This is a joke, right?

I could not make it if I tried LM

No LM it’s not and you better hurry and buy some Laing homes before the discount is gone forever!!!!!!!

It’s unclear from the promotion whether you have to buy all of these homes at once (which is incredibly stupid) or whether you simply have to be a repeat customer.  Since they say as a current "or past" family member, I’m assuming it’s the latter.  I suppose it’s an incentive if, for example, you bought a Laing condo 15 years ago and are now in the market looking at a Laing home.  An extra 10 grand couldn’t hurt.  But what do the asterisks mean?

Marty, I think that the ad refers to being a repeat buyer.  Even still, a 3 percent deduction is laughable. 
There is a bunch of disclaimers that I did not attach to the post.
 

I wanted to find out more from Lennar concerning their ‘Timing is Everything’ promotion. Here is the conversation I had with the sales person (names have been changed for privacy):

A Lennar Chat Associate will respond shortly.

Hi!  You are now chatting with ‘Jo’. May I have your first name?

you:  Its Mike again

Jo: Hi there!

you: I have question regarding Gables. Plan 3. How does Timing is Everything affect this price (the price was similar to Villa Rosa plan 2)

Jo: The gables Plan 3 pricing is very similar to that of the Plan 2 at Villa Rosa. This home, however, closes in November.

Jo: And therefore would be eligible for a Timing is Everything opportunity.

you: How does ‘Timing is Everything’  change the price?

Jo: It provides an opportunity to take advantage of the incentives being offered.

you: what are the incentives?

Jo: Can I put you in touch with a New Home Consultant?

Jo: They would be able to answer those questions.

Jo: Have you visited The gables?

you: not at the moment, just trying to determine if it worth re-visiting the show rooms to see if anything has changed

Jo: I would definitely recommend visiting Joel and Clayton to discuss your options if you are interested in a home at The Gables!

you: not unless something has changed. If it is still the same price then I dont need to and I would just be wasting theirs and my time

Jo: I understand. Again, if you would like to discuss anything further I’d be happy to update you if the price changes.

you: So ‘Timing is everything’ has no affect on the price and is just a sales ploy to get more interest?

Jo: I’m sorry for the delay. I’ll be right with you.

Jo: Hi! I’ll be right with you.

you: ok

Jo: Thank you for waiting. I’ll be with you in just a moment.

Jo: Thank you for waiting. I’ll be with you in just a moment.

Jo: I’m sorry for the delay. I’ll be right with you.

Jo: I apologize Mike, did you have any other questions?

you: Just that last one

Jo: It applies to our standing inventory homes, which does include The Gables.

you: How does ‘Timing is everything’  affect the price/incentives/etc?

Jo: It is meant to spark interest in our homes ready to move in now. The price has changed slightly, and the may be more incentives involved. That is waht is meant by Timing is Everything.

Jo: This will be effective tomorrow, September 29th, if you’d like to visit the Welcome Home Center to discuss in more detail, they are there to answer any questions you may have!

you: thx

You forgot the last part Stuff It:

Signed up for builder spam, go t an interesting piece of mail today.  They’re wining and dining potential buyers now.
"Richmond American Invites you to Savor The Season to benefit Olive Crest"
Basiclaly, a cooking demo with tastings in exchange for learning more about  their Home Gallergy homebuying program.
They make a donation to a children’s charity for your attendence.  And there’s a raffle to win a William-Sonoma gift card.
HomeGalleryEvent.com/ca
 
 
 

The homebuyers aren’t despirate enough.  I did talk to a IT guy (while I was getting some tires….) and he mentioned that they are in rough shape.  Still not lowering their prices… as i suspect they can’t or won’t jepordize their bonuses…. 
I think they will have a big talk at the end of the year and let alot of people go.  anyways good luck
-bix

I talked to a guy who worked in the residential moving business and he said that the movers are in really bad shape (esp. in Florida).  No one is moving and companies like Penske are going get stuck holding a lot of trucks that they bought during the boom. 
On the prices, there was a very interesting CNBC article in which Diane Olick talked to a housing guy who stated that it is very hard for builders to lower prices because of 1) the low value of the dollar have dramatically increased building costs and 2) people have come to expect luxuries like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances as standard features in homes.  
 www.cnbc.com/id/21348129

