SEMINARS OFFER HOME-BUYING TIPS

Michael Holigan doesn't understand why a home-buying course isn't offered as an educational curriculum.

"Purchasing a home can be the biggest investment a person will ever make," said Holigan. "Yet, most schools do not offer courses on how to buy a home."

Holigan picks up some of the slack on the subject.

Michael Holigan has become a household name with his nationally syndicated, half-hour television series, "Your New Home," in which he explores the intricacies of building, buying, financing and improving a home.

He also travels the country as guest speaker at numerous seminars, discussing a variety of home-building techniques, including modular, manufactured and conventional homes. He offers tips on financing and building homes to withstand tornadoes and other forces of nature.

Holigan was in Cape Girardeau this weekend to conduct a two-hour home-buying seminar at the Drury Lodge and appear at the KFVS-12 Heartland Women's being held at the Show Me Center.

Holigan's final appearance at the women's show will be at 12:30 p.m. today.

Cape Girardeau is one of the more than 140 television markets where Holigan's show is aired. Holigan and his "Super Handyman," Al Carrell, receive hundreds of letters and e-mails weekly.

Between Holigan and Carrell, the weekly show, which explores the intricacies of building, improving, and financing a home from the ground up, is of wide appeal to men and women and to present and future homeowners.

More than 300 people were on hand for Holigan's home-buying seminar Saturday morning.

"We discuss a lot of things at each show," said Holigan, who had appeared before almost 1,000 people during a home-buying show recently in Dallas. "We explain some advantage of owning a home, how to finance a home and total move-in costs.

Advantages are simple, said Holigan: "No rental increase, your payments eventually stop -- rent is a lifetime mortgage -- and you can do what you want with the home. It belongs to you."

A surprise at Saturday's session was the appearance of Harold Holigan, chairman of the board of Holigan Homes and Holigan Family Investments in Dallas.

The younger Holigan is president of Holigan Homes and Holigan Investments. Michael Holigan is familiar with Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri: He was born in St. Louis, and he spent many of his summers working on the family farm at Puxico.

The senior Holigan founded the home-building company at Dallas, and was joined by his son in the business.

The Holigan company earlier this year announced a $75 million investment in the Southeast Missouri area, which included the purchase of a home construction company in Cape Girardeau, and purchases of home subdivisions in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Fruitland, and the opening of a manufactured-home factory in Sikeston, which is now in production.

The younger Holigan and his father started working in the home building industry more than 15 years ago, developing manufactured housing communities. They expanded the business into housing subdivisions.

As a marketing tool, Michael Holigan, a graduate of Texas Tech with a marketing degree, came up with the idea of producing a 30-minute video-tape infomercial to help potential Holigan Homes buyers make educated home-buying decisions.

The video was a hit, so they shot 13 half-hour programs and ran them on a local Dallas station. The response was tremendous; the Holigan tapes filled a niche for homeowners that up until then had gone unnoticed.

Three years ago Michael Holigan went to the National Association of Television Program Executives conventions in hopes of selling his show nationally. He came away with two television markets. By the time the show premiered on Sept. 10, 1995, Holigan had obtained 107 markets.

Holigan is publishing his first book on home buying.

"We don't have a title for it yet, but it should be out by next summer," he said.

Holigan is also launching a new magazine, "Your New House, With Super Handyman." The magazine, featuring home building, homebuying and improvement tips, will debut in January.

Holigan still maintains the Holigan Homes business that launched him on his network of ventures. The home-building company will build more than 700 homes -- modular and conventional -- in over 140 markets next year.

The factory at Sikeston is producing one modular home a day plans to expand to two a day within the next few months.