Louisiana Home Builders Association Newsletter

February 2014

NAHB Applauds Passage of Senate Flood Insurance Bill

*The Senate passed the Flood Bill today with a huge majority 67 to 32. Thanks to the hard work of the NAHB and LHBA, the Blount Amendment was included. A big win! Please take a moment to thank :

Senator Landrieu http://www.landrieu.senate.gov/?p=contact Senator Vitter http://www.vitter.senate.gov/email/ Steve Gallagher [email protected] Jerry Passman [email protected]

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 - The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today applauded Senate passage of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (S. 1926), legislation that would provide relief from soaring flood insurance premium rates for countless home owners across the nation and contains an amendment by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) that is critical to the health of the remodeling industry.

"The bill will resolve some of the costly and unintended consequences of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, including huge premium spikes and impacts on the sale, construction and remodeling of homes across the nation," said NAHB Chairman Rick Judson, a home builder from Charlotte, N.C.

The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act would:

Delay insurance rate increase for all primary residences until an affordability study is completed.
Require that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) take into account all local flood control structures while mapping.
Allow consumers to appeal FEMA's mapping decisions and to be reimbursed for their appeal expenses.
Reinstates an exemption in 53 communities nationwide for basements that are built a certain way.

Sen. Blunt's amendment would return the "substantial improvement threshold" that triggers a higher flood insurance rate to the historic 50 percent level of a structure's fair market value, which is important for many remodelers across the nation.

When the threshold was lowered to 30 percent under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, it acted as a potential disincentive for home owners to hire remodelers, as even the simplest of remodeling jobs, like installing new appliances or updating bathrooms or kitchens, could have resulted in many homes reaching the 30 percent threshold and triggering higher premium rates. NAHB estimates that returning the threshold to the 50 percent level could preserve as much as $8.5 billion in annual remodeling economic activity.

"These provisions will help prevent undue hardship in the recovering housing market, help current and future policyholders keep their premiums affordable, protect home values and make the National Flood Insurance Program more effective," said Judson. "We urge the House to act on a companion bill soon."

Resolving the issue of flood insurance affordability is important to keep the housing recovery on track. NAHB commends Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), David Vitter (R-La.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) for their efforts to pass this bill through the Senate.

LHBA 2014 President

Jerry Passman

Jerry Passman is a second-generation builder having learned the skills of homebuilding from his father, Bob Passman. Starting at the lowest, most menial jobs, Jerry has carried on the tradition of quality and professionalism started by his dad. He has served as a mentor to upcoming home builders by participating with the LSU Construction Student Association and then helping them to get started once they have graduated.

Positions held by Jerry since his involvement with the Home Builders Association:

CRBA Board of Directors - 1997 - present

LHBA Board of Directors - 2003 - present

NAHB Board of Directors - 2003 - present

CRBA President - 2002 and 2010

CRBA Parade of Homes Committee Chairman - 1999

CRBA PAC Trustee - 2000 - present

NAHB Spike - 132 Spike Credits

NAHB Legal Action Committee - 2007 - present

NAHB State Rep for Louisiana - 2008 - 2010

LHBA Secretary - 2012

LHBA Vice President - 2013

Awards of the highest honors earned by Jerry:

CRBA Builder of the Year - 1999

LHBA Builder of the Year - 2009

Jerry has a true commitment to the home building industry and all the people who work in it. He sacrifices a lot of time away from his family attending national, state and local meetings all to make this a better industry to work in and a better product for the consumer. When problems arise, Jerry looks at them like challenges to be solved. He has worked on so many local issues such as impact fees and code changes; on state issues such as protecting the new home warranty act and on national issues such as with EPA and OSHA. His legacy will be that he contributed his time and knowledge to help promote and protect our industry and we are looking forward to having Jerry serve as our 2014 President.

Meet LHBA's Senior Officers (Left to right: Conrad Blanchard, Peter Young, Jerry Passman, Jim Fine, Ray Kothe, Helmut Mundt)

The LHBA Awards Ceremony and 2014 Installation Banquet was held January 9th at the Renaissance Hotel in Baton Rouge featuring the LHBA 2014 President,
Jerry Passman of Passman Homes (Baton Rouge).

