Nation's Building News Online: May 30, 2005

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High Court Upholds Tests for Takings Cases

In a victory for property rights, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 23 clarified the circumstances under which land owners are due just compensation from the government for a “taking” of their property as defined by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

The unanimous affirmation of key property rights precedents came in the case of Lingle v. Chevron, U.S.A., the first of three takings cases the Supreme Court is expected to decide this term. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote the opinion.

“This decision provides much needed clarification for property owners who litigate takings claims and deserve monetary compensation when they are subject to excessive land use regulations,” said NAHB President Dave Wilson.

While the court has reversed some of its prior decisions on this issue, in the Lingle decision it took pains to preserve major precedents that are often used by home builders to challenge excessive impact fees, exactions and other unconstitutional conditions to development approvals. The Court affirmed the “essential nexus” and “rough proportionality” tests, which require impact fees and other exactions to be used to pay for a specific, stated public service and to be proportional to the cost of the public service provided.

NAHB had weighed in with an amicus brief to persuade the Court to maintain the “essential nexus” and “rough proportionality” tests that have been preserved in the Lingle decision.

Lingle clarifies that there are four independent tests that a property owner can use to obtain compensation from the government for a taking:

1. A physical invasion by the government, such as an appropriated public easement demanded from a property owner
2. A “total,” categorical taking in which a regulation deprives a property owner of all economically beneficial uses of their property, such as requiring a parcel to be set aside in its entirety as open space
3. A balancing analysis — to be conducted where government regulations restrict the use of property to a degree, but do not eliminate all uses — that considers the land owner’s expectations for investment and development, and the economic impact of the regulation on the land owner
4. A governmental imposition of unconstitutional conditions for approval of a development project in exchange for a permit. Under the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions, “the government may not require a person to give up a constitutional right — here, the right to receive just compensation when property is taken for public use — in exchange for a discretionary benefit (that is, a permit) conferred by the government where the benefit” is not connected or proportionate to the condition imposed.

The Lingle decision did remove one takings test. In its own past decisions, the Court had stated that a regulation failing “to substantially advance a legitimate government interest” amounts to a taking. In the latest decision, it indicated that this test is no longer appropriate. However, Justice O’Connor made clear that a property owner could still assert a due process violation from a regulation in which the government fails to advance its own interests.

At issue in the Lingle case was a Hawaii statute limiting rents that oil companies can charge to dealers who lease service stations owned by the companies. Chevron sued for a taking, arguing that the rent cap statute failed to “substantially advance a legitimate state interest” in controlling retail prices.  Chevron won at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In its decision, according to Justice O’Connor, the Supreme Court reversed the 9th Circuit because the substantial advancement test Chevron used to make its claim did not address the effect of a regulation on property, but was concerned solely with the validity of the regulation itself. The Court dismissed Chevron’s claim.

While elimination of the substantially-advance test was not a victory for Chevron, it was the clarification of takings law and the preservation of the essential-nexus and rough-proportionality tests that is important to home builders, Wilson said. “The Supreme Court’s affirmation of these precedents is a significant victory for property rights,” he said.

For more information, e-mail Blake Smith at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8583.

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Builders Make Three Wishes to Improve Wetlands Regulation

A Wetlands Wish List of reforms that would improve the wetlands permitting process for home builders and home buyers was released by NAHB last week to coincide with the 15th anniversary of American Wetlands Month, which has focused this year on the economic benefits of protecting wetlands.

“As stewards of much of the nation’s developable land, home builders have taken a lead role in protecting wetlands,” said NAHB President Dave Wilson. “It is important that federal legislative and regulatory bodies continue to work with landowners to protect wetlands sensibly and cost-effectively.”

Following are the three proposals on NAHB’s wetlands list:

1.  Do not give ditches, curbs or gutters the same level of protection as wetlands.

Congress needs to provide clear, scientific guidance on what constitutes a wetland. A string of court decisions and inconsistent enforcement by federal agencies have made the definition so unclear and overly broad that some landowners have even been required to obtain a federal permit for impacting a drainage ditch that they created on their own land.

“It does not make sense to lump a ditch, a curb or a gutter into the same regulatory category as the Everglades,” said Wilson. “The wetlands program’s scarce resources should be devoted to protecting the nation’s true wetlands.”

Federal wetlands regulation should be limited to the geographic scope intended by Congress when it included the word “navigable” in the Clean Water Act, he said.

2.  Individual wetlands permits should be issued in 120 days or less.

Builders applying for an individual permit to cover a specific project find that it can take years to get their application approved, which increases their costs. “Four months is a reasonable amount of time to review and issue a wetlands permit,” said Wilson. “Longer delays can start to eat away at housing affordability.”

3.  Further streamline the Nationwide Permit program.

Nationwide Permits, or general permits, provide umbrella coverage for a large number of wetlands activities and are an efficient, cost-effective alternative to individual permits for many builders. Over the last couple of years, however, additional paperwork and a lengthened permit review period have made the program less useful. NAHB urges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the program, to remove these cumbersome requirements.

“Home builders are every bit as committed to protecting wetlands as they are to providing affordable housing,” said Wilson. “We want to cooperate with federal agencies and Congress to do both.”

For more information, e-mail Marie Yarroll at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.

Lumber Market Ready for Short-Term Rally

According to Bob Book, senior market analyst for TJ&R Trading in Chicago, lumber prices are bottoming out and will experience a rally lasting until the normal fall slump. Adverse weather conditions this spring in major markets delayed construction projects and hampered shipments to job sites, discouraging retailers from increasing the amount of wood normally purchased during the season. Several analysts say that increased housing production later this year could put pressure on lumber prices into the autumn. Shinu Murthy, president of Futures Technology in Pike, Ohio, agrees that there could be a small price rally, but he maintains that “the trend has changed” for the North American lumber market, with lumber production up from last year’s level and U.S. demand flattening. (www.barrons.com)
Barrons (5/23/05); Lester Aldrich

As Pressure Increases, So Do Ways to Curb Polluted Runoff

To address the problem of polluted runoff from development, Prince William County, Va. persuaded D.R. Horton to use an innovative storm-water management technique for its 155-home Hopewell Landing community in Gainesville. Most of the back yards being graded for the luxury homes will have sunken gardens filled with moisture-loving plants and mulch to absorb rain. The streets will be five feet narrower than usual, to reduce paved surfaces. The homes will be flush with the street, resulting in shorter driveways. And instead of curbs and gutters to carry rain to a near-by stream, deep trenches full of shrubs and stones will line the road to filter water. The standard technique for handling storm-water runoff is the drainage pond, but these are becoming unpopular because they do not filter pollutants and, if not property maintained, can collect sediment. Home owners complain that they are ugly, are breeding grounds for mosquitoes and are unsafe for children. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (5/23/05); Lisa Rei

Cities Hope Signs Shame Lax Home Owners

Dayton, Ohio has joined a small number of cities across the country that try to pressure property owners into cleaning up rundown vacant homes by posting large signs identifying the owners and how to contact them. “We’re basically calling it shaming,” said Bill Nelson, director of the city’s building services department. “Even if it has only marginal success, the impact will help some of our neighborhoods.” Dayton has so far posted two signs, which are five feet by three feet long and bolted onto the front of the house. Officials in Peoria, Ill. have put up five similar signs since they began posting them a few weeks ago and the effort has already produced results. Owners of two of the properties have made significant improvements, including repairs to a porch that was missing its roof and some of its floor. When it was used for a couple of years in the mid-1990s in Lynchburg, Va., the approach prompted action in about half the cases, according to a city official. Of the 2,700 vacant homes and commercial properties in Dayton, about 10% have been neglected to the point that they are considered nuisances. (www.sfgate.com)
San Francisco Chronicle (5/26/05); James Hannah, Associated Press

State Native Plays Role in Fair Housing Ruling

A ruling in April from a judge in Vermont is the first to make clear that discrimination against victims of domestic violence constitutes sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act because women are most often the victims of this crime, according to Lenora Lapidus, director of the American Civil Liberty Union’s Women’s Rights Project. The plaintiff in the case received an eviction letter from her landlord shortly after she called the police and had her husband arrested for brutally attacking her one night. People who work with domestic abuse know that it is common for landlords to decide to turn out women who are the victims of violence that happens on their premises. The Department of Justice notes that women living in rental housing experience three times more violence from their partners than do women who live in their own homes. (www.wvgazette.com)
Charleston Gazette, West Virginia (5/20/05); Susan Williams

