairman Jess Hall and Land Development Committee Chairman Michael Noonan are assembling a group of volunteers to provide new guidance for builders. This is in response to EPA's release of an information collection request to gather facts from construction site operators, municipalities and states in anticipation of developing a new rule for managing post-construction storm water runoff from newly developed and redeveloped sites.
At issue is how much responsibility builders or developers should reasonably have for a site after it is built out, and how any storm water management programs should be financed. While home builders have long been responsible for managing the water, sediment and other material that can create runoff from job sites following a rainstorm, their responsibility has traditionally ended once they turn over the development and control of infrastructure to the local government or home owners association. Now, more extensive regulations are appearing in some localities and for some watersheds. Members of NAHB's study group will be looking at this issue. They will also discuss plans by EPA regional offices to regulate impervious surfaces and federal proposals to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which are expected to provide a model for other watersheds across the country.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: The study group's findings will be reported during the Environmental Issues Committee's meeting at the IBS this January. NAHB will then use those findings in its efforts to combat over-regulation in the home building industry and inject common sense into the government rule-making process, with the goal of keeping compliance costs under control for our builder/developer members.
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Residential remodelers are seeing some encouraging signs
 that their market may be stabilizing, according to the latest results of NAHB's Remodeling Market Index (RMI), released Nov. 5. The RMI's component gauging current market conditions rose slightly to 39.8 for the third quarter, while future indicators chalked up a gain of more than four points, to 38.7. This marked the third straight quarterly improvement, although both indices remain well below the mid-point level of 50. According to NAHB Remodelers Chairman Greg Miedema, CGR, CGB, CAPS, CGP, who was quoted in NAHB's press release announcing the RMI results, "Some remodelers are receiving more calls for bids, but it is still extremely difficult to close a sale. Financing continues to be an impediment, with many home owners not able to secure home equity loans or other lines of credit." Read more about the RMI results here, or see the RMI tables here. Send queries to MondayMorningQuestions@nahb.com.
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NAHB opposition to the House health care plan
 is rooted in our concerns over the potential impacts that the bill's broad employer mandate could have on our members. Shortly before the Affordable Healthcare for America Act was passed by a narrow vote in the House of Representatives last week, NAHB sent a letter to legislators supporting their efforts to improve access to quality and affordable healthcare but stating our strong concerns about the current legislation. NAHB specifically stated our opposition to the employer mandate imposed by the bill as the vehicle to provide health insurance or universal coverage to all employees. Our letter noted that the employer mandate and minimum benefit requirements stipulated in the legislation would remove "the flexibility of employers to provide health plans that best fit the needs of their workforce." NAHB also has significant concerns with the surtax on taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $500,000 for single taxpayers and $1 million for joint filers, as well as the change in treatment of S Corporations and other pass-through entities. Because many small businesses, including home builders, are structured as pass-through entities and pay their business taxes at the individual level, such provisions will have significant impacts on them. Furthermore, by not indexing the surtax to the inflation rate, the number of home building firms subject to this tax will continue to increase in years to come.
Noting that NAHB is a strong advocate of universal access to health coverage and encourages a market-based approach over a guaranteed mandate, our letter said that the bill at hand, H.R. 3962, fails to include meaningful medical malpractice reforms, preservation of association-sponsored health programs and tax-deferred individual medical savings accounts – methods that NAHB supports to improve the nation's current health care system. "Unfortunately, as currently drafted, H.R. 3962 does not meet these goals and therefore NAHB must oppose the legislation," we concluded. Read more in Nation's Building News Online, or send questions to MondayMorningQuestions@nahb.com.
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Proposed regulatory changes for the Chesapeake Bay watershed
 will affect hundreds of builders and developers across at least six states. With this in mind, NAHB is urging our members whose businesses will be impacted to attend a series of public meetings that EPA is planning to conduct. The proposed regulatory changes were released by the EPA earlier this fall, and since then, NAHB and HBA staff in the affected states have met regularly to coordinate an effective response. The schedule for the EPA meetings has been posted on the agency's website; you will see that these events are planned in various locations across Delaware, the District of Columbia, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The EPA has promised that one meeting in each state will also be broadcast on the Internet so builders can participate online.
NAHB members who attend these meetings should emphasize our association’s support for the federal government’s attempts to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay – while at the same time pointing out the extensive storm water management measures that developers already take to limit runoff. As NAHB has informed EPA, imposing more stringent requirements on the home building industry would not have much impact on the problem at this point. HBA leaders, builders and developers who need assistance with talking points can contact Glynn Rountree at 800-368-5242, x8662.
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Don't miss our Dec. 10 Webcast on customer service skills...
 For the first time, The NAHB University of Housing is offering a webcast of its Customer Service course on Thursday, Dec. 10. The course will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET, at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. Participants can attend the course in person or watch it during the live webcast by registering on the NAHB Web site at www.nahb.org/Customer. Several local home builders associations also will be showing the live webcast, and participants can contact the participating HBA to register. A complete list of participating HBAs is available here. Importantly, designation credit for this course is available for CGA, CGB, CGR and Master CSP. Continuing education credit is also available for CAPS, CGA, CGB, CGR, GMB, CSP, Master CSP, CMP and MIRM. For more information, contact Maria Nande at 800-368-5242 x8435.
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NAHB members mourn the loss of Lee Evans,
 a highly valued and longtime business consultant to home builders nationwide. Lee helped many of our members run their businesses more efficiently over the past 40 years, and his passing has been termed "the end of an era for the housing industry." He was 92 years old when he died in Colorado on Nov. 7 after battling pancreatic cancer. We extend our sincerest sympathies to his wife, Virginia, and all those who knew Lee as the best of friends and advisors. A service is scheduled for Sat., Nov. 21, at 2:00 p.m. in Nederland, Colo. See his obituary in BuilderOnline for more information as it becomes available.
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Notice: NAHB will shut down operations Nov. 23-27
 during the Thanksgiving holiday week. This closure reflects the second portion of a cost-saving effort in which NAHB is closing for business during eight days in 2009. Five of those days occurred in the final week of August; the remaining three days of closure will be those prior to the Thanksgiving holiday (November 23, 24 and 25). In addition, all staff compensation has been cut by a commensurate amount. In May, NAHB CEO Jerry Howard reported to the NAHB Board of Directors that “this shut down plan, along with other cost-cutting measures already adopted, is being implemented to help the Association save millions of dollars.”
During this shut down, your NAHB staff contacts will not be in the office or generally available via phone or e-mail. Staff will answer any messages received during the closure when they return to the office and normal business operations are resumed. Should you have a question or concern during this time, please leave a message with the NAHB Service Center via phone or e-mail at: 800-368-5242 ext 0 or info@nahb.org. Again, responses to any waiting e-mails will not be possible until NAHB returns to normal business operations.
Your flexibility and patience is appreciated during this challenging time.
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