Williston, North Dakota

The need for housing in on the rise in the Bakken Oil Patch region.

An oil boom in an area of North Dakota called the Bakken Formation has spurred a massive influx of workers and support personnel into the area between Dickinson, ND and Williston, ND. Thousands of oil field workers and their families have placed a huge burden on the already anemic housing supply. Compounding the housing problems are the recent floods in the Minot, ND area. “The situation in the oil patch has caused a perfect storm when it comes to housing. Demands for even basic housing are at an unprecedented level. When you couple the need for affordable housing with the needs of oil companies to house workers, and with those displaced by natural disaster, you can clearly see the need for housing providers and community leaders to come together to work toward solutions. Centennial Homes is equipped to provide housing for every level of need,” said Jason Collins, Director of Business Development for Centennial Homes.

The Bakken Housing Summit Wednesday and Thursday, May 16th and 17th, at the Airport International Inn & Suites at 3601 2nd Avenue West, Williston, North Dakota, begins at 7:00 am each day. Topics discussed range from an economic survey of western North Dakota, opportunities and challenges facing development and construction, presentations by surrounding communities, real estate finance, to a Builder Perspectives Panel which will discuss many of the pressing housing issues facing the region.

Centennial Homes started providing quality, affordable housing in 1969, in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Over the past 43 years they have expanded to eight retail locations in three states. Centennial has model home centers in Bismarck, Dickinson, and Williston, ND. Randy Rempher, Regional Vice President for Centennial Homes said, “We are in a unique position that allows us to be more effective when it comes to bridging the housing gaps in these areas. We have three model home centers perfectly located to provide everything from entry-level housing to high-end luxury homes. I am very excited to sit down with my counterparts in the area and find solutions to the growing need for homes in the Bakken.”

Joel Welke

I have been in the sales profession since my graduation from Northern State University in 2003. I started my career as a recreation specialist selling hot tubs, pool tables, sunrooms, and game room equipment. I moved up from sales specialist to general manager within two years. After managing the Recreation store for 3 years I took a sales executive position with Centennial Homes selling new and used homes. I have been with Centennial Homes ever since.

I am happily married to my wife of 7 years, Angella. We have 2 boys, Jackson (6) and Preston (2). Jackson just started Kindergarten this year and Preston is running wild in our home. Angella runs a daycare to stay home with the boys and has plenty of action throughout the day with 6 other children. We reside in our home on the south side of Aberdeen for the past 3 years.

In my spare time I like to do a lot of things with my family and friends including playing city league basketball, golf, poker, and watching football and basketball. My favorite time is spending time with my wife and two boys.

Carmel Schumacher - Manager - Williston, ND

I started my career with Centennial Homes in May of 2008 as a Sales Consultant at the Bismarck, ND location and then was given the opportunity to transfer to the new Williston, ND location in April of 2010. I was recently promoted to Store Manager of our Williston location this past October. I truly believe the success that I have had with Centennial Homes comes from the support I received from Randy and his team in Bismarck when I first started at that location. It has been very rewarding for me to help so many customers to fulfill their dream of getting into a new home. The phone calls and letters I receive from so many of my customers on how much they appreciate their new home, is also very rewarding. I am looking forward to my new challenge as Manager to help develop and train new Sales Consultants so they too can enjoy the same success I have had with Centennial Homes.

I have also received great support from my family, my husband Brian of 22 years, this coming May, who currently lives in Bismarck and works at Coach America. We have two children together, Brent who will be 22 in January and is currently working at Nabors Drilling Company in Williston. Caroline who just turned 19 in October is currently working as a Manager at Pita Pit in Bismarck and will be starting at BSC in January to get her teaching degree.

Carmel Schumacher

John Parker, Corporate Recruiter

I began my career with Centennial Homes in the sales department in Rapid City, SD and after several years of cutting my teeth and learning what it means to be a true selling professional I was transferred to Bozeman, MT to become a Location Sales Manager. After a few years I was promoted and assumed the responsibilities of overseeing multiple locations as a Vice President of Sales. My newest challenge is the role of Corporate Recruiter and Trainer. I am probably most excited about this position because I have the ability to offer the people the opportunity I once received of a very challenging and rewarding career.