Counties Get Tax Bonuses With Condo Conversions

Apartment owners that haven’t sold or converted their units to condos could be facing much higher property tax assessments in South Florida, according to Jack McCabe of Deerfield Beach-based McCabe Research and Consulting. Multifamily properties in the region have been consistently selling for two to three times their taxable value, not because of their rental rates but because of the prices they can be sold at as condominiums. Rental property owners haven’t prepared for a big jump in their taxes, which could eat into their bottom line until they eventually pass that expense on to their renters in the form of higher rents. Units valued as rentals at $60,000 could see their values rise to $200,000 or more as condominiums. (www.bizjournals.com)
South Florida Business Journal (5/23/05), Ed Duggan

Supply of Oil-Based Paint Thins as New Rule Takes Effect

Consumers and painters in the mid-Atlantic region are switching over to latex paint because of a largely unpublicized regulation restricting the sale of oil-based, or alkyd, paint in order to reduce ground-level ozone pollution. As they dry or sit out in the open, oil paints give off volatile organic compounds that interact with the sun and create ozone pollution. According to Christopher Recchia, executive director of the Ozone Transport Commission, an organization created under the Clean Air Act to help Eastern states develop regulations to prevent further diminishing of the ozone, alkyds create 170,000 tons of emissions a day in the region and are “comparable to some of the industrial plant sources.” Not all painters are wedded to oil-based paint, because it smells, is harder to clean up and it dries so hard that it can crack. Also, there have been great strides in the quality of water-soluble latex paint in recent years, in part because manufacturers have known for at least a decade that this regulation was coming. Oil paint accounted for 16.5% of the market in 2003, down from 18% in 1997, according to the Commerce Department. Similar rules have been in effect in California for a while, and laws are being prepared for the Northern states. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (5/24/05); Margaret Webb Pressler

Duke Breaks Ground on Smart House

Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering has broken ground on a $1.2 million, 4,500-square-foot Smart House that will provide living space for 10 undergraduate students and serve as a facility for researching smart, integrated technology for the residential market. Features in the highly automated, two-story house will include systems to filter out unwanted background noise; voice-command lights, music and temperature; efficient cooling systems; monitors to measure power consumption on a room-by-room basis; security cameras that provide facial recognition analysis; and indoor environmental quality monitors to create a low-toxin, low-pathogen environment. The house will have a green roof to control water runoff and use embedded fiber optic strands and acoustic emission sensors to detect any movement, cracks or breaks over time in the structure and foundation. The Smart House Web site is www.smarthouse.duke.edu. (www.triangletechjournal.com)
Triangle TechJournal (5/24/05)

Web Site Lets Buyers Track Home Construction

Home Tracker Extranet — a password-protected Web site controlled by Skogman Homes in Cedar Rapids, Iowa — provides home buyers with costs in real time, an updated building status report and digital photographs showing the progress of construction. Chris Skogman, project manager for the company, says that the service has enhanced communications throughout the construction process and is being used by 95% of the builder’s customers. “Our phone time is down considerably,” he said, “and our response time is up. We used to have problems when most of the decision-making stage was conducted over the telephone. Many customers couldn’t take calls at work, and we couldn’t get a call until the next morning.” The system allowed one home buying couple to e-mail the project manager from 3,000 miles away that there wasn’t supposed to be a hearth in the basement fireplace and receive a response the same day. A spokesman for NAHB reports that builders in other parts of the country have offered progress photos of homes under construction, but to his knowledge, Skogman Homes is the only builder offering the complete package included in HomeTracker. (www.gazetteonline.com)
Cedar Rapids Gazette (5/1/05); George C. Ford

Florida Wins Big in Bid for Appreciation

With 1,000 people a day relocating to Florida and speculators investing in pre-construction condo units, the state has overtaken California as the top dog in the nation’s real estate madhouse. The Sunshine State now claims eight of the nation’s top 10 markets for existing housing appreciation, according to the National Association of Realtors®. At the top of the list is Bradenton, where the median home price was up 45.6% between the first quarter of 2004 and the first quarter of this year; followed by West Palm Beach and Sarasota, each up about 36%; Ft. Lauderdale, 32%; Orlando, 29%; Melbourne, 29%, Miami, 28%; Ocala, 27%; and Ft. Myers, 26%. By contrast, median home prices were up only 6.9% in Chicago. Meanwhile, Fannie Mae has been test marketing 40-year mortgages and has decided to step up its purchases of the loans. The mortgages aren’t expected to account for a significant share of the mortgage market, but they might be attractive to borrowers who are looking for slightly lower payments stretched out over a longer term. (www.chicagotribune.com)
Chicago Tribune (5/22/05); Mary Umburger

New Technology in Drywall Can Prevent Mold at Home

With success in commercial applications, Georgia Pacific is now rolling out DensGuard Plus in the home building market. The product is inorganic, paperless wallboard that prevents mold spores from colonizing on the edible surface. Instead of paper, fiberglass mats are placed atop the gypsum core, and the mold-friendly starches binding paper to the gypsum have also been eliminated. “It’s really all about removing the food source,” says Barry Reid of Georgia Pacific. “Once the paper is gone, mold has nowhere to go. It can’t eat fiberglass mats.” In industry mold tests, Reid says that no mold appeared on the fiberglass drywall after 28 days of constant exposure to heat, humidity and direct moisture. Mold can establish itself in as little as 24 hours with regular wallboard. Dens Guard can be primed and painted like other drywall, and the user can make walls completely inorganic by substituting fiberglass mesh tape in place of paper tape on wall seams. The wallboard is also good for basements, bathrooms, shower stalls and other areas where water sealing is needed, because the acrylic coating “stops moisture from going anywhere,” Reid says. (www.newburyportnews.com)
Daily News of Newburyport, Mass. (5/4/05); David Bradley, Associated Press

‘McMansions’ Spark Backlash in Wealthy Towns

The affluent suburbs of Connecticut, Chicago and California are among the locations of a growing battle across the country to curb the size of expensive dream homes that dwarf those in the neighborhood. Tougher zoning regulations that reduce the size of new homes are being used to prevent new residents from tearing down modest size houses built decades ago and constructing homes that are double and triple the size on small lots, casting their neighbors in perpetual shade. The trend, called “mansionization” by planners, is especially prevalent in established neighborhoods in wealthy towns with a hot real estate market and little available space for development. Proponents say the larger homes increase the value of their smaller neighbors, but residents in the smaller homes worry about being priced out as their property taxes jump. (www.ap.org)
Associated Press Newswires (5/9/05); John Christoffersen

Buyers Are Not Discounting the Value of Mexican Real Estate

An arrangement between Granada Hills, Calif.-based Fidelity Realty Group and Construmex, a unit of Cemex Inc. USA, enables home owners to use their equity to build, complete or buy a home in Mexico. The client buys the building materials from Construmex, which delivers them to the job site; it also provides blueprints, designs and computer models of the home. The materials and land cost considerably less in Mexico than they do here. While prices vary and coastal areas are more expensive, a two- to three-bedroom home in an inland community averages $25,000-$30,000. According to the Web site Mexonline.com, foreigners who want to live within about 62 miles of the border or 31 miles from the coast must participate in a fideicomiso. A Mexican bank is designated as the trustee, has title to the property and is the owner of record. As a beneficiary of the trust, a foreigner can then enjoy unrestricted use of land located in the restricted zone. “There’s no question about it that the Mexican government, even before the passage of NAFTA, has been trying to bring in more foreign investment,” said Chula Vista attorney Dennis Peyton, who is writing the third edition of his book “How to Buy Property in Mexico.” (www.dailynews.com)
Los Angeles Daily News (5/7/05); Gregory J. Wilcox

Cows Emit More Organic Gas Than Cars, Studies Say

As the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District in California decides how much pollution comes from the area’s $4 billion dairy industry, two out of three advisory group studies have reported that cows remain a bigger source of organic gas than cars. Based on an earlier estimate, dairies produce more than 38 tons of reactive organic gases each day — almost a ton more per day than light- and medium-duty trucks, which are the second highest source. The dairy industry contributes almost 10% of all such gases emitted in the Valley, where 3.5 million people live in what environmentalists consider one of the country’s most polluted air basins. The gases combine with oxides of nitrogen from cars and other sources and bake into ozone, the main ingredient in summertime smog. “We’ve believed all along that livestock-related emissions are a major part of the Valley’s problem,” said lawyer Brent Newell, a longtime dairy critic who works for the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment. “There’s a need to take regulatory action quickly.” (www.fresnobee.com)
Fresno Bee (5/7/05); Mark Grossi

Debate on GSE Reform Bill Moves Forward

Despite the diligent work of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), Ranking Member Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and GSE Subcommittee Chairman Richard Baker (R-La.) to craft a bill that would reform the government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, there are a number of provisions in the “Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005,” H.R. 1461, that are troublesome for the nation’s home builders, according to Jerry Howard, executive vice president and chief executive officer of NAHB.

