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HBA
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HOME BUILDING
HBA
PDX
.
ORG
HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN PORTLAND •
JANUARY, 2013
2013 Housing Forecast
draws industry leaders
Experts weighed in on the
state of the national and local
residential housing market.
—See page 9
As your new President, I want
to welcome you to 2013.
Now is the time to let go of the
previous year, whether good,
bad or flat and look forward to a
fresh start. With a new business
plan in hand, you have the
chance to push the reset button
on what didn’t work and the
refresh button on what did work.
This is the same when it comes to
your involvement with the Home
Builders Association. Together,
we can look to the year ahead
and f ind ways to help each
other ride the wave of growing
industry confidence. I hope that
you can find member benefits
highlighted in this edition of the
Home Building News to support
your sales efforts, increase your
knowledge, contribute to your
community, grow your resources
and open your eyes to new
opportunities.
Not only does the HBA provide
you with numerous programs
to save money, increase your
knowledge and give back – it
also gives you unprecedented
access to hard working and
successful industry professionals
ready to share their knowledge.
We
hop e
you r
HBA
member ship wi l l be
the
comprehensive resource to grow
your business this year.
Take advantage of all the
p rogr ams and bus i nes s
par tnerships your business
qualif ies for and commit to
finding a monthly HBA event or
activity that fits your needs and
schedule. Monthly networking,
volunteering and education
events are always listed on page
four of this paper, and kept
updated at
www.hbapdx.org
. But
don’t stop there – if you have a
business associate you know
that may not be an HBAmember,
invite them to something that
they can benef it from, too.
Someone helped each of us on
this journey and you can pay it
forward.
When everyone in our industry
has the resources they need to be
successful, we are all successful.
Here’s wishing you a successful
2013.
WHAT ’ S INSIDE THIS MONTH’ S ISSUE
YOUR BUSINESS, page 11
COACHES CORNER, page 15
Build your business
through strategic
partnerships
F i nd i ng and formi ng
strategic partnerships is the
single best way to extend your
reach and accomplish more as
a small business owner.
Why Buy New
Ear l ier this year, BDX
parent company, Bui lder
Homesite (BHI), an Austin-
based consortium comprised
of 32 of the nation’s largest
home builders, announced
the launch of a new initiative
des i gned to pos i t i ve l y
influence public perception of
new construction homes.
FOUNDATION, page 8
Roger Neu takes the
helm of the Foundation
Board
As the 2013 President of the
HBF Board of Trustees, roger
Neu shares his goals for the
Foundation. roger encourages
all HBA members to help
accomplish these goals by
volunteering to do “something”
for the Foundation in 2013.
YOUR INDUSTRY, page 9
Laurie Butler, incoming
PAC Chair, weighs in on
Housing Forecast
Laurie Butler, in the Builders
Services Department at First
American Title is in daily
contact with builders and
developers in our tri-county
area. She was ecstatic to hear
that the forecast going forward
is for a steady upward climb.
Membership Drive Success!
Our fantastic fall membership
drive ended with a bang in
November. We are ending the
year on a high note with over
900 active members
—See page 5
By Jon Bell
For the HBA
Save hundreds — maybe thousands — of
dollars. Post new home listings for free. Get
discounts on fuel, cell phone plans and insur-
ance. Maybe even make a few new friends.
The list of benefits for members of the HBA
is a long one that can help businesses of all
shapes and sizes in a range of different ways.
The key to many of those benefits, however, is
simply taking advantage of them.
“There are so many benefit options that
members of all sizes can get real value for
themselves and their businesses if they just
engage in them,” said Emily Zahniser, com-
munications coordinator for the HBA.
The newest addition to the list of HBAmem-
ber benefits comes courtesy of Montgomery
& Graham, an employee benefits and insur-
ance provider. The company already offers
group health plans and property and casualty
insurance at rates that are anywhere from 10
percent tomore than 40 percent cheaper than
other plans. M&G also offers a 10 percent SAIF
worker’s comp discount.
Portland HBA HR Portal
Our Hr Portal will be an online tool that lets
members organize and access all their human
resources, benefits, risk management, OSHA
and other employee-related business needs.
Every HBA member will be able to set up their
own user name and password to log into the
site, which can be customized in a number of
different ways. Brian Leong, employee ben-
efits consultant for M&G, said Hr managers
who are clients of M&G can use the site to se-
curely store and access benefit and property
and casualty policy information.
“It will really be a great way to organize all
those kinds of documents and information in
a single place that’s easy to access at a mo-
ment’s notice,” Leong said.
National Purchasing Partners
Also on the list of benefits for HBAmembers
are discount Verizon cell phone plans that can
save members anywhere between 18 and 22
percent on their monthly bills.
rachel Frazier of National Purchasing Part-
ners, the company that runs the program,
said members can sign up with NPP for free
with no obligation to purchase. She said the
program is easy for a range of companies to
take advantage of. To enroll for the discount, a
company must derive the substantial amount
of its revenue from physical construction la-
bor. Typical companies that participate in-
clude general contractors, builders, HVAC
contractors, remodelers, plumbing contrac-
tors, architects and engineers.
“We offer a no-hassle discount without any
hidden fees,” Frazier said. “There is no harm
or cost to signing up with NPP and taking a
look at what our discount plan has to offer.
HBA members will also have access to other
vendors besides Verizon, such as Staples.” To
find out more, contact NPP at 800-290-3321 or
visit
www.mynpp.com.
OHBA Member Rebate Program
Another big benefit that HBA members can
take advantage of — and save big money
from— is the Oregon Home Builders Associa-
tion Member rebate Program. Through the
free program, builders and remodelers who
use products from a list of select manufactur-
ers and then fill out a quick form are eligible
for a quarterly rebate.
“It’s fairly simple,” said Carol Myers, asso-
ciation services director for the OHBA. “There
are a number of product brand names on the
program, so if you use any of them when you
build a home or complete a remodel, they of-
fer a rebate.”
A few examples of listed manufacturers in-
clude Delta, Mansfield Plumbing, TimberTech,
Perks, portals and preferred pricing
lead to 2013 profits for HBA members
By Steve Heiteen,
2013 HBA President
From
The Top
OUR MEMBER BENEFIT
PARTNERS
See BENEFITS / page 6
Don’t miss the Oregon Hospi
tality Suite at the MGM Grand!
Join us during the
International Builders Show
at the
Oregon Hospitality Suite!
Wednesday, January 23rd
4:30-7:30pm
MGM Grand Suite will be emailed to you by
Tuesday morning, January 23rd
Don’t miss out on food, fun, and beverages!
Sponsored By
Greetings from fabulous
Las Vegas
Join us during the
International Builders Show
at the
Oregon Hospitality Suite!
Wednesday, January 23rd
4:30-7:30pm
MGM Grand Suite will be emailed to you by
Tuesday morning, January 23rd
Don’t miss out on food, fun, and beverages!
Sponsored By
Greetings from fabulous
Las Vegas
Join us during the
International Builders Show
at the
Oregon Hospitality Suite!
Wednesday, January 23rd
4:30-7:30pm
MGM Grand Suite will b emailed to you by
Tuesday mor ing, January 23rd
Don’t miss out on food, fun, and b verages!
Sponsored By
Greetings from fabulous
Las Vegas
a part of
International Builder Show
Las Vegas, Nevada
January 22 – 25 • 4:30pm – 7:00pm
Call (503) 684-1880 for more information
Sponsored By
New and returning HBA
benefits turn into time and
money saved in the New