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March 2015
Tool Box March 2015
Calendar of Events
2015 February March 4 BOD Meeting April 1 BOD Meeting 14 GMM Meeting 28 - 29 HBAG Spring Meeting
East Metro HBA P.O. Box 2055
Covington, GA 30015 770-786-3333
General Membership Meeting Sponsored by
Great Southern Wood Preserving And
Social Circle Ace Tuesday, April 14th 2015
8:30am
Please make your reservations 770-786-3333
To Be Held at the Social Circle Ace Archery Range
Behind the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle
March 2015
News from the Office TOOL BOX Page 2
TOOL BOX is published monthly by the East Metro Home Builders Association, P.O. Box 2055, Cov-ington, GA 30015, and is distrib-uted free of charge to qualified members and parties of interest in the local Home Building Indus-try. All rights reserved. Repro-duction of editorial or graphic content in any manner without the written consent of the pub-lisher is prohibited.
MISSION STATEMENT
The East Metro Home Builders Association represents its mem-bers by serving as the voice of the housing industry in Newton and Walton County. It interacts with the Newton and Walton County government to assure quality and orderly growth, pro-vide obtainable housing and maintain a favorable business climate. In addition, the East Metro Home Builders Association provides its membership with opportunities to grow profession-ally through peer interaction and educational seminars.
A Tool Box Publication
eastmetrohba.com
President….Mike Smith Vice President…..Tim Anderson
Treasurer/Secretary...Paul Courchaine Builder Director…. Bob Goucher Associate Director….Scott Neely
Associate Director ...Ken Ellington Executive Officer……..Lyda Beasley
As Executive Officer of the East Metro HBA and on be-half of the Board of Directors I would like to ask you, our Members if you would enjoy a Family Picnic for our June General Member Meeting? We want your feedback! We would be looking at possibly a Thursday evening around 5:00 at a Park centrally located for everyone. How does that sound? We would want to make it a family affair to get to meet everyone, their children and grandchildren with us providing a dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone.
If you would just email me any response to: [email protected]
I look forward to hearing from you,
Lyda Beasley
Bylaws and Policy Manual Changes With the Name change of our Home Builders Association from Newton County Home Builders Association to East Metro Home Builders Asso-ciation we have made appropriate changes to our Bylaws and Policy Manual. Current Members will be sent via email a copy of the proposed changes. If you have any questions , additions or issues please contact us before April 30th 2015. Items to Delete will be highlighted and Items to be added will be underlined.
March 2015
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State News Local News Volunteers needed to keep Newton Beautiful Keep Covington/Newton Beautiful (KCNB) needs volunteers to clean up roadside litter during the Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest annual community improvement program. KCNB’s kickoff event will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 28 at Longhorn Steakhouse of Covington, rain or shine.
Mamie’s Kitchen Biscuits, Brown Bridge Road location, is providing biscuits for volunteers. Longhorn Steakhouse will provide bottled water, and KCNB will provide T-shirts (for the first 750 registrants), gloves and garbage bags.
“The Great American Cleanup offers an opportunity to bring greater awareness to the litter problem, while also stressing the need for prevention and working toward a solution,” KCNB Director Laurie Riley said. “KCNB is aware of the litter in our community, and we know that a clean community is vital to economic development.”
More than 1,300 volunteers in Newton County participated in Great American Cleanup litter cleanup and education-al programs last year and removed over 50,000 pounds of trash from alongside local roadways.
Monroe to be taken over by Classic Cars for Annual Event Downtown Monroe’s 10th annual Classic Car Show, presented by BB&T Insurance Services, will commence from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 21 along Court Street, Midland Avenue and Washington Street. This Walton County favorite, held every spring, is known to attract spectators and participants statewide. Contestants will enjoy a guest appearance by Sam Memmolo, host of radio’s Two Guys Garage on the Speed Channel. DJ Tommy Landrum will also play classic rock music throughout the day. A food court will be set up and downtown restaurants will also be open.
Plans taking shape to alter landscape of Loganville One-way pairing of roads may finally come to fruition
LOGANVILLE — While it is more of a long-term approach, city officials are making plans for the changing landscape of the downtown area. In May the first steps for a project that has been in the works since 1994, according to Councilman Mike Jones, will be taken as Loganville will host an informational meeting on the one-way pairings of roads through downtown. The two roads to be affected will be Main Street and CS Floyd Road.