Approved by the committee last Wednesday, the legislation would establish an independent agency to replace the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The new regulator would have the authority to approve new programs and place the companies into receivership.

“We recognize that various competing constituencies had to be served and the legislation that emerged yesterday from the House panel represents a good starting point as the debate moves forward,” said Howard.

“It is tough legislation that, on balance, contains several elements that will strengthen GSE regulation, maintain confidence in the nation’s housing finance system and enable the housing finance entities to successfully fulfill their congressional mandate to provide low-cost and available housing credit to consumers.”

To read the legislation, click here and enter H.R. 1461 in the box at the upper left.

For more information, e-mail Michael Strauss, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8252.

New Home Sales Continue at a Record Pace in April

Sales of new single-family homes hit an all-time record pace for the second month in a row in April, accelerating to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.316 million units, the Commerce Department reported ast week. This was 0.2% above the revised record sales pace set in March, and 13.3% higher than one year earlier.

“The drive for homeownership is stronger than ever and builders don’t see this demand diminishing anytime soon,” said NAHB President David Wilson. “We definitely don’t expect to be taking summer vacations this year.”

“The housing market is still decidedly on the move,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Buyer demand continues to be boosted by a strong economy and favorable market fundamentals — a mortgage rate structure that remains low and stable, growing employment and increases in household income and new household formations.

“At the pace we have been maintaining through the first part of the year, we expect new-home sales in 2005 to challenge last year’s record sales,” Seiders added.

Two of four regions across the country posted higher home sales in March. Sales were up 37.2% in the Northeast and 2.8% in the West. Sales dipped 0.5% in the Midwest and 5.3% in the South.

There was a 440,000-unit inventory of new homes for sale in April, a 4.1 months’ supply at that month’s sales pace.

“The inventory situation is very manageable,” said Seiders. “Many of the homes included are under construction and not yet completed, and a significant portion haven’t been started yet. Builders are intentionally keeping their inventories lean in anticipation of increased mortgage rates later this year, and because a limited amount of land is available for building in many areas.”

“Anticipate the Trends, Make Better Decisions and Improve Your Bottom Line — With HousingEconomics Online”

“HousingEconomics Online,” the online publication from the NAHB Economics Group, is your single source for market analysis, forecasts, housing statistics and more. Updated regularly, HousingEconomics Online combines scientific research with practical applications in order to provide housing-oriented insights for builders, manufacturers and housing finance professionals.

Available at two levels — Pro and Executive, subscribers can choose the level that best meets their needs. To learn more or subscribe to “HousingEconomics Online,” visit www.housingeconomics.com.

Housing Affordability Slips in First Quarter

The metropolitan statistical area comprising Youngstown, Warren and Boardman, Ohio is the nation’s most affordable housing market among major metro areas with populations exceeding 500,000, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for the first quarter of 2005.

Also near the top of the affordability scale for areas with large populations were Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.; Dayton, Ohio; and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y., in that order.

“On a nationwide basis, housing affordability posted a moderate decline in the first quarter of this year versus the final quarter of 2004, due mostly to higher home prices and a slight uptick in home mortgage rates,” said NAHB President Dave Wilson. “Our index shows that just over half of all new and existing homes sold in the first three months of this year were affordable to families earning the U.S. median family income of $58,000. This compares to the 52% of homes sold in 2004’s fourth quarter that were affordable to families earning a median income of $57,500.”

The national first-quarter decline in affordability was mostly attributable to a $6,000 rise in the median price of all new homes sold during that period to $225,000, a return to the median set in last year’s third quarter. Also, the weighted average interest rate on homes sold inched up from 5.77% to 5.79%.

“Clearly, favorable financing conditions helped limit the decline in housing affordability in the early months of this year,” said Wilson. “Even so, strong demand for homes drove prices beyond the reach of quite a few median-income earners. Local governments should be looking at ways to improve housing affordability as much as possible by reducing impact fees and other regulatory barriers to homeownership.”

In the neighborhoods comprising the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metro area, fully 90.2% of homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning that locale’s median household income of $51,300. The median price of all homes sold in the area was $86,000.

At the other end of the scale, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. was rated the least affordable major metropolitan area. There, just 5.2% of homes sold in the first three months of this year were affordable to families earning the median income of $54,500. The median price of homes that sold in and around Los Angeles during the period was $430,000.

Looking at smaller metros with populations under 500,000, Lima, Ohio rated tops for housing affordability and was the most affordable statistical area ranked overall. There, 92.3% of homes sold in the first quarter of this year were affordable to families earning the median income of $51,800, and the median price of homes sold was $75,000. Cumberland, Md.-W.V. and Canton-Massillon, Ohio were the second- and third-most affordable smaller metros, respectively.

The least affordable small metro area ranked by the HOI was Salinas, Calif., where only 4.3% of homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to median-income earners making $60,300 annually. The median sales price of homes in Salinas during the period was $545,000.

(Due to recent changes in how the federal government defines metropolitan statistical areas, some metros previously ranked by the HOI have been absorbed into other metros and no longer have their own individual rankings. To find out where each city included in the HOI now falls, click here.)

“Anticipate the Trends, Make Better Decisions and Improve Your Bottom Line — With HousingEconomics Online”

“HousingEconomics Online,” the online publication from the NAHB Economics Group, is your single source for market analysis, forecasts, housing statistics and more. Updated regularly, HousingEconomics Online combines scientific research with practical applications in order to provide housing-oriented insights for builders, manufacturers and housing finance professionals.

Available at two levels — Pro and Executive, subscribers can choose the level that best meets their needs. To learn more or subscribe to “HousingEconomics Online,” visit www.housingeconomics.com.

Base Reshuffling Opens Up Development Opportunities

The first round of military base realignments and closures (BRACs) by the Department of Defense (DoD) since 1995 will open up opportunities for home builders to provide housing for families being transferred to new areas and to redevelop communities where bases are being closed, according to Lt. Gen. (Ret.) John B. “Skip” Hall of The SPECTRUM Group.

As in previous shifts by the Defense Department, there are winners like Ft. Bliss, Texas, which could gain 11,354 military and 147 civilian personnel, and losers like the Naval Submarine Base in New London, Conn., where a reduction of 7,098 military and 952 civilian jobs has been proposed. Click here for the details of DoD’s recommendations and the BRAC process.

In all, recommended closures, realignments and expansions will result in the movement of more than 200,000 military personnel and their families, Hall has reported. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission established by Congress now has just four months to review the proposed list and will forward its recommendations to the President for his transmission to the Congress.

Not specifically on the list are the hundreds of thousands of rental and for-sale housing units that will be needed for the troops, their families and contractor personnel, as well as local residents not directly involved with the military.

At bases receiving a major influx of personnel, the military services will increase privatized housing through the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI); click here for details. Communities will still be expected to provide approximately two-thirds of the housing needed by military families, and all of the housing required by the civilians.

Communities impacted by expansion or closure can receive planning and other assistance from the DoD Office of Economic Assistance (OEA). Once the BRAC list becomes final, OEA will provide grants and technical assistance to local redevelopment authorities (LRA’s) that are responding to the changes; click here for details.

Further information is available from The SPECTRUM Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm with extensive experience in all aspects of the BRAC process; or call John Hall at 703-683-4222.

Builders’ Tip: A Jig for Router-Made Moldings

[Click for larger image]

I needed a special molding to complete a baseboard detail, but my router table was several hundred miles away on another job. Fortunately, the situation forced me to come up with an alternative method for site-milling trim stock.

I think my new method is faster, more accurate and safer than using a router table — especially if the moldings are narrow and thin.

As shown in the drawing:

• I used a scrap of 2x stock about 1-foot long and about the width of my router’s base.
  
  
• I cut a lengthwise groove near the middle of the 2x, just a pinch larger than the depth and width of my molding stock.
  
  
• Then I used a hole saw to bore a 1-1⁄2-inch-diameter hole that is offset from the center of the groove. This hole accommodates the router bit and it should be to the left of the groove as you face the fixture. It also ensures that the router bit, which turns clockwise, will be turning into the work as you feed the stock into it.
  
  
• Next, I bored a similar hole in the top of my job site workbench to allow the wood chips an escape route.
  
  
• I positioned my router over the hole in the jig and anchored the router to the table with a pair of clamps. The clamps were arranged on opposite sides of the router’s base, in line with the groove in the 2x stock. By sighting down the groove, I could easily adjust the router, both vertically and horizontally, until I had the bit in the exact position that I needed for the molding profile.
  
  

Cutting the moldings is a simple matter of turning on the router and feeding the stock into the groove. In a few minutes I had hundreds of feet of molding. And because the stock was captured in the groove of the jig under the base of the router, my fingers never got near the cutters.

