HOBB Community

The following will be a great resource for all prospective new house buyers who are about the make the largest, and possibly best, purchase of their lives.   New house shoppers may find the NAHB publication, Residential Construction Performance Guidelines helpful, along with any commentary available through a search engine on the Internet.   Web sites such as HADD.com, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, and HOBB.org, Homeowners For Better Building, as well as other web sites, may help prospective new house buyers make a knowledgeable decision.

The following is from HADD.com, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, Headline News:

 NAHB Launches 'It's a Great Time to Buy a Home' Campaign
Available to NAHB members for free online, “It’s a Great Time to Buy” provides a starting point for public relations campaigns to galvanize prospective home buyers who have been discouraged by negative reports in the media to go out and see for themselves the range of opportunities that have opened up in today’s slower marketplace.

Resources in the buy-now package include:

Talking points, Q&As and a sample press release
Sample op-eds, letter to the editor and newspaper columns
An economic backgrounder
Print and radio advertisements
Public relationis advice on getting the message out through the media, events and Web sites
A home builders association guide on how to make the most of the package
Sample member communications, including a newsletter article and tips for engaging members in the campaign

Because conditions vary from market to market, "It’s a Great Time to Buy" is meant to serve as a guide. NAHB’s Public Affairs staff is available to help craft custom PR and media strategies for individual markets and is soliciting comments and suggestions from members to contribute to the effectiveness of the campaign.

They're also still promoting "creative financing" to get in those homes: http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2006-10-30/Economics+%26+Finance/2.html  I find this morally repugnant.  I believe that this country is seeing a rise in foreclosures and mortgage fraud as a result of these practices, and no one with a conscience or a brain should still be promoting this type of financing.  BTW, isn't Countrywide who gave this lecture to the NAHB still in some sort of arrangement with KB Home, which was fined last year or this year by HUD for predatory lending?  SHEESH!

I DON'T have a lot of sympathy for people who willingly go along with shady lending practices, or who don't bother to do any self-education before they buy a house, but I also don't think the companies engaging in this should get away with it.  IMO they're committing fraud and too few of them are actually getting caught and prosecuted.  They should do prison time!