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HouseRaising, Inc. (OTCBB: HRAI) |
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Dear Reader,
Like many Americans, I’ve jumped feet first into the real estate boom, buying properties and land in high-growth areas of the country. Along the way, these profitable ventures have created an opportunity for me to build my dream home on a large parcel of land that I purchased.
Problem is, I don’t know how to build a dream home.
Sure, the wife and I know what we want down to every last nook and crown molding. Building our own home allows us to pick the right number of rooms in the right sizes for us and to nuance the remainder of the house as we have always wanted.
But again, I don’t know how to build a dream home.
This means I must engage a contractor or other professional and hope for the best. However, today’s featured company appears to be provide an innovative solution that I hadn’t previously known existing. HouseRaising Inc. (HRI) (OTCBB: HRAI) serves as the “General Manager” for custom home projects for individuals, effectively bridging the "talent gap" for people like me who know what they want but have no idea to build it.
Relying on proven methods, industry relationships, wholesale material hook-ups and more, HouseRaising can help me save money (and headaches) on my custom home while turning out a better product.
If you’ve been looking for a way to play the national real estate boom through a stock market perspective, perhaps you should read today’s profile.
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About HouseRaising, Inc. |
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HouseRaising Inc. (HRI) (OTCBB: HRAI) operates exclusively in the custom homebuilding arena as a Managed Service Provider intended to revolutionize the way custom homes are designed and built by small homebuilders.
What They Do:
Functioning nationally as the project’s “General Manager,” HouseRaising improves the quality of the home and the homebuilding experience while lowering total costs by 10 to 15%. By administering its managed services for homebuyers, builders and vendors, HRI turns complicated custom home and renovation projects into financially sound and fun endeavors.
How They Do It:
Operating from a national control center and zone design centers located throughout the country, HouseRaising personnel utilize a patent-pending process that defines and manages every step in designing and building custom homes. HRI develops sales contracts, designs the homes, obtains architectural and engineering approvals, prepares specifications and accurate budgets, arranges and manages financing, produces and coordinates affiliated builders and vendors that are committed to providing quality products and services for fixed prices.
HRAI's Market Potential:
Of the 500,000 custom-home projects built by 250,000 small builders in America each year, every one of them could benefit from HouseRaising’s managed services. HouseRaising sells its services through a two-channel marketing and sales approach.
Channel #1: HRI approaches the small custom builder who has existing buyer clients who need HouseRaising’s services.
Channel #2: HouseRaising markets its services directly to homebuyers who need quality builders for their projects.
When 1% of the buyers or builders developing the 500,000 projects choose HRI to manage their projects, HouseRaising will create homes valued at $2.25 billion with cash flow of $90 million. Management believes that when HouseRaising is fully operational and properly presented to buyers and builders across America, it is realistic to expect that between 1% and 5% of the 500,000 projects will use these services, making HouseRaising one of the largest companies in the industry.
Subsidiaries:
HouseRaising currently owns and manages three wholly owned subsidiaries. Each subsidiary functions as a profit center for HouseRaising, Inc.
• HouseRaising USA (HR-USA) functions as a marketing channel directed to custom homebuyers.
• HR Custom Builder Division works directly with custom homebuilders around the nation.
• HouseRaisingAcademy (HRA), is an Internet-based technology company providing management software, support structure and consulting for all HouseRaising activities.
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HouseRaising’s marketing focus is to operate under the radar screens of large builders and become ...
"A national company
of local homebuilders.”
Up to 6,000 small homebuilders selling and building 2 or 3 homes or 4 to 6 renovation projects annually in out of the way places, is expected to produce sales revenues equal to some of the nation’s largest homebuilders.
HouseRaising establishes builder relationships in large cities, but its emphasis is on developing multiple-builder relationships in
small towns across America
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HRAI's Marketing and Growth Strategy |
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HouseRaising intends to expand operations nationally by opening new regions and strategically acquiring existing homebuilders who recognize the benefits of HRI’s proprietary turnkey management solution, System C (see System C below), and being affiliated with a national organization.
National Zone Development
HRI’s long-term plans envision developing 37 zones or regions nationwide, over the next five years. HRI structures the size of its regions so that demographically it needs less than 1% of the annual issued permits for new homes in each region. At 50 new home projects and 50 renovations per region per year, the Company believes this is an attainable goal. Sales prices of design/build projects average $450,000 and renovation projects average $100,000. HRI’s goal is that each region will sell $22 million in homes and $5 million in renovation projects annually. HRI’s goals for 2005 include rolling out System C and developing Zone 1 in the Southeastern U.S., where the Company is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.
Acquisitions
HRI seeks to acquire builders who typically construct two to four upscale custom homes per year. In January 2005, HRI signed agreements to acquire two prominent homebuilding companies with projects in North and South Carolina. In April 2005, it signed a binding agreement to acquire Integrity Contractors, Inc., an award-winning custom homebuilder in Pensacola, Florida., averaging $3 million in annual revenues. This acquisition greatly expands HRI’s builder and vendor relationships in the region and includes proprietary estimating and pricing software to be incorporated into HRI’s System C.