— Bill Young, Berkeley, Calif.

Tips & Techniques provided by Fine Homebuilding.
©2005 The Taunton Press

To request a reprint of this feature, e-mail Mary Lou von der Lancken at Fine Homebuilding. 

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Working With a Trusted Lender Benefits Your Business

You can eliminate some of the risk that comes with building and selling homes by working with a trusted lender who can help customers secure loans or construction financing. After all, lenders want to get customers into homes as efficiently as possible, too.

“The worst thing you can do is finish the house, get the certificate of occupancy and then find out the lender is still trying to get the customer’s loan to close,” said Jack Haynes, executive vice president of Countrywide Home Loans’ national builder division.

To avoid that problem, many builders partner with a lender or maintain lists of lenders that they recommend to their customers.

“Working with just two lenders allows us to communicate with them better,” said Phil Chamberlain, vice president of Chamberlain & McCreery Homes based in Cordova, Tenn. “If we have 20 loans out, we don’t have to talk to 20 lenders.”

Better Communication, Pre-Qualification, Streamlined Processes

The following are some of the benefits of working with preferred lenders:

• Pre-qualification: Consumers generally must get approved for mortgages before they can get construction financing. When you work with a preferred lender, the lender pre-qualifies prospects upfront. This lets you concentrate sales efforts on those who can afford your product.

“Customers don’t have to get loans from my lender,” said Vince Napolitano, president of Napolitano Homes in Virginia Beach, Va., which has a joint venture with a lender, “but they have to get qualified by my lender.”

• Streamlined buying and building processes: Customers enjoy a streamlined home buying and building process. Based on a recent survey that the research and consulting firm Weston Edwards & Associates conducted for the Real Estate Services Providers Council, customers are likely to “strongly consider” one-stop shopping for a builder and a lender.
  
  
• Better communication: Working with a preferred lender enhances communication for the builder, lender and consumer. Better communication helps keep paperwork moving smoothly and closings on schedule. This, in turn, can help builders sell more homes and increase their profits.

“We’ve had a relationship with our lender only for about six months, but it has definitely been one of the better partnerships we have entered into,” said Tom Woods, owner of T.E. Woods Homes in Blue Springs, Mo., which has a joint venture with a lender. “Our lender knows us and how we do things. This helps us retain more control of the total process and gives the customer a better experience. We make more money in the process,” Woods added.

• Value-added services, more referrals: Offering an additional service adds value to your company and increases referrals. You don’t just build; you work with partners who help people buy your homes.

“When our preferred lenders explain the financing process and options to our customers, they help us cement the deal by assuring the customers that they have chosen a reputable and qualified builder,” says Tom Stephani, president of William Thomas Homes of Crystal Lake, Ill.

Builder Options

Builders work with lenders in a variety of ways to control the customer mortgage finance process. Here are four of the most common arrangements:

• Wholly owned lending division: All of the big, public builders have their own lending divisions. “As a production builder, I have seen a tremendous increase in the efficiency of our operations by having an in-house lender,” said J. Gary Hill, vice president of sales and marketing for Westminster/Fortis Homes in Greensboro, N.C. The company, which is owned by K. Hovnanian Homes, has had a wholly owned lending division for 10 years.

With a wholly owned lending division, you get to enjoy all the profits. However, you also have to deal with all the management headaches. Managing a mortgage company can be difficult if you are not familiar with all the processes.

The start-up is difficult, too. Forming a lending division takes a lot of time and capital away from the building and development aspects of the business.

Builders also need considerable volume to absorb the costs of hiring additional employees to staff the lending division. Wholly owned lending divisions are not an option for small or even mid-sized builders.

• Joint venture (or affiliated business arrangement): In a joint venture partnership, a builder and a lender form an entity to sell homes and write mortgages on them.

Because the lender specializes in writing loans, the building company can potentially make more money on the loans than it would if it formed its own lending division. Another plus for the builder is that the lender takes care of licensing and handles the other compliance and regulatory issues associated with mortgage banking.

On the negative side of the equation, the builder has to share profits with the lender. In addition, both partners must put down equal — and very substantial ― amounts of cash to get licensed and capitalized. “There must be adequate capitalization for RESPA [Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act] compliance,” explained Paul Fazzini, vice president of joint venture development for American Home Bank. “The joint venture needs to ‘stand on its own’ in the eyes of the regulators.”

• Desk rental agreement: Under this option, a lender pays a builder a fee to rent space in the builder’s office or model home. The lender typically pays the builder between $500 and $1,500 in monthly rent.

With this arrangement, the builder doesn’t have to lay out any cash. However, some customers, particularly those who are set on using their own lenders, view desk rentals as a vendor or “kickback” relationship. You can counter that viewpoint by pointing out the convenience to the consumer of having a lender’s representative in your office. “While they’re looking at options, they can apply for a loan,” said Haynes.  

Desk rentals are not an option for smaller builders. According to Professional Builder contributing editor Stan Ehrlich, lenders generally rent desk space from builders with annual volumes of $25 million and up. 

• Marketing services agreement: In this arrangement, a lender pays a builder a fee (generally between $500 and $5,000 a month) to market to the builder’s customers. The lender usually gives the builder a list of marketing options to choose from. These may involve marketing that includes letting the lender’s representatives attend the builder's sales meetings and leave brochures behind to producing print ads, TV commercials or signage. This arrangement reduces the builder’s advertising costs.

Unlike the previous three options, builders can have marketing services agreements with multiple lenders.

• Customer Incentives: “We tell our customers that they can go to anyone for their loans, but we urge them to work with our recommended lenders because of our success with them in the past,” said Tom Stephani.

To sweeten the deal, builders often offer their customers incentives to encourage them to use their preferred lenders and the builders’ closing services.

Napolitano Homes offers customers $2,000 off their closing costs if they use the builder’s joint-venture lender. Likewise, Deanhardt & Davis, a builder in Wilson, N.C., tries to funnel as much loan business as it can to its in-house lender. It does so by offering customers $1,500 off their closing costs if they use the lender and the builder’s staff attorney.

T.E. Woods Homes gets creative by giving customers extra brick on their homes, a whirlpool tub and a free fireplace if they get loans from its joint-venture lender. Chamberlain & McCreery maintains control of the mortgage process by giving its customers a $5,000 credit toward closing costs, amenities or a reduction in price if they use one of the builder’s preferred lenders, use their closing terms and also use the builder’s title company.

How to Pick a Lender

Fazzini urges builders to do due diligence on any lender that they are considering working with. Builders should check references and investigate a lender’s data, history and culture. The best way to do this is to visit the lender’s home office.

“Take a tour of the facility and talk to the employees,” Fazzini advised. “They should be professional and focused on customer service. The lender should track customer satisfaction levels (ask to see them) and should give you access to a decision-maker (the president of the bank, for example) if an issue needs to be resolved quickly.”

A potential preferred lender will do due diligence on your company, too. “We consider the builder’s reputation,” said Haynes. “The home building company must have the resources and ability to deliver the product it sells. We want to make sure our customers get what they bargained for from the builder. It’s a two-way street.”

“If you’re thinking of doing a joint venture with a lender, ask the lender, ‘Where will we take this company?’” Fazzini suggested. It is also important that the builder and the lender have a shared vision for a joint venture. “Determine whether or not the lender can build capacity so that your closings happen on schedule,” recommended Jeff Hansell, owner of Hansell Mitzel Homes in Mt. Vernon, Wash. “The lender must be able to handle volume.”

In addition, choose a lender who thoroughly understands the construction process and will work with your draw schedule. “Some lenders would like to think that they control draw schedules and funding amounts,” said Stephani, “but it is our attitude that if they want our business, they have to meet our needs — as long as they are reasonable.”

Other important lender attributes include:

• Flexibility: So many things can throw a closing off track. Quite often, a missing document needs to be tracked down or signed at the 11th hour. What is the lender willing to do to keep a closing on schedule? “Describe a scenario to them and see what they’d do,” Hill suggested.
  
  
• Stellar service: Interest rates are generally pretty comparable among lenders. But what the customer remembers is the kind of service he or she received from the lender upfront and through the closing. A lender should be able to match a builder’s level of communication with the builder’s customers. Personality is important, too. “When you are trying to attract a large group of customers, you don’t want to have [a lender’s representative] who does the hard sell or rubs people the wrong way,” said Hill. “You want one who will treat the customer right.”

A preferred lender should provide the builder with good service and communication regarding the status of a customer’s loan, fund dispersement, etc. “I want one person who will act as a point person for us to take care of the financing. I do not want to deal with a variety of people,” said Stephani. “I don’t want to hear about the problems; I want to be able to concentrate on building the home.”

