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The Maintenance Manager ProTec Building Services     www.ProTecBSI.com     Spring 2008 Editors Note:  In most normal housing downturns the largest risk builder's face is staying in business.  That is especially the case in this "abnormal" downturn.  However, in the zeal for trimming overhead don't make the mistake of cutting all of your Customer Service and Community Liaison staff.  Consider that we are now entering a "Perfect Storm" of litigation risk where Customer Service staff has been cut, homebuyer's equity has plunged, home prices have been lowered in subsequent phases and substantial rains are testing housings water tightness.  Yes, SB 800 will help by allowing repairs to come before litigation, but it will be challenged.  Let's hope builders take advantage of the right to repair - and fix problems before they become lawsuits - J. David Rauch It wasn't so long ago... "The American dream, though never realizable for all, is owning one's own home.  That long-held dream has been a prime spark for our extraordinary economic growth.  The present housing industry depression won't last forever.  Until lately, not only have high interest rates prevailed, but money at any rate has been unavailable for so many who hoped to build or buy.  That put this greatest basic business in the dumps. Higher rates than the old 8% to 9% are probably here to stay-but not at anything like the present double-digit depressant.  In a couple of years, a booming market is more apt to be the problem than the present "no market". - Malcom Forbes (1983)   The Nation's Leading Maintenance Manuals You buy the best land to build your homes.  You hire the best consultants to help you entitle and develop your land.  You use the best employees and trade contractors to build the best home you can.  Why would you even consider not using "Maintenance Experts & Consultants" to write your Homeowner and HOA maintenance manuals?  Why would you risk using a document storage company, a "generic" document publisher who just copies other maintenance manuals or a third-party construction risk consulting company to create your maintenance manuals?  ProTec Building Services has 170 employees whose sole core "mission" is maintenance.  We don't need other companies to "vet" our manuals as we are "the national maintenance experts".  We do have many of the largest homebuilders in the US work with us to customize their own manual templates for their individual region of the country.  These templates take into account local climate and legal conditions that are unique to that region. Take the time to compare any of our competitor's manuals (Homeowner or HOA) to ours.  To help you compare we will send you a CD of any type of manual you require (Single-family, condo, mid-rise, high-rise, master HOA or commercial).  Not only are our manuals project specific, climate-specific, accurate and understandable... but they are recommendations by actual maintenance consultants.  ProTec maintains over 300 communities of all types.  ProTec writes all types of maintenance manuals from Florida to Hawaii and soon Dubai.  We lead the way... all others follow.  NOR Claims Corner: Warranty claims from both HOA's and Single-family homeowners continue to flow into builder's offices.  Numerous lawsuits continue to flow into law firms offices.  These suits are split equally between single-family and HOA.  There are a disproportiate number of vertical communities, especially high-rises now embroiled in the claims process.  As in the past, it appears that the claims made, especially HOA claims, are attempting to extrapolate alleged defects affecting some units to encompass an entire project and appear to involve owner claims for which the HOA has no jurisdiction.  A summary of the results last falls SB 800 survey are available on the CHF Web site, www.mychf.org. Arbitration News: Recently the California Court of Appeal held that an arbitration agreement between a builder and homebuyers unenforceable as unconscionable.  The decision, Baker v. Osborne Development Corporation will have important ramifications on the risk of all developers for their projects, if the decision is not appealed.  The decision requires all builders to take a fresh look at their ADR provisions in their documents and make sure they are sound and are not one-sided.  To learn more about this decision, Click Here. Building Industry Transformation: Needless to say, the current housing market meltdown is abnormal.  Normal housing downturns are tied to national economic recessions.  Our current housing market downturn is not only unique, it will be transformational. It's well known that California, especially Southern California often leads the country in trends. Not only did the hula hoop and Frisbee come from Southern California, but so did Construction Defect litigation.  So too did the solution for Construction Defect Litigation - in the form of SB 800. Southern California is leading the way in another transformation.  This transformation is in many ways a result of globalization which is beginning to radically transform our industry.  As globalization has gained momentum, it has transformed financial markets (home financing); it has transformed commodity pricing (for everything from copper to cement that increases home costs); it is about to transform labor costs as illegal immigrant labor will soon disappear.   (Click Here to Read Full Article) The Green Zone: ProTec introduces the Nation's first "Green" Interactive, Virtual Homeowner Association (HOA) and Homeowners Manuals.  These new "Green" manuals comply with LEED, California Green Builder, Build it Green, California Department of Housing & Community Development and also the California Energy Commission 2005 Building Energy Efficiency Standards.  Proactive builders throughout the US are already providing ProTec's manuals to their homebuyers and new home communities to provide total customer satisfaction and achieve substantial risk reduction. ProTec's new "Green" manuals will now satisfy the growing demand to "Go Green" and go "Paperless" on the web.  ProTec's manuals encompass "Green" methodologies by meeting the requirements under LEED for New Construction EA Prerequisite 1, Fundamental Commissioning of the Building Energy Systems and EA Credit 3, Enhanced Commissioning and qualify for LEED points. They also meet the LEED for Homes AE2 Education of the Building Manager.  ProTec's new "Green" manuals also satisfy the requirements of California's "Draft Residential Green Building Standards (Summary List)." (Click Here to Read Full Article) HOA Risk News: SB 354 - Contractors Aiding Unlicensed Persons Status - Chaptered Licensed contractors who aid an unlicensed person in evading the contractors' license requirements or allow someone to use their license can be ordered to pay an injured party for injury resulting from the acts of the unlicensed person. The bill "authorizes the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to issue to a licensee, who has aided and abetted an unlicensed person, a citation, which includes an order for payment for the financial injury caused by the acts of the unlicensed person. (Click Here to Read Full Article) List of ProTec's Services: · Homeowner Association     (HOA) Maintenance Manuals · Homeowner Maintenance Manuals     (CD Available) · Community Maps · Monthly Building Maintenance Programs     (Manual Implementation) · Facilities Engineering:     mid & high-rise maintenance program · Maintenance & Repairs · General Contracting (SB 800 Repairs) · Concrete, carpentry, decks, doors,     fencing, gates, gutter cleaning... · Electrical, lighting, painting, plumbing,     welding, windows · Inspections     * Annual HOA maintenance inspections     * Common area turnover inspections     * Physical element reports:        building analysis     * Stormwater BMP inspections     * Playground audits/inspections     * Peer review of plans & DRE budgets        (common area maintenance only)

5% OFF HOA Manuals, or 5% OFF Homeowner Manuals, or 10% OFF On Both! Offer good through June 30th, 2008

ProTec Building Services | 5555 Kearny Villa Rd. | San Diego | CA | 92123