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2008 Wake County Builder Blitz

A line of white vans piled high with ladders rolled slowly into Augusta Landings, a modest subdivision off Poole Road in east Raleigh. The hospitality tent hadn’t shown up, but the handful of Habitat for Humanity employees and volunteers who had been there since dawn scrambled to find some replacement awnings for shade from the pre-summer sun that had pushed the temperature up near 90 degrees a few hours later. Construction crews from 29 local builders grabbed bagels off a table under the makeshift shelter and scattered among five lots, anxious to frame and put a roof on each house before a line of late-afternoon thunderstorms hit. Updated: Jun. 23, 2008 9:16 AM | Full story

Know your options

With all the glitzy mortgage options private lenders and mortgage brokers flashed around in recent years, the nerdy FHA loan sat neglected on the sidelines. But just as the girl with the glasses has more appeal after the arrogant bomb the exam, stable Federal Housing Authority loans are getting a second look as lenders drop riskier products. Updated: Jun. 20, 2008 4:27 PM | Full story

Just how green is green?

Two big signs hit you in the eye when you drive up to the 3,777-square-foot brick home under construction in Raleigh’s Belmont Ridge neighborhood: “Olde Heritage: Builders, Developers, Stewards” and “Custom-built for Taylor and Sylvia Blakely.” Updated: May. 9, 2008 4:34 PM | Full story