Strategic Partners
HRI has a strategic partnership with CitiMortgage, a member of Citigroup specializing in nationwide lending of residential mortgages. CitiMortgage has designed an extensive suite of mortgage and construction loan financing exclusively for clients of HouseRaising.
HouseRaising’s Invention Sets the Company Apart
from All Others in the Design/Build Industry
HouseRaising links builders, buyers and vendors into a single contract, creating cost savings and bringing
previously unattainable predictability to custom home projects.
 
System C
HouseRaising’s unique Internet-based design/build management process allows the company to replicate a successful
business model in multiple locations simultaneously.
“HouseRaising focuses on developing multiple builder relationships in small towns across America.
Our goal is to become a national company of local homebuilders.”
The system’s five components are:
- Price and Design module: Accurately prices the unique home project from preliminary design documents, before architectural plans are produced.
- Six Management Platforms: Functioning nationally, HRI’s management platforms consist of in-house experts who produce accurate prices for turnkey projects, develop sales contracts, prepare specifications and architectural designs, engineering drawings, material take-offs, budgets and financing, managing the construction project from A to Z.
- National Construction Support Division (NCSD): The NCSD functions as a purchasing center for all national vendor relationships and provides behind-the-scenes support for all HouseRaising managed projects. NCSD professionals and engineers provide working drawings for projects created by architects operating in Zone offices throughout the country. NCSD estimators reduce house plans to accurate building budgets and material lists. On behalf of builders and homebuyers nationwide, NCSD manages cash flow on all HRI projects, coordinates draws and payments for vendors, and posts online daily progress of each project.
- Zone Design Center Operations: Zone Design Centers operate as home offices for builders and vendors to sell, design, build and finance up to 640 quality custom homes a year. Zone operations comprise HouseRaising platform managers, 250 affiliated builders and 56 additional parties needed to complete a design/build project. Zone centers display all specifications, building materials and full-scale displays of key items available to be installed in the unique homes, thereby establishing quality and pricing standards and eliminating misunderstandings for buyers, builders and vendors alike.
- System C’s Core Triangle: Custom homebuilders are creative individuals; custom homebuyers are visionaries hoping to build a dream house; vendors are constructive individuals who operate businesses with less emotional content than buyers and builders. Addressing the needs of creative, visionary and constructive individuals, the Core Triangle identifies personnel whose traits are likely to increase quality and production at each step of the project.
**For a fascinating multi-media demonstration of System C - Click on this link**
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Investment Considerations |
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Major HRAI Advantages
- Patent-pending management system provides “one-stop shopping” for custom homebuyers and homebuilders
- Highly experienced management and board
- Company is advancing national business development ahead of schedule through Strategic Partnership with CitiMortgage and pending acquisition of Florida-based Integrity Contractors
- Addresses market realistically valued at $2.25 billion generating annual cash flow of approximately $90 million
- In first quarter of 2005, Company obtained new contracts totaling more than $2.4 million in sales that are projected to be completed within an average of 9 months
- Company’s unique national business strategy and its turn-key solution for one-of-a-kind residences have no direct competitors in the custom homebuilding industry
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Recent News From HouseRaising |
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Press Release - Thursday June 23, 8:00 am ET
HouseRaising, Inc. Appoints Gregory Wessling Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
To read the entire release and disclaimer, the link is HERE
Press Release - Friday June 17, 12:58 pm ET
HouseRaising Discusses Interim Financing Provided By Its Founder
To read the entire release and disclaimer, the link is HERE
Press Release - Tuesday June 7, 8:00 am ET
HouseRaising Introduces System C - A Unique Process That Can Enable 500,000 Families and 250,000 Builders to Make Custom Home Building a Financially Sound and Fun Experience
To read the entire release and disclaimer, the link is HERE
Press Release - Tuesday May 17, 8:00 am ET
HouseRaising, Inc. Appoints Former Lowes Executive to Its Board
Gregory J. Wessling, Former Senior Executive
and 33-Year Veteran of Lowes Companies, Inc.,
Joined HouseRaising's Board of Directors
To read the entire release and disclaimer, the link is HERE
Press Release - Wednesday May 11, 1:58 pm ET
HouseRaising Completes Acquisition of Integrity Contractors and Declines the Opportunity to Acquire COBS
To read the entire release and disclaimer, the link is HERE
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The HRAI Management Team and Directors |
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Greg Wessling, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Wessling was formerly a member of the executive management team that transformed Lowe's Companies, Inc. from a small regional lumber and building supply retailer into a nationwide chain of home products and improvement centers with 1,100 stores in 48 states. During his 33-year tenure at Lowes, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and achieved the prestigious designation of Fortune 50 status. Mr. Wessling is highly regarded in the building and home improvement industries for his decisive management skills and expertise in strategic planning, corporate development and marketing on the national level.