March 2015
National News TOOL BOX Page 4
Please Tell Your Members about Important Changes to Water Heaters We hope you'll make sure your builder and remodeler members know that changes are in the works regarding size and installation requirements for many water heaters. These changes are the result of new federal energy-efficiency standards going into effect for those appliances manufactured after April 15. The changes will affect nearly all types of water heaters being produced, but the changes depend on the size of the water heater and what the manufacturer chooses to do. Smaller water heaters of 55 gallons and less, the most commonly used, may see an increase in size – perhaps 1-2 inches taller or wider – to account for the additional insu-lation necessary to make the higher effi-ciency. These increased dimensions may require additional installation clearances and may not work for closet installation re-placements. However, some manufacturers may choose to adjust the capacity of some of their tanks to make sure they can still fit where the old-er models did, even if they hold 2-3 gallons less. The standards will have their biggest impact on the design and installation of gas and electric heaters larger than 55 gallons in capacity – about 10% of the residential wa-ter heater market. For these larger units, electric water heaters must use a heat-pump design and gas water heaters will need to be a condensing combustion type to meet the new efficiency requirements. You can read a more detailed explanation at nahb.org/waterheaters, and as NAHB learns more about the changes, the page will be updated. Manufacturers are now beginning to get the word out on impending changes. Your members should contact their sale representatives, suppliers or plumbing subcontractors to discuss the best solution for their projects. For additional information, contact Don Surrena at 800-368-5242 x8574.
Please Tell your Members about Important Changes to Water Heaters
March 2015
Page 5 TOOL BOX
National News
We’re pleased to extend to NAHB members a private offer of up to $500* toward the purchase or lease of most new GM vehicles. NAHB members who are business owners can now qualify for up to $1,000 and also add on incentives from the National Fleet Purchase Program** and Business Choice† to get the best value on vehicles that run your business. To get this offer just visit your local dealer, choose an eligible GM vehicle, and present your NAHB proof of mem-bership form.
How it works:
Get your NAHB proof of membership form at nahb.org/GM. 1. Bring form to your GM dealer and mention this private offer.
2. At time of purchase or lease, present your NAHB proof of membership.
For private offer details, visit nahb.org/GM.
*Private offer amount varies by model. $500 offer for retail deliveries and up to $1,000 offer for fleet deliveries. Valid toward the purchase or lease of eligible 2014 and 2015 model-year vehicles. Customer must take delivery by 1/4/16. Not compatible with other private offers. Not valid on prior purchases. Compatible with many current incentives. Incentives are subject to change without notice. Excludes Buick Regal, Chevrolet Corvette, Sonic, Spark, SS, Volt, all Cadillac models. FAN number required. See dealer for complete details.
**Offer eligible for non-CAP customers only through 12/31/15. See dealer for details.
†To qualify, vehicle must be used in the day-to-day operation of the business and not solely for transportation purposes. Must provide proof of business. For complete program requirements, including information regarding offers, vehicles, equipment, options, warranties, and ordering, consult your dealer or visit gmbusinesschoice.com. Take delivery by 9/30/15.
Sales of newly built, single-family homes dropped 0.2% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000
units from an elevated December reading, according to newly released data by HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau.
“The fact that January sales numbers maintained the gains we made in December is encouraging news, especially
considering harsh weather affecting certain parts of the country,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods.
“In a promising sign, new home sales have been trending at post-recession highs for the past two months,” said
NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “As the economy strengthens and mortgage rates remain low, we can ex-
pect continued upward movement in the housing market this year.” The inventory of new homes for sale was at
218,000 in January, which is a 5.4-month supply at the current sales pace.
Regionally, new home sales rose 19.2% in the Midwest and 2.2% in the South. Sales dropped 0.8% in the West
and 51.6% in the Northeast, most likely due to adverse weather conditions in that geographic area.
GM NAHB Private Offer Continues and Business Owners Can Now Save $1000
New-Home Sales Near Post-Recession Highs
March 2015
TOOL BOX Page 6
Economics
Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D. is a nationally acclaimed economist and public speaker specializing in making the arcana and minutia of economics fun, relevant and educational. http://econ70.com/
To receive your weekday economic information, just drop Dr. Eisenberg a line at [email protected]
http://www.nahb.org/MA
Tough Transit
After WWII, public transit use peaked at 23 billion unique trips, meaning that 20% of the US population took public transit twice a day. Public transit usage then quickly declined, hitting a low of 6.6 billion unique trips in 1972. In 2014 ridership probably hit 10.8 billion trips, which, while the highest level since 1956, still means that just 4% of the population now uses public transit twice a day.
Price Protection
Many stores offer low-price-match guarantees. On the surface this protects consumers. But it can harm them too. Once convinced that a store will match a lower price, customers may not shop around to find better prices. Moreover, if multiple stores offer a low-price-match, re-duced prices won’t boost sales and the price-match be-comes a form of legal price collusion. Low-price-matches primarily help consumers when the low-cost provider offers the guarantee.
March 2015
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Curious Homes
