Professional Builder (1993) articles from August 2006

Professional Builder (1993) archives from August 2006

Turning Home Buyers Into Partners.
August 1, 2006... By Paul Cardis, NRS Corp. Relationship lessons from author Chip Bell Though a successful marriage might begin with burning desire and deep affection, it becomes more of a partnership than a love fest. Just ask anyone who has been...

It's Not Expensive Being Green.(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... By Felicia Oliver, Senior Editor Builders of moderately priced homes can give buyers environmentally sound features for about the same price. The myth that green building is only for the super environmentally conscious is dead. Now the...

The Times They Are A-Changin'.
August 1, 2006... By Bob Piper, The Talon Group Being an old rocker at heart, I thought of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" while attending a recent Urban Land Institute conference called Developing Master-Planned Communities: Learning from the...

Home Building's Perfect Storm.
August 1, 2006... By Scott Sedam, TrueNorth Development Problems are brewing over labor issues. We've watched a "perfect storm" brew in the Bush/Gore election fiasco and have seen it recently with Hurricane Katrina -- two unusually big messes. But...

Selling Your Builder.
August 1, 2006... By John Rymer, New Home Knowledge John Rymer Many components of a new-home purchase can be duplicated. Floor plans, elevations, home site sizes, financing, community amenities and locations can be copied by other builders. The single...

One-Stop Shop.(Editorial)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... By Mark Jarasek, Senior Editor The Estridge Companies combines a design studio, sales center and headquarters in an unlikely place -- a mall. The Estridge Companies in mid-February unveiled a design studio and corporate headquarters in...

Study reveals room for growth.(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... By Laura Butalla, Senior Editor Owens Corning conducted a housing survey of 1,217 households to find out who intended to purchase a new home in the next 18 months and what kind of home they were interested in buying. The following charts...

Illegal Trades.(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... Paul Deffenbaugh, Editorial Director What would you do tomorrow if the government arrested a third of your workforce today? Could you open the doors? Meet your contract obligations? In some segments of the construction industry,...

Clean Sweep?(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor As Congress debates how to deal with illegal immigrants, home builders split sides, too, while the fear of losing their skilled immigrant labor sets in. If you're like most home builders, you're already...

Acting Out.(home buying)
August 1, 2006... By Sara Zailskas, Staff Writer The actors hired to simulate family life in a Centex model home are boosting traffic -- for less than the cost of an ad. You won't hear a family argument save for a minor squabble between brother and...

Taylor Woodrow Named A Top Sustainable Company.(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... By Sara Zailskas, Staff Writer Developers have choices when tackling a new community: rejuvenate an old neighborhood or start a brand new one? Taylor Woodrow focuses on taking an obsolete community and giving it new life -- an approach...

Pulte Homes.
August 1, 2006... Steve Burch, National Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. With Contributions from Jim Petersen, Director of Research and Development Pulte Homes' Pultrim by Tecton Steve Burch www.tectonproducts.com ...

Streamline Your Business.
August 1, 2006... By Asa Foss, PATH Partners Shortcuts can help you profit in a new market. As the white-hot housing market cools, builders can maintain a competitive edge by improving construction quality while controlling costs. Factory Building...

Decorative Products.(Fypon Inc.)(Milgard Windows)(Weather Shield Manufacturing Inc.)
August 1, 2006... By Nick Bajzek, buildingproducts@reedbusiness.com Weather Shield Windows & Doors Nick Bajzek Weather Shield's Collections doors, which were featured as prototypes at IBS, have hide-away roll screens in a French sliding...

Decked Out.(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... By Jennifer Block Martin, Contributing Editor Landscape professionals offer builders advice for building better decks. Decks create an extension of living space when they are thoughtfully integrated with a home's exterior. As recent...

Earth, wind and fire.
August 1, 2006... Staff More On Coastal Building Thanks for featuring my company in the July 2006 issue of Professional Builder in "The Complete Guild to Coastal Building." I love it when a writer interviews you and gets the facts right and your quotes...

The Complete Home Office.(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... By Laura Butalla, Senior Editor Homeowners seek work spaces that fit within the floor plan and aesthetically blend with the house. Ten years ago, homeowners crammed office spaces into the corner of bedrooms and kitchens or spread out...

Southern Flare on the West Coast.(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... By Laura Butalla, Senior Editor Barratt American Homes' Magnolia Estates meshes Southern Colonial with Californian influences. Californian homes are known for their Spanish Colonial- or Mediterranean-influenced exteriors. Barratt...

Market Entry Magic.(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor Wall Homes makes its mark in a Texas move-up market by adding design flair to 17 projects in 6 months. Steve Wall knows how to make a big splash. The former CEO of Texas Giant Choice Homes opened the doors...

Bigger Better Box.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
August 1, 2006... By Martha Russis, Contributing Editor When the manufactured-housing industry plummeted, modular home builders improved their product and entered new markets. Site-built housing is still the U.S. standard by a long shot and an...

Designed To Move Up Fast.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor CEO Spotlight: Steve Wall When Steve Wall, 48, left his leadership position at Texas Giant Choice Homes in January of 2005, after six years as its CEO, industry insiders predicted it wouldn't take long for...

Texas Lessons.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
August 1, 2006... Bill Lurz If you're crying in your beer about the condition of the market in your neck of the woods, look no further than Texas for evidence it didn't have to be this way. There's no downturn in our national economy. Job growth is...

Sink or Swim.(Homebuilders Financial Network)( KB Home Mortgage Co.)
August 1, 2006... By Sheree R. Curry, Contributing Editor In the captive mortgage business, some bail, others thrive. GIANTS examines the pros and cons of the paths KB Home and others have taken. Home builders are in a perfect position to offer home...

The Truth About Valuations.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
August 1, 2006... By Jody Kahn Kline, Michael P. Kahn and Associates First in a two-part series You can't chat with a group of builders today without hearing about slowing sales, and the industry is anticipating a prolonged period of softer market...

Midwest Jobs Affect Housing Market.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
August 1, 2006... By John Burns, John Burns Real Estate Consulting For better or for worse, employment numbers have significant impact for the Columbus and Detroit markets. This month we look at two Midwestern cities where the employment situation has...

Are Your Scopes More Than Just a Handshake?(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
August 1, 2006... By Michael Dickens, BuildIQ Improve product quality and performance across multiple divisions with detailed scopes of work. In the old days, when building plans fit on two sheets of 18 by 24 paper, the industry built homes on a...

New Partnerships.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
August 1, 2006... Niles D. Crum, Publisher, Building and Construction Group I am delighted to announce that the Reed Building Group has formed an alliance with DesignLens.com . In the last six years, DesignLens.com has become a beacon point for the housing...

Money Can't Buy You Love.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
August 1, 2006... By Rick Heaston, R.A. Heaston & Company Mark Twain once complained, "I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one." Sound familiar? If it doesn't, you haven't been in the home-building business long enough. ...

Indices Mauled.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
August 1, 2006... By Margot Crabtree, Trade Trends The housing slowdown hit our indices hard this month, while the national markets closed mixed, just off center. The sales of new homes rose in May by the fastest rate this year, but existing home sales...