Quality West Texas Homebuilders Attend Energy Training

On April 26th we attended training for new energy codes, methods, and products for increased energy efficiency and best building practices. The training was sponsored by:

Texas Association of Builders (TAB)
State Energy Conservation Office
Energy Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M University
Railroad Commission of Texas
West Texas Home Builders Association (WTHBA)

It was presented by Dr. Jose Solis and Dr. Fred Bustani. We were one of the only six builders in the area to attend. That is too bad! We think all building professionals would have benefited greatly. In the future we think consumers, too, should be invited to such training because when presented with energy saving options that make sense, many decide to upgrade.

Specific topics included:

Design and Orientation
Structure/Framing
Roof Systems and Overhangs
Mechanical and Electrical Systems
Insulation
Fixtures and Appliances
Landscaping

We were, of course, familiar with many of the topics covered. Information new to us included over 70 changes to the Energy Code (not yet adopted locally but coming soon). We also discussed innovative ideas for foundations, framing and insulation.

The instructors encouraged building professionals to consider smaller designs with better efficiency. They also encouraged large covered porches and outdoor living areas… the more the better! Another recommendation was standing-seam, galvanized aluminum roofing. That is an idea that has not been used extensively in our area for a long time. We will consider the option with our customers.

You may wonder why the Rairoad commission sponsored the training. It is because the Commission regulates the propane industry in Texas. We were given a short presentation about propane options and safety. We were also given information about consumer rebates of up to $800 per house for the use of propane. We will be sharing that information with our customers, as well.

West Texas General Contractors Meet with Our Congress

We set aside last Wednesday as the day we would meet with our congressional representatives, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s office, Sen. John Cornyn, and Rep. Randy Neugebauer. It was a full day to say the least.

We met with a senior aide to Sen Hutchison, as she was unavailable to speak with us.

However, Sen. Cornyn spent considerable time with us. He was already knowledgeable of issues related to banking regulation. We were particularly impressed with his obvious interest in our concerns. We left feeling very good about having had the opportunity to visit with him.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer is always very anxious to make us feel welcome. His background makes him particularly sensitive to issues affecting a healthy home-building market.

All three expressed support for our positions. They seemed to appreciate the fact that we took the time and effort to come to Washington D.C. to voice our opinions. We were particularly happy that Sen. Cornyn and Rep. Neugebauer took the time to meet personally with us.

Lubbock Builders Take Housing Finance Issues to Washington

We are participating in the National Association of Home Builders Spring Board Meetings in Washington D.C. Today, we attended a meeting of the Single Family Finance Subcommittee of the Housing Finance Committee. Meg Burns, Director, Office of Single Family Program Development, FHA, was the featured speaker.

Ms. Burns reported that, contrary to some press reports, FHA is in very good financial position and will not be in need of any sort of federal bailout. She did say that a reserve account deficiency (caused by an increase in the FHA book of business) will require a strengthening of borrowing criteria for future FHA business.

This will include:

Increasing upfront mortgage insurance premiums from 1.75% to 2.25%.
Increasing downpayment requirements.
Reducing allowable seller concessions from 6% to 3%.
Tightening ratio requirements.

Obviously, these changes make it more difficult for creditworthy buyers to purchase new homes. Some of the changes are subject to Federal Register Notice with a comment period. Comments are encouraged. We plan to participate with our comments through NAHB.

Builders from around the country complained of overly conservative appraisals for both FHA and conventional lending. Builders were encouraged to participate in an appraisal dispute process with underwriters where appraisers have failed to recognize fair comps.

Builders in attendance were generally very pessimistic about conditions in their markets. By comparison, we in West Texas feel very fortunate to be in the market we are serving. We are indeed in a strong market where inventories are low and home values have remained stable.

What’s McGuire Builders doing in Washington?

Well, it’s true. The rain didn’t really drive us right out of Texas, though. Rick was recently elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Home Builders. What an honor.

Of course, Rick has been active in the Texas Association of Builders for years. The fact is he’s been the Treasurer for the Texas Association of Builders for the past several years.

Rick considers the privilege to serve the construction industry in such ways the least he can do. After all, how better to make himself aware of state and national issues related to the building industry.

Rick and Randy will be spending the next week in Washington. Look for a followup on the trip. We’ll try to post some interesting feedback.

Texas Real Estate Rules

How Texas Escaped the Real Estate Crisis – Washington Post

Alyssa Katz, writer for the Washington Post, wrote an interesting article recently that explains why we in Texas haven’t experienced anything like the real estate crisis elsewhere in the country. It was not by accident, and if you think we’re just lucky, think again. Your good fortune was by design.

Along time ago, Texas made some great decisions about how we do business when it comes to financing homes in the Lone Star State. Understanding what went into the equation will help you know that you can have confidence in the value of your Texas home. Take a minute to read this article, then count yourself fortunate to be a Texan.

A Link to Our Past

If you’ve been following us on Facebook you may have already viewed this short video. It’s one of our favorites, I think because it reminds me of our ties to our heritage.

If you’ve ever researched where our architectural roots originated in West Texas, you quickly found that we don’t have a lot of history. Unlike New England that’s been around for hundreds of years, West Texas was only settled in the last 150 years or so. An “old house” in West Texas really hasn’t been around all that long.

Jim Jennings offers a fascinating peek into our past with his recollections of his own heritage. No doubt, you will enjoy listening to him and watching the photographs of just a little bit of your history too. Let your imagination run free for a few minutes, and perhaps add a trip to the Ranching Heritage Center to your list of things to do.

Welcome to our new look

About 4 months ago, we decided to take a new direction with our web presence. Like many small businesses we have neglected to take our web presence as seriously as we should. We do a great job building homes. That’s what we do best. But knowing how to maintain a top-notch website has simply never been something we’ve mastered.

Well, all that has changed. Chris Baldelomar, with WebPlant Media, is now a part of the McGuire team. We are happy to have him and Angie Wennerlind on-board. Angie’s graphics have really been the “right touch”. They took our ideas, mixed in a few of our Class A customers, added a few photos of past success and look what they’ve done. We couldn’t be more proud.

There is little doubt marketing has changed enormously since we started in the business. There was a time that building spec-homes, opening them on weekends and meeting new potential clients was the way builders promoted their business. It worked for us for many years. We met hundreds of our neighbors, friends and customers using that technique. A lot of builders continue to use the same strategy, and to some extent it works. But we noticed a change in the market beginning about 10 years ago.

We found that customers are much more informed than ever before. They watch HGTV, cruise the Internet, research products and technologies, and read reviews. They know more about what they want than they used to know. In short, they are more sophisticated. Customers aren’t looking for the perfect spec-home. They know they can do better than getting some of the things they want, and compromising on the rest. They know that there is no need to pay for features of a home that they don’t want, especially at the expense of giving up other features they do want.

What we found was our custom homes sold really well. Our customers enjoyed the process and loved their homes. Our spec homes stayed on the market longer and were never quite what customers had in mind. We were spending more than ever trying to guess what the customers wanted, but never quite meeting the expectations. The clients bought our homes designed especially for them, which was great.

Expect to see more of our efforts dedicated to helping our customers be the most informed they can possibly be. We plan to bring the latest technologies and trends to the table. We’ve learned from our Facebook page that it’s not just a good education for our customers, it’s been good for us too. We are spending more time analyzing the possibilities than ever. It’s exciting, and we hope our clients have as much fun as we are having.

Thanks for taking the time to check us out. Be sure to check back because this is just the beginning.