On November 10th Teresa, my wife, and I will have been married 21 years. Teresa wears many hats on a daily basis and does so better than anyone I know. As head of security for the Bozeman, MT airport she just recently received a national award for leadership. As a member of the Air Force National Guard she has been deployed overseas to the Gulf not once but twice and of course she is a wonderful mother to our children. If you are looking for a true American hero than look no further because she is the real deal. Together we have 3 children. Taylor is 18 and is currently attending the Air Force Academy Prep School as a dual athlete in both Volleyball and Basketball. Our middle daughter is Jordan and she will be turning 17 this month. Ceasar Millan look out because Jordan is truly the next dog whisperer. Jake is 14 and just started high school this year. His newest interest is bow hunting which I am very exited about.

I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and career.

Centennial Homes Training Class

Updating manufactured home insulation could be the first step.

Throughout the years homes built in factories have gone by many names, ” mobile homes” or ” manufactured homes” or ” modular homes” or ” trailer houses,” they all have one very important thing in common: many of the older units tend to be gas and electricity consuming monsters. Correcting this problem isn’t easy.

Before you embark on a project to make your factory-built home more energy efficient you must make sure that this is the right step for you.

Wear and tear is something to be expected with any home. It doesn’t matter if your home is 4 years old or 40 years old, there is a good chance that you could benefit from some low-cost changes that will improve energy efficiency. Sunlight, seasonal temperature changes, win and vibration can compromise the seals in a home, increasing air infiltration; windows may no longer seal a properly, and duct work can begin to leak, allowing large amounts of heating and cooling energy to be blown into the air under the house instead of into the house. Heating systems, air conditioners, and hot water heaters gradually lose efficiency after years of service. This is especially true if a regular maintenance and cleaning have been neglected. Each of these energy draining problems soon add up to significant increases in heating and cooling costs.

Technology has changed over the years. Manufactured homes that were built to the energy standards of the time can be seen as extremely inefficient by today’s standards. Over the past 10 to 20 years dramatic progress has been made with high efficiency heating and cooling equipment, improvements in insulation, window design, and many other things. Another great change that has emerged in recent years is our understanding of how to retrofit old or manufactured homes making the m nearly as energy efficient as a new manufactured home.

It’s no secret that in today’s economy energy costs are skyrocketing. It doesn’t matter if you’re using propane, natural gas, heating oil, or electricity, experts agree that prices will continue to escalate. Making energy efficient changes to your home now will guard against future price increases, and reduce some of the costs that are currently paying today.

Retrofitting your home with newer materials and modern mechanical systems will help you too lower or your energy costs which will reduce your overall home ownership expense. Making these changes will also protect you against future energy cost increases, raise your comfort level by reducing drafts, and providing a more consistent room-to-room temperature, reduce the chances of moisture infiltration, increased the resale value of your home, and help to protect the environment by using less energy.

Whether you call them mobile homes or manufactured housing, everyone has heard stories of high winds and tornadoes destroying factory build homes. I new proposal from U.S. Representative Spencer Bachus, (R) from Alabama, may provide added safety for those living in these homes. Bachus has proposed legislation requiring weather alert radios to be installed in new manufactured homes.

Some manufactured housing groups are opposing the legislation saying that it is unfair to single out the industry. While the spring storms of 2011 destroyed all types of structures, Bachus believes that the addition of emergency weather radios cal give residents of mobile homes enough advanced warming to be able to seek shelter especially in the event of an approaching storm late at night. The advanced warning could allow sleeping residents to get their families to community shelters or to a home with a basement.

The cost is reported to be between $11 and $45 per radio. Bachus considers this cost insignificant when compared to the number of lives that could be saved by providing advanced notice of approaching violent weather.

