A History of Excellence Located in Atlanta, Georgia, AHB Custom Home Builders has emerged as a leader in the custom home building industry.  Ours is a company which focuses on one exceptional project at a time, ensuring each client receives individual attention and a caliber of customer service which is second to none. Our hands-on approach to working closely with our home buyers ensures a positive homebuilding partnership and experience.   Our commitment to customers is to design and build custom homes that last a lifetime.  AHB has been entrusted to construct homes for many happy homeowners. Through these partnerships AHB has gained a unique insight into the special needs of each individual customer and is now recognized as one of the premiere custom homebuilders in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

One Powerful Team "Customer satisfaction starts well before the home starts and continues well after the customer moves in"  is a fundamental belief shared by AHB Custom Home Builders and Melvin Cooper Homes. Inside and out, quality materials and craftsmanship are top priorities for AHB.  But we know that our customers rely on more than our expertise.  Buyers and builders ultimately rely upon contractors in a variety of specialized trades to construct quality homes.    Both companies are members of the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association.  Both companies also have the Certified Professional Homebuilders Designation that require regular education requirements.                                                             Our Team Diane Fudge - President                                                                                            Diane attributes her success to hard work and expansive market knowledge, along with patience and persistence.  She believes in an open door policy and provides customers with personalized customer service.  Ms. Fudge's commitment to building high quality homes has earned AHB Custom Home Builders a top rated reputation in the local building industry.  Using her sense of business, professional staff and committed work ethic, she is able to guide her customers in making the perfect choice.   Melvin Cooper -  Lead Builder Melvin Cooper has been building quality homes for more than 17 years.  Melvin Cooper, as lead builder for AHB Custom Home Builders and Melvin Cooper Homes, has established himself as a well respected and highly sought after builder and developer in the luxury home market.  Mr. Cooper has built luxury and affordable homes in the Atlanta area for seventeen years, never compromising on quality, attention to detail and integrity.  Carlos Harper - Superintendent/ Project Manager Carlos joined AHB after completing his engineering degree.  Carlos serves as a the point man on construction sites.  Many construction projects may have tight deadlines and need done in a certain order. Making sure the subcontractors arrive when they are supposed to be there, and get the job done within their allotted time frame, is one of  his key duties.   Carlos is dedicated to  enforcing AHB project standards.  Carlos has also committed himself to pursuit of excellence via ongoing education within the construction industries. Professional and Education Affiliations and Accreditations State of Georgia Licensed  Residential-Basic Contractor (Diane Fudge)   State of Georgia Licensed Residential-Light Commercial Contractor  (Melvin Cooper) Georgia Erosion Certified /Blue Card (Melvin Cooper) Member of National Association of Home Builders - Women's Council Member of Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association Certified Professional Home Builder Georgia Institute of Real Estate - Salesperson Course - Broker Course (Diane Fudge) Graduate of Georgia State University Georgia State University Alumni Association The Graduate Realtor Institute - GRI Designation (Diane Fudge) Member Atlanta Business League Ladies Who Launch - Incubator Member (Diane Fudge)

                
EarthCraft House is a green building program created in 1999 as a partnership between the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Southface Energy Institute that teaches builders the latest methods of resource and energy-efficient construction.

Because of the requirements for air sealing the home, EarthCraft homes are more energy efficient than conventional homes. EarthCraft House is also partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Home program. Such homes are 30 percent more efficient than the benchmark 1993 Model Energy Code.

The ECH program requires each house to be inspected and tested beforehand so that many problems involving the building envelope heating and cooling systems can be identified and fixed before the homeowner moves in. Homebuilders hope that the increased energy efficiency and durability of an EarthCraft House will offset a higher price tag.

A Certified Professional Home Builder is Much More Than a Licensed Builder

By Frank O. Brown, Jr., of Weissman, Nowack, Curry and Wilco, P.C.

The Certified Professional Home Builder (CPHB) program is a highly successful residential builder certification program that helps builders maximize their professionalism, customer service and homeowner satisfaction. With the onset of mandatory licensing for all Georgia builders, including CPHB members, the CPHB designation offers a genuine distinction between CPHB members and other residential builders. In the current slow and increasingly competitive housing market, that advantage is especially critical. 

By choosing a CPHB member when purchasing a new home, most of the leg work in research is completed for you. When you choose a CPHB member as your homebuilder, you have the following real advantages over most residential builders who are merely licensed under Georgia's contractor licensing law (Licensing Law), in effect as of July 1, 2008. As you read these, consider where your builder fits in:

(1) Education: The Licensing Law may require residential builders to take only three education hours per year. In contrast, CPHB members must have 16 hours each year  more than five times as much.

(2) Code Certification: CPHB members must pass the ICC Residential Building Contractor C Exam or its equivalent. Many of the builders who will be licensed in July 2008 will be grandfathered in and will be exempt from taking the licensing exam.

(4) Experience: A residential-basic contractor must have two years of residential experience under the Licensing Law, while the CPHB Program requires at least three years experience in residential construction.

(5) Focus: The Licensing Law doesn't require that a builders primary business be residential construction or remodeling. That is a CPHB Program requirement.

(6) Building Volume: In the preceding 12 months, CPHB members must have received five construction or remodeling permits or entered into or closed residential transactions of at least $750,000. Conversely, the Licensing Law requires most residential builders to only have significant responsibility for successfully completing two residential projects during the preceding two years.

(7) Insurance: CPHB members must have at least $500,000 of general liability insurance and builders risk insurance. For most residential builders, the Licensing Law requires only $300,000 of general liability insurance and no builders risk insurance.

(8) Code of Ethics: CPHB members must agree to comply with the National Association of Home Builders Code of Ethics, while the Licensing Law dozen?t mandate compliance with those standards.

(9) Membership in HBA: Builder members of local home builder associations generally have broader and more current industry knowledge and skills than non-members because the former interact with other builders, participate in industry committees and benefit from association educational programs. CPHB members must join their local home builder association. The Licensing Law doesn't impose that requirement.

(10) Warranty: The Licensing Law has a warranty provision, but it doesn't mandate specific coverage. CPHB members must use an approved warranty and warranty procedures or ones substantially equivalent.

(11) Home Inspections: CPHB members must allow a qualified professional home inspector to conduct a fair inspection. The Licensing Law doesn't include this requirement.

(12) Mandatory Binding Arbitration: Arbitration is favored over litigation as a matter of Georgia and federal public policy. Its advantages include reduced cost and time and greater privacy, informality, flexibility and finality. CPHB members must offer arbitration to home buyers. A similar requirement isn't in the Licensing Law.

(13) Better Business Bureau Rating: CPHB members can?t have a negative rating with the Better Business Bureau. The Licensing Law doesn't have this requirement.

(14) Dispute Resolution Process: The CPHB Program has a dispute resolution process designed to assist in the informal resolution of disputes that may arise between CPHB members and home buyers. The Licensing Law doesn?t have a similar process.

(15) Renewal: CPHB members must renew membership annually. License renewal is every other year.

                              



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