• Loan product variety: These days, buyers are increasingly knowledgeable about home building and loan products. Some want certain loan product such as interest-only loans, fixed-rate loans, adjustable rate loans or construction-to-permanent loans (also known as “one close” loans), which convert to a mortgage loan after the certificate of occupancy is issued.

Be sure that a lender offers a full range of loan products to suit any home buyer’s needs and financial situation.

Put Your Lenders to the Test

Don’t just sign up with any lender who approaches you. Put all prospects to the test and make sure they know the construction industry and understand the way you do business.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of working with a lender who is mutually aligned with the builder’s culture,” said Fazzini. “It’s the only way to grow successfully.”

“PRO Builder: Business Planning,” available through BuilderBooks.com, spells out the benefits of preparing business plans and provides proven methods for establishing goals, developing strategies, setting priorities and evaluating results. The publication includes step-by-step exercises and an electronic spreadsheet to help you develop a customized plan for your business. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665 to order.

Regional Summits to Combat Equipment Thefts

Sponsored by the National Equipment Register (NER) and the F.B.I. Law Enforcement Executive Development Association, the first in a series of one-day regional summits on equipment thefts will be held on June 21 at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson.

The free one-day meeting will include general sessions on the equipment theft problem, equipment theft prevention and the latest in equipment security technology. The summit is being hosted by Sheriff Malcolm McMillin of Hinds County, Miss. and Commissioner Lester Spell, Jr., of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

Break-out classes will provide equipment owners with in-depth training on how to prevent thefts and law enforcement with instruction in equipment identification techniques. New equipment security technologies will be explained and demonstrated throughout the day.

At lunch, breaks and a reception, equipment owners and law enforcement will have a chance to network and discuss ways of working together to combat the growing problem of equipment theft.

All registrations must be received by NER by June 14. Space is limited.

A second summit will be held in San Bernardino, Calif., in July, with further summits to be scheduled in Texas and Florida.

For more information, e-mail Glen Sider at NER, or call him at 212-297-1805.

What Are You Doing to Capture High-Tech Senior Consumers?

Many builders in 50+ housing might assume that their buyers do not use the Web or e-mail when, in fact, this group is very Internet-savvy. For instance, seniors would like wi-fi hot spots in their community clubhouses. And they also want high-tech home offices in their new homes.

What’s more, seniors use the Internet to learn more about prospective communities and areas before they decide to move. They research builders and communities before even visiting model homes.

So, what are you doing to capture these high-tech senior consumers?

In order to boost your Internet presence, here are a few basic techniques that can be applied to your own Internet marketing plan:

Web Site Design — Keep It User Friendly

Your Web site must be easy to use and simple to navigate. User test your Web site with a sampling of your target buyers. While 50+ buyers are Web literate, they may not be that savvy with particular Web programs. Make sure they are comfortable visiting your Web site.

Linking ― Be Connected With Other Sites

Consumers will often find you from another Web site, so you should try to be linked and represented on as many quality sites as possible. The importance of identifying and establishing link relationships must be part of your plan. Linking can be achieved in two ways:

• Reciprocal Link Exchanges: Place the link of another site on your site in exchange for having you link on that site. Although this is an effective, no-cost method of placing you link on other sites, the process is very time consuming. Put that time to effective use. Exchange links with Web sites dedicated to active adults and seniors.
  
  
• Paid Links: As this method suggests, you pay to have your link listed on another Web site. This method can save you time and is effective if you choose sites that target your market, but it can be quite costly. To be cost-effective, look for sites that are highly-targeted to your market, heavily trafficked and affordable.

Online Directories — Choose What Serves Your Market Wisely

Online directories or “Internet Yellow Pages” are on the rise. Choose directories that can serve your needs. Some are general in scope, others are real-estate specific. Some directors allow you to submit your own information. All you have to do is find them. Others require that you pay a directory submission service. In addition, most regional and local newspapers have directories that, typically, are inexpensive and targeted to your specific geographic market.

Organic Search or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ― The Search Is On

Most people use the Internet to find answers to questions and, in particular, use search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN to find what they’re looking for. The most cost-effective search placement technique is accomplished by designing a site that can be found through organic searches (non-paid) that key on the wording or terms found on your Web site. Have your site designed with key words that will bring your market to your site.  

Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) — It’s Your Program, Pay What You Want To

Pay per click (PPC) advertising — in which you pay a rate you specify for every visitor who clicks through a search engine site (or their affiliates) to your Web site ―  is one of the easiest and most commonly utilized methods of advertising on the Internet. As featured on such search engines as Google, Yahoo and MSN, PPC can be developed to produce an effective and cost-efficient marketing method. PPC allows you to specifically target your markets and set your own monthly budget. Some consumers avoid PPC ads, so know your target audience before you invest.

You’re Online ― Don’t Forget to Follow Up With Your Visitors

As the online community continues to grow, the most important thing to remember is that follow-up means everything. Your online customers expect quick responses. You have to deliver if you want to capture leads and turn Internet prospects into clients.

Stephen Olson, a partner with RetirementHousingOnline based in White Plains, N.Y., has been actively involved in the “for sale” and “rental” active adult and retirement real estate markets for more than 18 years. Olson is the immediate past president of the Rhode Island Builders Association, a member of the NAHB Senior Housing Council and the government affairs chairman of the RI Apartment Association, an affiliate of the National Apartment Association. For more information, e-mail Olson.

“Reach the Hearts & Minds of the New Customer Majority”

“Ageless Marketing,” available through BuilderBooks.com, documents the results of a groundbreaking research project on the aging boomer generation. The book details the core values, buying behaviors and emotional factors that distinguish the New Customer Majority. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.

Remodeling Gains Strength in the First Quarter

Remodeling activity strengthened in this year’s first quarter, according to NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI), moving up two points from its seasonally adjusted level for the fourth quarter of 2004.

“The RMI showed a nice rebound from some worse-than-normal weather this past winter, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest,” said Remodelors Council Chairman Don Novak, CGR, CAPS, CGB, a remodeler from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The RMI is derived from a quarterly national survey of more than 500 remodelers.

The component of the index gauging current market conditions moved up from 50.7 during the final three months of 2004 to 52.9 in this year’s first quarter. The measure of the future expectations of remodelers dipped slightly from 54 to 53.6, but remained in the positive zone. Any number over 50 indicates that more remodelers view market conditions as positive than negative.

Remodeling market conditions grew stronger early this year in every region of the country except the West:

• Current conditions were up 7.1 points in the Northeast, climbing from 46.7 to 53.8, but future expectations in the region registered a 1.3-point decline.
• Current activity improved by 2.9 points in the Midwest, reaching 48.9 on the index, while future expectations declined from 48.8 to 47.6.
• The South saw current remodeling activity rise 5.5 points from 52.9 to 58.4 and posted a 2.2-point gain in future expectations to 60.1.
• In the West, remodelers’ assessment of current activity weakened by 5.1 points to a still-healthy reading of 53.6, and expectations were down 3.1 points to 54.2

“We saw solid growth in the first quarter of this year and continued positive momentum into the next quarter,” said NAHB Chief Economist Dave Seiders. “Calls for bids, amounts of work committed and backlogs of remodeling jobs are all up, leading us to expect continued healthy growth over the balance of 2005.”

The market saw little change in major additions and alterations costing $25,000 or more, which registered 50.19 on the index, up from 49.88. The renter-occupied share of this market, on the other hand, grew by more than five points, from 34.45 to 39.7.  The reading for minor additions and alterations moved up from 50.15 to 52.78 overall, but climbed a full seven points for renter-occupied housing. Renter-occupied housing accounts for roughly one-third of all remodeling activity.

In a special question included in the RMI for the first quarter, remodelers were asked about in-house design services and their involvement with retailers and professional design dealers, such as Lowe's and Home Depot.

Of the 66% of remodeling companies that offer design services to customers, only 6% work with a retailer or professional design dealer, the survey found. Fifty-seven percent said they used a general designer, 17% an interior designer, 15% a certified kitchen designer and 15% an architect.

Education Calendar

June 13-14	Understanding Housing Markets and Consumers (IRM 1)	Bradenton, Fla.
June 13-15	NAHB/BALA Design Institute for Builders	Denver, Colo.
June 26-28	Concrete Technologies Tour	Kansas City, Mo.
Aug. 9-13	2005 EOC Seminar	Big Sky, Mont.
Sept. 4-6	Certified New Home Sales Professional (CSP)	Reno, Nev.
Sept. 14-16	House Construction as a Selling Tool	Youngstown, Ohio
Nov. 11-13	3rd International Conference of the Americas	Mexico City
Nov. 6-9	2005 Building Systems Councils SHOWCASE	New Orleans, La.
Nov. 11-13	Custom Builder Symposium	New Orleans, La.
Nov. 13-14	National Conference on Membership	Spokane, Wash.
Nov. 17-19	2005 State and Local Government Affairs Conference	Phoenix, Ariz.
2006
Jan. 11-14	International Builders' Show	Orlando, Fla.
March 12-14	National Green Building Conference	Albuquerque, N.M.

