President's Message

Our October meeting was a very good one – our two newest members were there, we had another prospective new member, an excellent program and a good meal. Welcome to new members Amy Yaple, massage therapist and Sherry Fleckenstein of Pizza Junction in N.T. Thank you to Joe at J.T. Wheatfield’s Raintree Restaurant for his great hospitality and a wonderful prime rib dinner. We had a good turnout, and as usual a good number of members stayed around for the fellowship aft erward.

Primary topics at the meeting were:

• NYSBA has asked us to provide a member to sit on a statewide committee to discuss changes to the DEC’s wetlands regulations.
• Skip encouraged us to consider instituting an annual Scholarship for a student in the building trades program. NYSBA’s REF will pay for half of the cost, up to $500. Call the office if you would like more information on the scholarships.
• The board voted to purchase a complete set of the New York State Code books, and have them available as a member resource in our office. The books will be in loose-leaf format, for ease of copying.
• We will be electing a new slate of officers for 2008-09 at our November membership meeting.
• Also in November, we will fi nalize plans for our annual Home & Garden Show in early 2008.

THANK YOU to Niagara Falls attorney Melanie Tisdale for an excellent program. She had a lot of great advice to help contractors protect themselves by using better contracts. She strongly recommends that you develop your own contract with the help of an attorney. Th is will allow you to include clauses that will better protect you, and can potentially save you a lot of money. She said that some of the “canned” contract forms that are available are OK, and some are not so good, but even the best generic form is not as good as customizing your own. She also touched on options such as having your customer take direct title to the land, getting proof of insurance from your subs and your insurance needs, including being sure that you deal with a knowledgeable carrier who is familiar with building requirements. Even the non-builders in attendance got some valuable information.

Look for Jerry O’Neill’s report on the New York State Builders Show on page 3 of the newsletter.

Be sure to join us for the November meeting at DeFlippo’s in Lockport. Our program will be about the changes to the state codes. Remember that new members who joined the NCBA during last May’s Direct Drive campaign are entitled to attend your first dinner meeting on us. Come on out and see what the NCBA is all about!

Next Meeting

IMPORTANT! PLEASE RSVP to the NCBA office by Friday, November 9th to let us know if you will attend. THANKS!

Operation Myth Buster

In an effort to boost consumer confidence in the homebuilding industry the NAHB has announced a new “Myth Busters” campaign. They have asked for volunteers to help as Myth Busters to help spread the truth about some of our industry myths:

Myth #1: The Sky is Falling – The truth is that the homebuilding industry has always been cyclical in nature. In the mid 1970s and early 1980s and 1990s housing production and sales dropped by more than 60% in a matter of months. Over time, of course, the market corrected, and we bounced back to sales and production levels that beat or matched the records of the previous cycles. The message here is that, in addition to being cyclical, homebuilding is a very tough and resilient industry. We will bounce back – stronger and better than before.

Myth #2: There is No Mortgage Money - If you believe the evening news you would think that it is almost impossible to get a mortgage in today’s market. In fact, the vast majority of our buyers are seeking conventional, conforming mortgages at or below $417,000, and there IS money available. Qualifying loans are purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and have the implicit guarantee of the federal government. Rates are still relatively low, and credit-worthy borrowers should have no trouble securing a mortgage.

Myth #3: Foreclosure Rates are Skyrocketing – While foreclosure rates have increased in the past year, almost all American homeowners are meeting their mortgage payments on time and are in no danger of losing their homes. Most of the foreclosures are in the superheated housing markets such as California, Florida, Arizona and other states. There is concern over two million sub-prime
loans that are due to reset over the next two years. That’s a major problem that has to be dealt with. However, 97% of prime borrowers are up to date on their mortgage payments. In addition, a high number of defaults recently have been among speculators or investors who were looking for quick profits and subsequently walked away from their investments when the housing market cooled.

Myth #4: Home Values are in A Free-Fall with No Bottom in Sight – Except for about 30 high flying metro markets where home values doubled in four or five years, the correction in home values has been relatively modest. Over time home values will stabilize and then edge upward with the next recovery. To argue that home values will continue to decline is to ignore history. Somebody would have to make a convincing argument that it will cost less to build a new home five years from now than it does today – now THERE is a myth. NAHB Public Affairs staff will be providing up-to-date talking points, op-ed columns and other materials for “myth busters” to use in local venues. Stay tuned for more info.