Robert V. McLemore, Founder, Director and President
Mr. McLemore brings nearly 40 years of experience managing regional custom homebuilding operations to HouseRaising and its affiliated companies. For many years, he served as director for two Charlotte banks, trustee for the area’s leading private school and was a national director for the American Morgan Horse Association. The experiences gained from four decades of selling, designing and building some 2,000 custom homes are now being developed into a computerized management system that has become the HouseRaising Franchise. Mr. McLemore is currently developing the HouseRaising Franchise into a patented business methodology and national support operation capable of managing design/build and renovation projects in multiple regions around the country.
Richard A. von Gnechten, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. von Gnechten was formerly Financial VP and CFO for Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (NYSE:HE), where he was responsible for all aspects of the Company's financial management, including accounting, finance, treasury, risk management, investor relations, information technology and other related matters. Under his leadership, the Company maintained a superior credit rating, despite having to confront difficult circumstances that were prevalent within the energy market. Mr. von Gnechten received an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, and attended Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Financial Management Program.
Grant S. Neerings, Director, Chief Technology Officer, President-HouseRaisingAcademy
Mr. Neerings has a long and successful career in training, knowledge management and technology fields. He was one of the original founders of Egghead University (currently doing business as Catapult, Inc. an IBM Company) and designed the Performance-Based Training methodology used in Egghead University training. He also led the professional services team for Primus Knowledge Solutions in deploying knowledge management systems for large Fortune 500 high-tech companies such as Intel, 3Com, Nortel, and 3M. Prior to founding LearnBytes, he served as the Vice President of IT for Muzak and oversaw the digitization effort of over 150,000 music CDs. He has an MA in Training and Development from Brigham Young University and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Utah.
Daniel S. Fogel, Director
Dr. Fogel is currently the Dean of Charlotte Programs and Executive Professor of Strategy at the renowned Wake Forest University, Babcock Graduate School of Management. In previous positions he was Dean of the International Management Center, Budapest, Hungary; Dean for the Czech Management Center in Prague, Czech Republic, and Associate Dean at the University of Pittsburgh and Tulane University.
Kristy M. Carriker, Co-Founder, Director and Senior Vice President
Ms. Carriker is a Co-Founder of HouseRaising and has served since 1999. She is responsible for all of HouseRaising’s Builder Service and Support activities that include project cost budgeting, new home customer financing, accounting and administrative services.
Honorable Robert M. Burroughs, Director and VP Public Relations
"Judge" Burroughs has been a Vice President since HouseRaising was organized in 1999. Judge Burroughs directs HouseRaising’s public relations efforts throughout the Carolinas and promotes HouseRaising as a quality product. He also assists HouseRaising by consulting on various legal matters pertaining to contracts HouseRaising enters with its Franchisees. Prior to joining HouseRaising, Judge Burroughs was for many years a Senior Judge for the North Carolina Superior Court.
James O’Connor, Director
Mr. O’Connor is a Private Investor residing in Palm Springs, CA who joined HouseRaising’s Board of Directors at its inception in 1999. He brings decades of corporate management experience to HouseRaising, and has organized independent firms that he subsequently sold to public companies.
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Financial Highlights For HouseRaising |
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Sector: Industrial Goods
Industry: General Contractors
Market Cap: $13.3 million
Avg Daily Vol: 62,398 |
52 week range: $0.14-$3.15
Recent price $0.33 (06-29-05)
Outstanding Shares: 38,126,787 (as of 04-29-05) |
To view the latest SEC filings from HRAI on the SEC Web site, the link is HERE
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To Contact HouseRaising, Inc. |
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4801 East Independence Blvd., Suite 201, Charlotte, NC 28212
Phone: 704-532-2121 - Fax: 704-536-0928
Web Site: http://www.houseraising.com
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Disclaimer: StockUpTicks.com is a property of Market Pathways Financial Relations Incorporated (MP). The information, opinions and analysis contained herein are based on sources believed to be reliable but no representation, expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, completeness or correctness. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This report is a paid advertisement and is for information purposes only and should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. MP has been granted forty nine thousand six hundreed thirty three free trading shares of HRAI from HouseRaising for preparation and distribution of this report and other advertising services over the next sixty to ninty days. WHile MP has not sold any shares of HRAI at this time, it may sell any or all of said shares at any time without furthur notice. This constitutes a conflict of interest as to MP’s ability to remain objective in its communication regarding the subject company. Write or call MP for detailed disclosure as required by Rule 17b of the Securities Act of 1933/1934 - Market Pathways 17595 Harvard Ave., Suite C519 Irvine, CA 92614. MP is not an investment advisor and this report is not investment advice. This information is neither a solicitation to buy nor an offer to sell securities but is a paid advertisement. Information contained herein contains forward-looking statements and is subject to significant risks and uncertainties, which will affect the results. The opinions contained herein reflect our current judgment and are subject to change without notice. MP and/or its affiliates, associates and employees from time to time may have either a long or short position in securities mentioned. Information contained herein may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of Market Pathways Financial Relations Incorporated. |
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