Learn More About The NAHB University of Housing

Whether you’re new to the industry, hope to make your next career move or want to improve your company’s bottom line, The NAHB University of Housing can assist you in your education pursuits.

Visit www.nahb.org/education for a comprehensive listing of courses throughout the country. Be sure to visit often in order to view the most up-to-date information in your area.

Subscribe Your Employees to Nation’s Building News — and Earn a Chance to Win Digital Camera

Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.

Make Your Connection With www.nahb.org

Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. 

Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started.

Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section.

New Alternative to Light Bulbs Lasts 15 Years

In the forefront of solid state lighting that uses semiconductors, Cyberlux Corporation has announced a new line of soft white lighting products that are guaranteed to last for 15 years.

“Because our lights are heatless, they are much more desirable in a kitchen environment than halogen bulbs or flurorescent tubes,” said the company’s president, Mark Schmidt. “They are cool to the touch and have a guaranteed light life that’s longer than most people live in their homes.”

The new products — which use long-lasting diodes instead of bulbs and are essentially maintenance-free — will be used in closets, inside cabinets and under cabinets to illuminate kitchen and bathroom counters.

Cyberlux says that its lighting elements consume 92% less energy than incandescent elements and can perform for more than 20 years compared to 750 hours for traditional bulbs.

Several of its products are designed to address emergencies such as power outages or critical security lighting needs.

OSHA Promotes Landscape Worker Safety

A new Web page from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides useful information and guidance geared to fostering a safer work environment for employees in the landscape and horticultural services industry.

Included in this category are companies engaged in landscape design and architecture; soil preparation and grading; irrigation systems; tree, shrub and lawn planting; hardscape construction including retaining walls, decks and pathways and patios; lawn care and landscape maintenance; and arborist services such as tree trimming and line clearance.

The page is a product of an OSHA Alliance with the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET).

The new Web page provides access to information on developing and implementing comprehensive safety and health programs, and has links to sites that identify general potential hazards for landscaping and horticultural service workers as well as hazards and controls for specific activities.

For example, OSHA says that injuries in hardscape construction commonly result from saw operation, lifting, slips and trips and power equipment noise.

Following are solutions for some primary hazards for hardscape construction workers:

• Cuts, lacerations and amputations can be prevented by training workers how to safely operate power equipment, such as saws, and ensuring that equipment safeguards are in place and functional.
• Workers can protect themselves against hearing loss from power equipment noise by wearing the appropriate hearing protection. Training on the proper use of hearing protection may be necessary, as well as determining if a hearing conservation program is needed.
• Lifting-related injuries can be minimized by training workers to get help in lifting from other workers, following safe lifting practices or using a mechanical lifting device, such as a forklift.
• Keeping the job site clean can help reduce slips, trips and falls.

Resources for Spanish speaking workers and youths who are working in the industry are provided, and there are links to an extensive amount of additional information on health and safety topics.

To visit OSHA's page on safety and health topics for landscape and horticultural services, click here.

For more information on construction safety, e-mail George Middleton at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8590.

 “June Is Safety Month. Make Safety a Priority on Your Job Sites!”

Delays in construction due to poor safety procedures will cost you money. To protect your job site against OSHA violations, go to www.builderbooks.com/Safety. BuilderBooks.com has the resources you NEED to create a safety program that protects your workers and your profits. Bulk prices are available. To view these publications online, click here or call 800-223-2665.

Industry Luminaries to Attend Design Institute

When designing a house, it is important to find the right balance of traditional design and personal style. In today’s market, creative new home design stands out and sells strong.

The 2005 NAHB/BALA Design Institute June 13-15 in Denver aims to teach builders the latest in residential home designs by stressing individual styles and ideas. The best and the brightest in the industry will be sharing their wisdom at this exceptional design education event.

Builders will learn the latest in residential housing design trends; tour award-winning homes and communities that display the latest in cutting-edge architectural design; and learn how to profitably apply these design ideas to the homes they build.

Conference highlights include:

• Community tours of Stapleton and Tallyn’s Reach, two visionary neighborhoods
• Education on how to make your home designs more profitable
• Intensive design charettes in which builders will work in teams
• A keynote address by Daniel Nahabedian, formerly of The Irvine Company and John Laing Homes

Pre-registration has already closed for this event, but onsite registration will begin Sunday, June 12, from 2:00-7:00 pm at the Westin Tabor Center in downtown Denver.

For further information, click here.

Superintendent Training to Break Record in Orlando

Attendance at the Residential Construction Superintendent (RCS) Designation courses at this year’s Southeast Building Conference (SEBC) in Orlando, Fla., on July 14-16 is expected to set another record.

The increasingly popular RCS designation program, offered by Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, will be held in its entirety at SEBC for the third consecutive year.

The designation is geared toward aspiring field superintendents and current site personnel who want to improve their job skills and effectiveness. The eight four-hour RCS courses cover issues and subjects that were identified by NAHB members as critical to a field supervisory job.

SEBC is in its 27th year; more than 13,600 industry professionals attended last summer’s show, and of those, more than 1,000 registered for educational courses.

“With the hurricane damage that devastated Florida last year, both quality construction and customer service have become extremely important to every construction company in the state” said Suzanne Cook, director of education and training for the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA). “The Residential Construction Superintendent curriculum is an excellent training program that addresses these issues.”

The RCS course schedule at SEBC includes instruction from four top RCS Designation Approved Instructors:

• Beverly A. Koehn of Beverly Koehn & Associates in San Antonio, Texas, will teach "Customer Service and Home Owner Relations," two key elements for customer satisfaction; and "Hiring, Training and Supervision," and "Office and Subcontractor Relations."
• Jud Motsenbocker of Jud Construction in Muncie, Ind., past FHBA president and a former HBI chairman, will be teaching "General Project Management," and "Planning and Scheduling."
• "Codes and Quality Control" will be taught by veteran builder, former HBI chairman and past FHBA president Paul E. Mashburn, Jr., of Viking Builders in Winter Park, Fla. He will show students how to identify the five components essential for quality assurance. Mashburn will also teach "Budget Management and Cost Control."
• Joan Spencer, from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, will educate superintendents on job site "Safety and Security."

For more information or to register for the RCS designation at SEBC, click here.

For information on starting up the RCS Designation program in your area, e-mail Joseph Krinock at HBI, or call him at 800-795-7955 x 8928.

“Become a More Effective Superintendent”

"Basic Construction Management: The Superintendent's Job," available through BuilderBooks.com, provides information that will sharpen a superintendent’s skills in maintaining budgets, preparing and meeting schedules, and ensuring quality control. Special focus is placed on developing and managing systems to address the key information and skills superintendents need to master in order to succeed. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.

Windows and Doors Reduce Noise

Window and door manufacturer JELD-WEN says that high-tech materials with acoustic benefits make its ProCore The Quiet Door 50% quieter than hollow interior doors.

Headquartered in Klamath Falls, Ore., JELD-WEN is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — the Supplier 100 of NAHB.

“Customers who grew up with the proverbial ‘paper-thin’ doors and walls at home are amazed to learn about ProCore,” said Chris King, the manufacturer’s marketing manager for interior doors. “Once people understand how to keep rooms quiet, they start to think about all the ways they can benefit from this, like creating yoga rooms, a home spa or simply upgrading a home office.”

While passageway doors help to isolate unwanted noise within a home, laminated glass windows can limit street noise. The invisible interlayers sandwiched together in laminated windows are also used for their impact resistance and safety, particularly in regions with extreme weather and hurricanes.

JELD-WEN offers these tips to home owners who want to reduce annoying noises:

• If budget allows, upgrade aging appliances. Manufacturers are adding quiet features to dishwashers, clothes washers and driers, vacuums, leaf blowers and even cooling fans. Insulated washing drums and silent lights, rather than buzzers, for “on” and “off” are now commonplace in big-ticked home appliances.
• Replace insulation with new, high-tech materials. Some wall insulation systems offer STC ratings of about 40 or higher. In addition to interior and exterior walls, target attics and basement ceilings. (The STC rating is a standard of the American Society for Testing and Materials; the higher the rating, the greater the sound-reducing effects. Single-pane glass with no lamination has a low STC of 26.)
• Take an inventory of noisy rooms. At least 25% of a room should have sound-absorbing materials, like carpet or furniture, to prevent noisy footsteps from carrying throughout the home.

