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Author Archives: Rusty MacLachlan - HBA President
HBA President’s Blog: Maintaining the Integrity of the Competitive Process
In today’s highly competitive market we are all looking for ways to expand our opportunities. Many of us are accepting a new reality — we must bid more and more jobs in order to secure even one contract. We are painfully aware that buyers today are asking multiple builders to bid on their home construction project. Often times we discover …
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President’s Blog: A Winning Season May Be Just Around the Corner
“I’m just ready for all of this to be over.” Those words of pain have been uttered by many loyal St. Louis Cardinals fans recently. It’s become pretty obvious that our beloved team has given up. A quick look at the league standings only drive the point home. The team’s season is about to slide into the record books as …
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Housing Conference Recap – Finding the New Normal
The “good old days” of housing are gone for good. If you are waiting for the housing industry to get back to normal, you’re in for a surprise. It’s not going to happen. The old “normal” is gone, a new “normal” is evolving. Springfield’s 1st regional housing conference served as a road map for success in navigating the new normal. …
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Help for Builders, Remodelers & Developers – Cost of Doing Business Program
BUILDER/REMODELER-ONLY BREAKFAST & PROGRAM ON DECEMBER 17 As builders, we know our industry is weathering difficult times and that the last couple of years have been challenging, to say the least. At this point home builders have a couple of options: We can sit around and complain about how bad it is; or we can take steps now to prepare …
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Change and the Art of Survival
A very large Oak Tree was uprooted by a storm and thrown across a stream. It fell among some reeds, which the powerful tree addressed, “How is it that these winds can knock me down, but you who are so weak and frail survive?” They replied, “You fight and contend with the wind, and consequently are destroyed; while we have …
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President’s Blog: A Tale of Two Sams
A wise grandmother once said, “If you’re having a bad day, then do something good for someone else. You will brighten their day and yours, too”. In the midst of a slow housing market, two of our builder members took the advice of Grandma. At a time when conventional wisdom tells us to look out for #1, to scale back, …
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A Productive Talk With Our Lenders
The board officers and our Education Czar recently invited member lending institutions to the table to discuss the dramatically different landscape we find ourselves in currently, especially with regard to AD&C lending and individual mortgage loans. Our objective was to better understand both the market and regulatory forces which are creating the changes that affect our industry so substantially. We …
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Fire Sprinklers "Mandatory Option" is Just what the Doctor Ordered!
A funny thing happened on the way to mandatory fire sprinklers. The Home Builder’s Association of Missouri and the State Fire Chiefs of the Show Me state hashed out an agreement where the real winner is the buying public. As you well know the National Association of Home Builder’s attempts to halt the inclusion of Mandatory fire sprinklers in the …
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Fed Action Means Lower Mortgage Rates are on the Way
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced some very aggressive steps aimed at unlocking the sluggish credit markets, with a major focus on further lowering mortgage interest rates. The Fed said it would significantly expand its ongoing program of buying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and debt. The Fed increased its planned MBS purchases by $750 billion, making the …
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Hope Springs Eternal
Good News! Good News! Good News! The St. Louis Cardinals are still in first place. Well so are the Cubs for that matter. But, opening day is just around the corner and our beloved redbirds are sure to have a banner year.Wow, a little good weather does great wonders for our spirits. We just cannot help but believe that winter …
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