His fellow Senior officers include Vice President; Peter Young of Pemar Properties, LLC (Metairie); Treasurerer, Jim Fine of Duggan & Fine Construction Co., Inc. (Bossier City); Secretarty, Conrad Blanchard of Casual Concepts (West Monroe); Associate Vice President, Helmut Mundt of Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency (New Orleans); and NAHB State Representative, Ray Kothe of Kothe Contracting & Construction LLC (Baton Rouge).

Four very deserving awards were given to those who demonstrated exemplary commitment to the association and their professional fields:

Builder of the Year 2013- Donny Jenkins of Jenkins Homes (St. Tammany)

Remodeler of the Year 2013- Roy Olsen of Landis Residential Builders (New Orleans)

Associate of the Year 2013- Helmut Mundt of Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency (New Orleans)

Michael J. Penn Award of Excellence- Curtis Loftin of Curtis M. Loftin Builder Inc. (Shreveport)

Congratulations!

Award Winners

Left to right: Helmut Mundt, Donny Jenkins, Roy Olsen

Curtis Loftin

Today's numbers paint a clear picture - 9 out of 10 home buyers will start their search online for a new home. Knowing this, it is important to have a strong web presence and differentiate yourself from the competition.

As part of this partnership, BDX provides all LHBA builder members a FREE listing on the site. Builder members who participate and list their homes will see high quality leads, traffic to the builder's website and communities.

Don't waste time, SIGN UP TODAY!

This insurance program was introduced in November of 2010, to the LHBA. The program has provided an opportunity for Builder Members to reduce their costs and in many cases improve the coverage afforded to them in previous builder risk insurance programs that they have used.

Immediate benefits are:

1.) Reduced premium costs to the builder. In most case we can show the builder a 20-30% savings in premium costs. It is estimated that since 2010, the program has saved participating Builders over $375,000 in combined insurance premiums.

2.) This program is exclusive to HBA Builder Members. That means it provides a great Membership recruiting tool for prospective builders. This program only enhances the coverage available exclusively to our Members just like the Homebuilders SIF (Workers Compensation Insurance Program).

3.) The LHBA and your local HBA Chapter realize non-dues revenue from this program. In fact since 2010 the program has generated in excess of $ 100,000 in revenue for the LHBA, and over $ 6,000 to local State HBA Chapters.

This program is just another valuable program designed for you the Builder Member, to benefit from your membership in the Louisiana Home Builders Association. The program can be accessed through your current agent if they are appointed to represent the program. We currently have over 50 agencies appointed in the State. Call to see if this program is right for you, contact us today. Thank You and we look forward to hearing from you.

1-855-442-2467 Toll Free

[email protected]

2014 DATES TO REMEMBER:

Feb. 4-7

NAHB IBS- Las Vegas

Feb. 11

Acadian- General Membership Meeting

St. Tammany- General Membership Luncheon

Feb. 13

St. Tammany- Business After Hours

Feb. 20

CRBA- General Membership Meeting

Feb. 21

Tangipahoa- 3rd Annual Skeet Shoot

Feb. 25

New Orleans- General Membership Meeting

Mar. 8

CRBA Home Expo

Mar. 8-9

Acadian- Home, Garden and Lifestyle Show

Mar. 15-16

Southeast- Bayou Home Show

Mar. 20

Tangipahoa- Membership Luncheon

Apr. 10

LHBA Executive Committee Meeting

May 7, 8 & 9

LHBA Spring Board of Directors

Hilton Capitol Center

MAY 7- LEGISLATIVE DAY

June 4-7

NAHB Legislative Conference

Washington D.C.

June 26

LHBA Executive Committee Meeting

July 9, 10 &11

LHBA Summer Board of Directors

Perdido Beach Resort

Aug. 12-16

NAHB Association Leadership Institute

St. Louis, MO

Sept. 3-6

NAHB Fall Board

Phoenix, AZ

Sept. 25

LHBA Executive Committee Meeting

Oct. 15, 16 &17

LHBA Board of Directors

Courtyard by Marriott- Covington

For more events going on in your area please contact your local HBA!

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LHBA MISSION STATEMENT

Our goal is to provide Louisiana with quality housing that is safe and affordable.

The Louisiana Home Builders Association is comprised of Builders & Associate members which:

Represents the homebuilding industry before state & regulatory bodies

Serves as the chief advocate of private property rights

Educates the general public as to the advantages of utilizing licensed builders

Promotes professionalism in the homebuilding industry

Promotes economic development & quality of life in Louisiana

www.lhba.org

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