For more information about JELD-WEN products, click here, or call 800-877-9482.

This feature is solely for educational and informational purposes. Nothing on this page should be construed as policy, an endorsement, warranty or guaranty by the National Association of Home Builders of the featured product or the product manufacturer. The National Association of Home Builders expressly disclaims any responsibility for any damages arising from the use, application or reliance on any information contained on this page.

What’s Important

This weekend was a reality check for me. I, like many, get so wrapped up chasing a career and money, I sometimes lose sight of what’s really important. Tragedy has a cruel way of slapping one back into focus. Here’s the story…

I coach a 10- to 12-year-old little league baseball team. The standing rule to parents is, if you want to help out, I'll put you to work. To me, that's what little league is really about — dads and moms spending quality time with their kids.

Ten-year-old "Johnny Jones" came to my team late in the season. I got to know his parents, very nice people both in their early 30s, as they alternated bringing Johnny to practices and games. I told them about my standing rule, and sure enough Mr. Jones began showing up with his mitt. I introduced him to my fungo bat and turned him loose. You should have seen the proud smile on Johnny's face as his dad banged out grounders and fly balls to the team. 

This weekend we had a double header on one of the San Juan Islands, about an hour's ride by ferry. Lots of parents came along. Unfortunately, Johnny's folks couldn't make it, so I told Mrs. Jones that Johnny could hang out with my family. About midway through the first game my wife called me aside. Her dark look foreboded bad news: Johnny's dad had just been found killed in a logging accident.

It hit me like a sledgehammer. The only word I can think of to describe that horrible feeling is "empty." Things like this happen to people in the newspaper, not folks you know on a first name basis. 

We finished the games, insulating Johnny from the news, allowing him perhaps his last chance at being a carefree 10-year-old — blissfully ignorant of the life-changing event looming over him like a gathering storm.

His mom and grandparents were there at the ferry terminal, red-eyed, struggling not to cry. I managed a strained smile as I delivered Johnny and kept walking. The sound of his sobs as I walked away will haunt me always. There can be nothing more devastating to a kid than losing his dad. 

Mr. Jones lost his life doing what he had always done, logging. Last Friday should have been like any other, except when his partner didn’t show, he went ahead and fired up the chainsaw anyway, alone. He cut an alder, but instead of it falling to the ground, it got hung up in some other trees. Apparently, he turned to move on. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the alder loose. In the blink of an eye it plummeted earthward, several tons, catching him squarely across the back. He didn’t see it coming, didn’t have a chance.

This particular accident happened to a logger. But it could have been an equipment operator, framer, electrician, roofer, painter, anyone. Another man I knew, part owner in a small, financially-strapped gravel pit, committed suicide recently. Apparently the pressure of running his flagging business and paying off loans became more than he could bear.

Our industry is fraught with peril, it comes with the territory. But why does it have to be the awful, terrible things that cause us to pause and reflect inwardly?  Life can be so fragile.

As my kids rampage through my office this morning, pestering me no end, and my wife adds yet another task to my foot-long honeydo list, I find myself smiling.  How lucky I am to have these things. They’re what’s really important.

Tim Garrison of ConstructionCalc.com, is a professional engineer, author and software producer for the building industry. Send e-mail to buildersengineer@constructioncalc.com. Tim reads every one.

This column cannot be reprinted without permission from the author.

NAHB-Produced Shows on HGTV & DIY — This Week

"I Want That!" on HGTV

Episode: "Amazing Outdoor Products"

•  June 1, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT •  June 2, 1:00 a.m. ET/PT •  June 5, 1:00 p.m. ET/PT

Today’s outdoor amenities go far beyond the traditional grill and deck. The latest for your backyard include an all-weather, permanent installation outdoor television, outdoor cabinets and outdoor carpeting that looks like it came straight out of a living room and more. See how sleek and stylish auto body finishes are now being used for kitchen cabinetry that also handles fingerprints, is dent resistant and puts a kitchen on the fast track to style. Also included in this episode is the WeatherHawk, a system that monitors the weather in your home’s backyard and beams constant live information to your home computer.

"Dream Builders" on HGTV

Episode: "Washington Townhouse"

•  June 5, 9:30 a.m. ET/PT

A Washington neighborhood goes from forgotten to fabulous. A Tennessee couple builds a home with a 35-foot stone chimney that also serves as a climbing wall. A Maryland woman turns a tired farmhouse into a crowning achievement. Tour the historic Carroll Mansion in Baltimore. Today's linoleum is a luxurious and environmentally-friendly flooring option.

"Rock Solid" on DIY

Episode: "Slate Floor"

•  June 1, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT •  June 2, 12:00 a.m. ET/PT •  June 5, 9:00 a.m. ET/PT

Derek and Dean join slate expert Tom Nigro, of Capitol Tile and Marble, to create a one-of-a-kind slate floor in a Washington metropolitan area home. They give insider tips on varying color schemes and tile size to create a finished project that uses this old-fashioned project in a distinctly modern way. Dean and Derek go inside Tom’s shop to find out what’s selling, ways to vary the project, and most importantly, how to maintain a slate floor so it lasts for a hundred years.

Builders' Show Specials on DIY and HGTV

"DIY Inside: The Builders' Show"

•  June 12, 3:00 p.m. ET/PT •  June 13, 2:00 a.m. ET/PT

"DIY Inside: The Builders' Show" showcases the latest building materials and helps viewers pick the newest tools and supplies for the job at hand. From heating to hi-tech, viewers learn about practical how-to technologies for the home as hosts Karl Champley and Amy Devers (the hosts of "DIY to the Rescue") give viewers an insiders look at the largest home builders show.

"International Builders' Show 2005" on HGTV

•  June 26, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT •  June 27, 2:00 a.m. ET/PT

Hundreds of exhibitors showcase the latest appliances, materials and technology for the home. Items featured include fabulous fireplaces, the latest home technology, innovative tools and materials, luxury windows and doors, elegant baths and deluxe appliances, and the latest products for the outdoors and for the good life.

The NAHB Production Group is a full-service, self-contained, media production unit creating programming for cable television, broadcast television, non-profit, museum and corporate clients. Productions range from magazine format shows for general audiences to museum-installation videos for specialized use.

The production group includes award winning journalists, writers and photographers with experience in broadcast, documentary and corporate television.

Subscribe Your Employees to Nation’s Building News — and Earn a Chance to Win Digital Camera

Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.

Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. 

Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started.

Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section.

Endowment Awards $87,000 for NAHB Oral History Project

The National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, recently awarded a two-year, $87,000 grant to support an ongoing effort by NAHB and the endowment to preserve and tell the oral history of NAHB and the housing industry through videotaped interviews.

This grant, along with several previous grants awarded, puts the endowment’s commitment to the project at more than $200,000.

The latest grant will enable the NAHB Library and Archive Services to interview and videotape housing icons and industry leaders about housing in America. The interviews will be conducted during the next two years.

The project will also preserve these interviews in the most up-to-date format and make them available to members, future builders, historians and researchers.

“The National Housing Endowment Board of Trustees is proud to support this effort to tell the story of how housing became an integral part of the American way of life and preserve the voices of our industry’s leaders as they recall ― sometimes with vivid clarity — the many stages of our growth,” said Mark Tipton, the first vice chairman of the endowment and the 1991 NAHB president.

“I have been behind this project from the very beginning. It is truly in keeping with the endowment’s promise to honor the past as we look to the future,” he said.

For more information about the Oral History Project, e-mail Mehret Samuel at NAHB's Library and Archive Services, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8226.

Help Tsunami Survivors Rebuild Their Homes

NAHB and the National Housing Endowment have established the Home Builders Care/National Housing Endowment-Tsunami Shelter Fund to raise desperately needed funds to build permanent shelter for the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster in South Asia last year. The fund currently has $354,000. Members contributed more than $7,000 to the fund last week.

NAHB, have designated Habitat for Humanity International and Shelter for Life International to be the recipients of the fund. Through NAHB donations, Habitat for Humanity will create a Disaster Response Technical Center in one of the affected countries it is serving. Shelter For Life will build a “Home Builders Care Village” of starter homes in Sri Lanka with NAHB funds.

Please Help

Please help by making a tax deductible donation to the Home Builders Care/National Housing Endowment-Tsunami Shelter Fund. Money raised by the National Housing Endowment will be granted to one or more U.S. charitable relief organizations working to help tsunami survivors obtain temporary and permanent shelter.

Please direct your donation check to:

National Housing Endowment
1201 15th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20005

Checks should be made payable to the National Housing Endowment and, in the memo section, please note the "Tsunami Shelter Fund."

The NAHB Senior Officers have selected Past President Bob Mitchell to oversee and guide this fundraising effort.

