NBN Online for the week of February 13, 2006

Bill Addresses Need for Affordable Military Housing

Legislation that would expand opportunities for enlisted military personnel and their families to obtain safe, decent and affordable housing received the support of the nation’s home builders last week.

Testifying for NAHB before the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, Bobby Bowling, a third generation home builder and president of Tropicana Homes in El Paso, Texas, said the bill — H.R. 3186, the “Build Houses for Our Military’s Enlisted Servicemembers Act” — would allow more military families to qualify for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties.

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Lumber Prices Provided by Random Lengths

Approval and Permit Process Top Challenge for Builders

The development approval and permitting process has emerged as the most challenging issue for the nation’s home builders in NAHB’s latest survey of the critical issues facing the association’s membership. With some differences among the various regions of the country, the issue nationally received an average rating of 4.32, on a scale where 1 indicates that an issue is not critical and 5 that it is very critical.

Rhode Island Builders Help Military Families

When Army reservist Chris Potts and his wife Terri bought their fixer-upper in Tiverton, R.I. two years ago, their plan was to make repairs and cozy up the place as time and money allowed.

When they found out Chris’ unit was shipping off to Iraq, the couple was in the thick of the project. They put it on hold until Chris’ return.

But Chris didn’t return to his home. Sgt Christopher Potts, a member of Alpha Battery, First Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery, U.S. Army Reserve, was killed in action in Tagi, Iraq, in October, 2004.