But, I-Commuter, the problem has been contained.
Ten years ago, when we bought our space coast house, a realtor told us that if you buy an already existing house, you get more bang for the buck, because of, among other things, materials costs.  How about that, a realtor was right about something?
We were looking to have something built, since that had been a pleasant experience in Miami, but discovered there were NO subdivisions which didn’t have an onerous set of rules.  The hub is a ham radio operator, and wanted his tower.  The de minimus assn for our Miami house had no objections (indeed, it had no rules), so he built one to code with permits up against the house.  The Peruvian down the street thought he was a spy.  The Puerto Rican/Cuban family across the street (one of whom worked for me as a secy) assured the Peruvian that my hub was indeed a spy.
Giggles all around.
Lennar, in its space coast ads, is indicating that some of the houses it has been advertising have been sold.  At prices 10-20% less then previously offered.  This I do believe because some of the offerings are in the low $100s, and NOTHING was advertised in that range before.  Now, we shall see if the houses actually close.
 

I don’t know how much more can they take?

Big red “X”

I got this email from KHOV over the Holidays….they are trying to drum up business from folks who lost their homes in the fires a couple months ago.  My favorite line is "We’re ready to start today!":
YOUR LAND. OUR HOME. LET US REBUILD YOUR HOME. WITH AN EXTENSIVE SELECTION OF OVER 60 FLOOPLANS, YOU’RE SURE TO FIND A HOME THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU. ONE STOP CUSTOM-HOME CONVENIENCE FOR SURPRISINGLY LOW PRICES AND WE’RE READY TO START TODAY!
The assurance, comfort and lasting quality of a professionally built brand new home on your own lot.
The convenience of working with a single-source known for reliability, accountability and a commitment to your enduring satisfaction Access to a wide array of floorplans, ready for immediate permitting with reliable cost projections A pool of professional, proven trade partners
The corporate negotiating power of K. Hovnanian® Homes™ A well planned schedule supervised by expert construction managers familiar with all local permit requirements and codes
Customize your home at K. Hovnanian Homes’ Design Gallery 50 years of homebuilding experience from a company with ties to the community that will continue in the years ahead. We’ll be here today and tomorrow.
REFER A FRIEND AND EARN $5,000!*
IF YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW, NEEDS TO REBUILD BECAUSE OF THE FIRES, LET K. HOVNANIAN® HOMES™ BE YOUR BUILDER. CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE A PRIVATE CONSULTATION. 888-286-4513 OR EMAIL CA@KHOV.COM

Anybody else getting a Net passport call with this thread when they look at it ?

I got a pop up, but I’m too computer/web illiterate to know what it was.  I xed it out immediately.
Hov is truly desperate.  After Andrew my builder did ‘t want this type of business.  It is difficult & expensive not to build a bunch of stuff all together.  You have one house here and another there, and can’t use economies of scale, and the govt is all intimidated by what happened and determined to be tough, so getting permits and closing them out becomes a nightmare.

It said welcome to msn communities and invited you to log in.

yup, same here

Hmm.. are you guys saying that opening this thread (http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/discussion/935/how-desperate-are-the-homebuilders/) launches some kind of popup?  I just opened it in Internet Explorer and I did not see a pop up.  If you have any more details, please let me know.  There are no ads on the forums currently.

I think we have a script embedded in here that is malignant.
It is trying to map my network as well.  I am using explorer 7 and XP.  It brings up and active x warning.
It redirects to :
http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/discussion/935/how-desperate-are-the-homebuilders/#Item_0
Zovall   I think something very recent happened and its just with this thread. Non of the others do it.
Look at the html for some call or redirect.

strange.. i tried using IE 6 and Firefox 2 on Windows XP and I don’t that behavior.  I found and deleted a SCRIPT tag in the first comment..  is it still acting up?  if i can’t figure this one, i’ll just lock or delete this thread..

whoever posted this image is causing it

http://www.msnusers.com/nschr5ehuikachhcpq2ni2b2d2/Documents/Public Photos/HomeBuilder.jpg

I notice it only in this thread. Could be something attached in a picture as well.
Try and delete the link in the post from NS2524. It has a  link to msnusers that may be causing this.  I Think you need messenger enabled to see the pop up as well.