For more information, contact Troy Patterson at the National Housing Endowment at 800-368-5242 x8483 or Kym Kilbourne in NAHB Public Affairs, x8447.

Florida Among Membership Day Champions

National Membership Day brought in 7,409 new members to the association, including affiliate and council members. Phoning in new member pledges during the May 23 recruitment drive were 436 associations, up from 357 in 2004.

Sears Contract Sales was the exclusive sponsor of National Membership Day.

“The membership champions of our association are an extraordinary group of people,” said Lynne Pratt, membership chair. “They invent ways to attract new members, increase the diversity within our membership, refresh member service programs and recognize actively involved members. National Membership Day is their time to shine, and they do.”

Pratt reported that there were 10 states that achieved 100% participation of their local associations this year, an increase over previous campaigns. The states included: Alabama, California, Florida, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.

The top performing local association was the Collier Building Industry Association in Florida, which recruited 185 members in preliminary statistics. In second place was the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas, with 140 members; followed by the HBA of Sarasota County, Fla., with 130 members; the BA of Greater San Antonio, with 114; and Florida’s Treasure Coast BA, with 111. For the associations rounding out the top 10, see the table below.

The top performing state was Florida, which was far out in front of the other contenders with 1,427 new members. Texas was in second place, with 606 members, according to preliminary statistics.

Pratt also noted the sizeable achievement of the association’s councils on National Membership Day. The National Sales and Marketing Council recruited 629 new members and the Women’s Council added 202.

“Council growth across the board extends the reach of the targeted members services provided to members, allowing for growth of strategic connections, more resources that zero in on the needs of members, and added specialized content and education,” said Pratt.

Pratt congratulated all of the participating home builders associations and the membership planners for their dedicated efforts on May 23.

The association’s membership efforts will now stress recruitment, she said, and the focus of membership planners nationwide are turning to proper orientation practices, partnering new members with mentors, benefits education and the ongoing pursuit of delivering excellent member service.

For sample retention plans and other available resources, NAHB members can click here.

The full National Membership Day Webcast will soon be available on www.nahb.org for year-long viewing and promotional and educational opportunities.

“The Webcast has been the most significant addition to National Membership Day in recent history,” said Emily Fitzsimmons, executive director of the NAHB Membership Team. “It created an opportunity for all the local and state membership planners who've participated in a membership drive to tune in and see some of the creative work other associations have been doing.”

“Hosting the Webcast was a lot of fun,” said Duane Bickett, a builder member from Sioux Falls, S.D. “I especially enjoyed talking to other membership planners about their campaigns and achievements and helping to provide a venue on the Internet for this sort of exchange.”

Pratt said that the Webcast helped spotlight innovative membership planning and identify “who is doing something new, who is going above and beyond, who is changing our approach to membership recruitment in the federation.”

For more information, e-mail Gabrielle Taylor at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8351.

New Members	Affiliate Members	Multifamily	National Sales and Marketing Council	Remodelors™ Council	Seniors Housing Council	Women’s Council	Total
6,361	35	7	629	159	16	202	7,409

 

Top Performing Local Associations
Collier BIA, FL	185
HBA of Greater Dallas, TX	140
HBA of Sarasota Co, FL	130
BA of Greater San Antonio, TX	114
Treasure Coast BA, FL	111
Monroe County Building Association, IN	110
HBA of Jackson County, OR	110
MBA of King and Snohomish Counties, WA	105
BA of Northeast Florida, FL	101
Tyler Area BA, TX	90

 

Top Performing States
Florida	1,427
Texas	606
North Carolina	424
Washington	362
Michigan	260
Alabama	223
Tennessee	207
Wisconsin	192
Illinois   Kentucky	173   165

Customize Your Computer’s Cursor With the NBN ‘Hammer’

NBN Hammer

Show your pride in the home building industry by customizing your computer’s cursor with the “pounding hammer” cursor that is used in Nation’s Building News.

The customized cursor is available free from NAHB and Nation’s Building News and will work on Windows 95 or newer operating systems.

To begin customizing your computer’s cursor, first download the two hammer graphics needed to make the hammer move:

• Click the following link for the Hamone graphic and save it to your computer.
• Click the following link for the Hamoneover graphic and save it to your computer.{{MORE}}
  
  

Once you have saved both hammer graphics to your computer, follow the steps below according to your Windows operating system. Customizing your computer with the new hammer cursor should take less than five minutes.

Windows XP:

1. Click on the Window's "START" button on the taskbar.
2. Select the "CONTROL PANEL" link.
3. Find the "MOUSE" icon and click it.
4. Select the "POINTERS" tab.
5. Highlight the old cursor you want to change and click "BROWSE." (To make the hammer your primary cursor, highlight “NORMAL SELECT.”)
6. Find the new “Hamone” cursor and double-click it.
7. Click "APPLY" or "OK."
8. To make the hammer cursor “move” when selecting a link or file, highlight a second old cursor you want to change (the suggested cursor is “LINK SELECT”) and click “BROWSE.”
9. Fine the new “Hamoneover” cursor and double-click it.
10. Click “APPLY” or “OK.”
    
    

Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, 2000 users

1. Click on the Window's "START" button on the taskbar.
2. Select "SETTINGS."
3. Select "CONTROL PANEL."
4. Find the "MOUSE" icon and click it.
5. Select the "POINTERS" tab.
6. Highlight the old cursor you want to change and click "BROWSE." (To make the hammer your primary cursor, highlight “NORMAL SELECT.”)
7. Find the new “Hamone” cursor and double-click it.
8. Click "APPLY" or "OK".
9. To make the hammer cursor “move” when selecting a link or file, highlight a second old cursor you want to change (the suggested cursor is “LINK SELECT”) and click “BROWSE.”
10. Fine the new “Hamoneover” cursor and double-click it.
11. Click “APPLY” or “OK.”
    
    

To change your settings back to your old settings:

1. Follow the steps above to get to the “POINTERS” tab of your “Mouse” configuration according to your Windows operating system.
2. Highlight the “Hamone” and “Hamoneover” cursor selections.
3. Click “Use Default.”
4. Click “Apply” or “OK.”
   
   

NOTE: NAHB is NOT responsible for misuse or any errors and problems that may be caused by the reconfiguration of the users' pc files. The user understands that he is modifying his computer setup at his own risk.

Subscribe Your Employees to Nation’s Building News — and Earn a Chance to Win Digital Camera

Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.

Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. 

Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started.

Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section.

GM Discount Available on More Than 80 Vehicles

GM is offering preferred GM Supplier discount pricing to NAHB members on more than 80 General Motors vehicles — including Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Saturn, HUMMER (except H1) and Saab passenger cars, light duty trucks, vans and SUVs — as part of NAHB’s Member Advantage discount program.

The GM Supplier pricing program is available to members who purchase or lease 2004, 2005 or 2006 model-year vehicles.  

Through the program:

• NAHB members can get preferred supplier pricing on all eight GM nameplates.
• GM Supplier pricing is compatible with most current consumer GM incentive programs, including the GM Business Choice program for commercial vehicles.
• NAHB members will receive their authorization codes and program details via direct mail from GM.

For details, go to www.gmfleet.com/nahb.

The GM Supplier pricing program runs through Jan. 3, 2006.

Other Member Advantage Discounts

For the most up-to-date details on the Member Advantage discount program and all of the participating companies, go to http://memberadvantage.nahb.org. Or visit www.nahb.org to explore the full range of benefits associated with membership in your local, state and national home builders associations.

Subscribe Your Employees to Nation’s Building News — and Earn a Chance to Win Digital Camera

Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.

Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. 

Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started.

Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section.

Save More With BuilderBooks.com Rewards

BuilderBooks.com is offering it's first-ever Rewards program to provide privileges, savings and rewards to its loyal customers.

Launched at the 2005 International Builders’ Show, the program is available for a $9.95 annual fee.

Reap These Benefits 

• Reward Discounts: Receive a 5% discount at IBS and selected local and regional trade shows.

• Special Offers: Receive exclusive deals available only to Rewards program participants via e-mail.

• Free Rewards:  Show your Rewards card at the BuilderBooks.com store at the International Builders' Show and at selected local or regional tradeshows to receive free gifts. 

• Notification of New Products and Services: Stay up to date on new books and resources for the building industry.

• Quarterly Drawings: Every time you shop during the quarter, your name will be entered into a drawing to win valuable gifts.

• VIP Status: Your status is automatically upgraded to the Gold Level when you spend $2,500 annually. You and a guest will receive access to the BuilderBooks.com Rewards Lounge at the 2006 International Builders’ Show. Enjoy complimentary drinks and more.

Join the Rewards program today and save on the very books and services tha