We are blessed and very fortunate to own a business that we love and found success in as well.  Our customers are from all over the country and some of the most interesting people we know.  They have become very dear to us.  It’s great to have found your niche in life and still look forward to being at work after 28 years.  Thanks to all who have made this possible for our family.

Some proposals under consideration include eliminating or reducing the mortgage interest deduction and the deductions for property taxes and the interest on home equity loans.  This would send shockwaves through the economy and hurt people who have played by the rules and sacrificed to get to where they are today.

Some members of Congress support abolishing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and ending the federal backstop to housing.  This would immediately drive up the cost of long-term financing and destabilize the housing market.  A reliable supply of affordable 30-year fixed rate mortgage financing is essential to a vibrant housing market, and Congress should ensure that the federal government plays an appropriate role in keeping mortgages readily available and affordable for America’s working families.

Another little known threat comes from federal regulatory agencies charged with defining a “qualified residential mortgage” for secondary market purposes.  The proposed minimum 20% downpayment would quickly become the nationwide standard and would put homeownership beyond the reach of most first-time home buyers and middle-class households. Low-downpayment mortgages have been originated safely for decades and are not what drove the housing market crisis.  Irresponsible lending and subprime, no documentation, and other alternative mortgage products were largely to blame.

The bottom line is that despite the housing market crisis and ongoing economic uncertainties, Americans continue to value homeownership.  However, they are largely unaware of the unprecedented threats to housing and homeownership that have emerged in the political feeding frenzy that has engulfed the nation’s capital.

NAHB’s primary mission in 2012 will be to elevate housing on the national agenda and ensure that it is a key issue in the upcoming elections.

Last week, we were able to thank and honor our subcontractors and vendors for a job well done on a Lake Keowee, SC project.  Sometimes Gabriel Builders gets most of the credit for the job, and we are really just managing the people and project.  It is the craftsmanship and hard work from the subcontractors and the reliability of the vendors that make us a successful company.  Without this group, we would not be an award winning company, would not get to show off our projects to viable prospects, and would not have remained in business for 28 years.  Many thanks to all of you that make us successful.  We hope to continue to be busy in 2012 and bless all of these valuable people with more work.

We rely on our customer surveys to help us deliver an exceptional customer and building experience.

GuildQuality survey results rate us number one in the categories of Trust, Communication, Problem Resolution and Likely To Recommend. This means that out of 173 high-end custom homebuilders across the nation who are willing to submit to a 3rd party evaluation, no other homebuilder produces more trust with their customers.

Having a homebuilder that you can trust is tantamount in enjoying the creation of your dream home. We build this trust with all of our clients because of the fact that we remain in constant communication through the entire building process. If a problem arises, making sure it’s fully resolved becomes our top priority. We listen, work and live to make sure that every single detail of your home is true to the vision that you have in mind. It’s all part of the Handcrafted Homes & Lifelong Relationships homebuilding experience that makes our clients more than happy to recommend us.

If you have any further questions about the GuildQuality survey, or the Handcrafted Homes – Lifelong Relationships experience at Gabriel Builders, please call us today at

864-879-3035.

At Gabriel Builders, we build Handcrafted Homes and Lifelong Relationships. In keeping a lifelong relationship with you, we want to share information that may be helpful when it comes to one of the most significant decisions of your life. Economic trends are showing that right now may be the time to build your custom home. Some current economic highlights include:

• More land is available and prices have adjusted to reflect that – there’s an opportunity to create instant equity.

• Cost is low: supplies are more affordable and may have hit bottom. As regulation continues to be a burden to builders, thereby decreasing inventory – the burden is moved to the consumer. Economics 101: Low inventory is going to lead to higher prices.

• The NAHB and Housing and Economics forecasts new construction in 2012 to increase 17%; a 46% increase is predicted for 2013 – not good for the fence-sitters.

• Right now interest rates are at an unprecedented low, hovering in the 3% range. There’s no way of telling which way interest rates will go, but what we do know is that these rates don’t come along very often.

• With real estate historically being a cyclical industry, it’s been shown that buyers benefit the most when they buy at the bottom of the cycle. Don’t miss the market.

We would love to have a conversation to learn more about your dream home and any concerns that you may have. Coupling an historical time to build with a custom builder that delivers on every promise of quality, trust and craftsmanship is the perfect foundation for an amazing life experience.Email us or call 864-879-3035 to start your Handcrafted Homes, Lifelong Relationships journey.