The proposal has received bi-partisan support and will now be passed along to the Senate where it has been well-received in the past, but has failed to pass.

Dickinson, North Dakota, July 11, 2011 — Centennial Homes, a regional retailer of manufactured and modular homes, has opened a model home center in Dickinson, North Dakota.  Citing the economic growth and the excellent job market in the area, Centennial decided to expand their coverage into the south western corner of the state.  This new location will provide employment opportunities for area workers in sales, sales management, and service and repair.  This expansion will create 10 to 15 new jobs for Dickinson and the surrounding area.

Last year, Centennial Homes opened a sales center in Williston, North Dakota and with their location in Bismarck, North Dakota they are able to serve the entire western half of the state.  “With the impact of the oil industry on the housing market in North Dakota, we felt that the people of this area could benefit from having easier access to additional housing options.  We are pleased to offer our homes to the people of Dickinson,” said Michael Evans, CEO of Centennial Homes.  This company has been providing quality, affordable housing to people in the upper mid-west since 1969 and there has never been a more pressing need for their products and services than now in the oil patch regions of the sate.

The model home center in Dickinson will have numerous fully furnished homes to tour and through their exclusive partnership with Friendship Homes of Minnesota; Centennial offers a nearly endless array of floor plan and design options.  “We have a home to meet the needs of any person and any situation,” says Jason Collins, Director of Business Development for Centennial.  “We have access to budget-priced used homes, entry level singles and doubles, all the way up to some very luxurious triple section and modular homes.  We also offer some very interesting options for commercial clients and oil companies that need to provide housing for their workers,” Collins added.

Centennial Homes started in Aberdeen, South Dakota in 1969 and over the past 42 years they have grown their operation to eight sales centers in three states, with an effective coverage area that extends from Minnesota to western Montana, and from Nebraska and Wyoming north to the Canadian border.  “We are honored that the communities that we serve have supported us over the years with their continued patronage.  After the financial and housing market collapse of 2008 and 2009, our industry saw many family-owned dealerships go out of business.  With the help of our loyal customer base, we were able to not only weather the storm, but we were able to expand into new areas of North Dakota.  We firmly believe that our customers are the reason that we are in business,” said Evans.

Over 26 years ago, Centennial Homes entered into an exclusive agreement with Friendship Homes.  Centennial acquires all of their new homes directly from the Friendship factory located in Montevideo, Minnesota.  “Having this exclusive relationship with a single builder allows us to have much more control over how our homes are constructed and it also means that our sales and service departments become experts on a single line of homes.  Other dealerships that carry multiple brands never get the opportunity to truly know and understand their products the way that we do ours,” stated Jason Collins.

In addition to expanding into the real world, Centennial Homes is also expanding into the virtual world.  For years they have had a strong internet presence with their website at www.CentennialHomes.com, and recently they have expanded into the world of social networking.  Centennial has an updated Facebook page that can be accessed at www.FaceBook.com/CentennialHomes.  There you will find galleries of new discounted homes, used homes, and employment openings.  In the coming weeks and months, Centennial will be offering special discounts and rewards only available to Facebook users.  They invite you to join them today.

Bloomberg News reports Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan says home prices may start to increase as early as the third quarter, as the rate of foreclosures decline.  Speaking on CNN, Donovan says, “The real question is when will we start to see sustainable increases. Some think it will be as early as the end of this summer or this fall.”  He says defaults are declining, and home sales have gone up in six of the last nine months.  Lenders need to encourage home ownership so people can realize the value of their investment over time, not overnight.

July 11 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve may keep interest rates at record lows for the longest period since World War II as the economic slowdown that sparked a four-month bond rally worsens, according to Treasury market signals.

This means that there has literally never been a better time to buy a new manufactured or modular home than now, before the housing prices rise.  Centennial Homes has striven to keep our prices as low as possible while still providing the highest quality product and the best service in the industry.  We encourage you to visit your local area model home center today and discover just how affordable our homes can be for you.

CLICK HERE to find a location near you.