Hopefully the rest of the financial world will note what housing lenders long have known: Housing production lending offers greater rewards and fewer risks than many other types of lending.

By far the most experienced franchiser, Arthur Rutenberg Homes also offers the deepest services, including the housing industry's benchmark computer system.

What has changed to make Art Rutenberg's curious eccentricity - franchising local home building businesses like fast-food restaurants - attract sudden interest across the country?

The short answer about whether J.D. Power scores matter to wall Street: NO. If you look at earnings per share or ROI, no correlation exists between J.D. Power and any other measure of customer satisfaction.

The opportunity to do something meaningful at work is the best thing an employer can offer.

Tuckahoe Creek Construction not only won the Better Business Bureau’s local Torch Award in Richmond, Va., but also garnered honorable mention (second place) in the small-company category of the national competition this year.

Add the Charlotte Ethics in Business Award, a local affiliate of the American Business Ethics Award program, to the long list of achievements by Charlotte, N.C., luxury kingpin Simonini Builders.

Inland Homes Group builds mainstream housing with an average sale price of $210,000 and uses franchising agreements to define a business relationship.

Indirect construction costs are part of the construction process and are overhead but can't be tied to individual houses.