NYSBA Fire Sprinkler Update

To prepare to combat future initiatives to mandate sprinklers in one and two family homes, NYSBA is encouraging all builders to start offering fire sprinklers as an option in the new homes you build. As NYSBA member Bob Hankin states, “This will accomplish several things, including making us the guys with the white hats. If you offer sprinklers as one of your standard options, we will be able to see if there is really a demand on the part of our buyers for sprinklers AND we will also be able to get some strong pricing data that we can use in our ongoing sprinkler debate.” Are you currently offering Fire Sprinklers as an option? If so, NYSBA wants to hear from you. Please submit copies of plans and costs to NYSBA Attention Jim Klein. For more information contact Jim at 518-465-2492 ext 119 or jimk@nysba.com.

Help Wanted

We need your help to make our Holiday Party on December 12 even more festive. Please donate an item or two that we can put into gift baskets for our raffle. If you prefer, you can provide a complete basket from your company! Call Laurie Swogier at 731-4240 or Joelyn Quigliano at 694-2925 with your offer of help.

State Builders Show Report

The NYS Builders Show is a growing event. This was the second year for the show, and attendance was up significantly. Kathy Harrington, Gary Pollard and Jerry O’Neill represented NCBA at the show, and were impressed with the exhibitors and the program. There were over 100 exhibitors at the show, some live demonstrations and several educational workshops. Scott Schlager did an excellent demonstration on installing windows. Turning Stone was a great venue for the event, offering several very nice restaurants, a convenient location, and of course the slots and tables for those who enjoy taking a chance. The state’s annual Awards Banquet was held on Thursday evening, and the board meeting on Friday morning. One of the highlights of the show was a Residential Construction Competition between NAHB student chapters. Teams of students from seven schools competed in a real life residential construction experience, demonstrating the trade skills they have learned through their High School Career Technical Education in the fields of Carpentry, House Wiring, and HVAC. The second place team’s prize was all of the DeWalt tools used in the competition, and the first place team and their teacher advisor won a $5,000 scholarship to attend the International Builders Show in Orlando, where they will have another opportunity to compete. Plan on attending our state trade show next year.

Uniform Code Update

New York State has adopted several changes to the Uniform Building Code, effective January 1, 2008. Everybody in the building trades will be required to conform to the new codes after the first of the year. NYSBA is offering discounted rates for the new code books in two ways. All members can order their books through the state association, and will receive a 10% discount. For example, the Residential Code is priced at $79.50; members will pay $71.50.

NYSBA will also be conducting training sessions to introduce the changes to the code. The price for the training will be $185, but that includes your own copy of both the Residential Code and the Energy Code. If you plan to take one of these training classes you would not need to order those books now. We will pass along the schedule of training sessions when it is finalized.

Our November meeting will feature Mr. Andrew Hviftak from the NY Department of State. He is a code interpreter, who will tell us about the new changes to the building codes and help us understand how to handle challenges from local building inspectors. This will be a very informative and important program. Join us at DeFlippo’s on November 14. Call in your RSVP today.

NCBA Joins Sams Club

We are now members of Sam’s Club. The association has joined Sam’s Club, and you can piggyback onto our membership if you want. If you don’t already have a membership, the advantages include low prices, extra hours for business members, and call/fax orders for easy pick-up. You can buy your business supplies, cleaning, auto/truck supplies, food, furniture and clothing all in one location. Membership prices save you more. To join under the NCBA, call Cathy to get an invitation, which gives you two members for $35 plus tax for an annual membership. If you prefer to do your business shopping with company checks, you can get your own business membership. Call Danielle at Sam’s Club, 298-1588 to get your own company membership.

Poker Night for Roswell Park

On Saturday, November 10 Jerry O’Neill’s son Dan Soda is hosting a Poker Night at Sweeney Hose in North Tonawanda, to raise money for Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Dan will be running in a marathon to benefit Roswell’s Team Cure in January. Buy-in for the Poker Tournament is only $60, and the final table of nine people will all cash. Top prize is estimated at $650, and could be much higher. Call Jerry at 693-5736 or 693-6369 if you are interested. Those who don’t play poker can help the cause by coming to the party for a donation of $20. Beer, soda and pizza will be provided, and the Sabres game will be on the big screen TV.