Vol. 7, No. 1 – January 7, 2008

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

SIGN UP NOW FOR Estimating Workshops

 

MLA is pleased to announce that Mike Butts, LBM Solutions, is returning to our area to provide our popular estimating training in 2008. Mike is one of the most recognized trainers in the lumber and building material industry. The training will be offered in Cape Girardeau, Mo. on February 12-13 and Kansas City, Kan. on March 4-5.

                                                                                               

Day 1 leads participants through a typical blueprint format, scale and content. Students will develop an understanding of architectural symbols such as wood, concrete, insulation and electrical schedules, knee walls, wall sections and cantilevered joists. They’ll also learn about “specifications and general notes” – their necessity, importance and how they relate to retail sales. In addition, the seminar teaches participants how to approach reading a blueprint to ensure thoroughness and accuracy when completing an estimate of materials.

 

Day 2 focuses on the skills necessary to calculate the framing lumber requirements of the complete shell of the house through comprehensive study of each construction item. Included in this is a review of contemporary “cut roofs” and their unique estimating requirements. Attendance at Day 1 is mandatory for attending Day 2 or the student must have proficiency at reading blueprints.

 

Mike Butts is the founder and President of LBM Solutions.  His abilities and experience have been called “unsurpassed by other consulting firms in the industry.”  His experience has been gained through extensive work in the field at “street level,” implementing the programs and practices he teaches.

 

When/Where:

 

February 12-13 – Plaza Conference Center – Cape Girardeau, Mo.

March 5-6 – Best Western Inn & Conference Center – Kansas City, Kan.

 

Member Pricing:

• Sign up for Day 1 or Day 2 separately at $275 per day.

• Two-day workshop package ~ $445  for the first person from a member firm ~ $425 each for additional personnel.

·         Sign up by January 25 – A $50 per person surcharge will be added for late registrants.

 

Nonmember pricing is available.

 

Complete information and registration forms are available upon request from MLA at 800-747-6529. Or, simply reply to this email and we’ll send complete information today! Information and a registration form also are available at www.themla.com.

 

Note: Attendance at Day 1 is mandatory for attending Day 2 unless person has proficiency at reading blueprints.

 

BAD BUSINESS ASSUMPTION

Assuming the customer understands the details of the sale

 

Last year, Ace Window Company decided to increase sales by sending their sales representatives to rural parts of the state surrounding their business. One of the sales representatives sold replacement windows in Larry’s entire house – the expensive, double-pane and energy-efficient kind.

 

This week, Larry got a call from Ace Window Company. The owner was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and Larry hadn’t paid for it.

 

When contacted, Larry said, “Hold on now! I may not live in the big city, but that doesn’t mean that I am automatically stupid.” Then, Larry told the owner just what his sales representative had told him last year: “In just ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves!”

 

Make sure the customer understands what you are telling them. Most unsatisfied customers come from misunderstandings. And, that is always the sales professional’s fault.

 

Source: Bob Janet, Profit Club Sales Tips. Bob Janet can come to your business to provide a private sales program for your employees. Contact MLA for more information at 800-747-6529.

 

 

 

 

SAVE THE DATE

 

Jan. 11, 2008 - Missouri Winter Meeting - Columbia, Mo.

Jan. 17-18, 2008 - Kansas Winter Meeting - Colby, Kan.

Feb. 12-13 – Blueprint Reading and Estimating Workshop – Cape Girardeau, Mo.

March 4-5 – Blueprint Reading and Estimating Workshop – Kansas City, Kan.

May 1-2 - Missouri Swing-into-Spring Event

June 13 - Kansas Sunflower Shootout

Nov. 6-7 – MLA Fall Fling

 

Call the MLA Office – 800-747-6529 – for additional information or email: mail@themla.com

 

 

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES

 

Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Bill That Would Provide a Life Raft to Troubled Homeowners… On the heels of response to the turmoil in the mortgage market from the White House, the Fed, and the House of Representatives, the Senate passed legislation that would overhaul how the Federal Housing Administration operates. The bill, known as S.2338: FHA Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act of 2007, passed on Friday by an overwhelming margin of 93-1. (Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) was the lone senator opposed to the legislation.) Connecticut Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D) has vowed to "continue to fight to enact this legislation to help provide hope and help to American homeowners." Dodd, who is the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is also the author of the legislation.

 

Source: Builder Business Online Update, December 18, 2007

 

Builders Want Voluntary Green Certification Program… According to the results of a survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), almost 80 percent of the builders and developers surveyed identified the NAHB National Green Building Program as the one they would most trust over other national programs such as the U.S. Green Building council’s LEED-H rating system.

 

Source: Hardwood Matters, published by National Hardwood Lumber Association, December 2007

 

Housing Starts at a 16-Year Low… Economists fear the country is close to recession due to continued bad news in the housing sector.

November housing starts fell 3.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.187 million units, the lowest level in more than 16 years, according to a Commerce Department report.

 

Permits for future building also dropped 1.5 percent to their lowest level since June 1993.

Source: LBM Daily, December 19, 2007

 

Herrman Lumber Company has purchased Eldon Hardware and Lumber in Eldon, Mo., from Howard and Betty Vann of Eldon, bringing their number of yards to ten. The store opened October 1st as Herrman Lumber Company.

 

Source: www.herrmanlumber.com

 

A Long Way to Go For the Housing Slump To End?... New figures released on Wednesday show that existing single-family home prices dropped 6.7% in October from a year ago. This news also led to a sell-off on housing stocks.

 

Source: LBM Daily, December 27, 2007

 

Louisiana-Pacific in Venture with Chilean Firm… Wood products giant Louisiana-Pacific has announced a planned joint venture agreement with Chile-based Masisa for oriented strand board (OSB) manufacturing capabilities in Ponta Grossa, Brazil.

 

The OSB assets were placed in service in 2003 and have an annual production capacity of 375 million square feet, according to a joint news release from the companies.

 

LP currently operates an OSB and siding mill in Panguipulli, Chile, and is opening a second mill in Lautaro, Chile, in the first quarter of 2008. Additionally, LP is in the planning process of relocating its Woodland, Maine, OSB assets to a to-be-determined location in South America.

 

Louisiana-Pacific, based in Nashville, Tenn., is one of North America’s largest suppliers of building products.

 

Source: Home Channel News Pro Dealer Digest, December 27, 2007

 

U.S. New Home Sales Droop by Nine Percent… When the November figures for new homes sales in the United States were announced, it was to widespread disappointment. Despite predictions of a seasonally adjusted rate of 720,000, the Commerce Department revealed that November numbers fell to 647,000, the lowest rate since 1995. Homebuilder stocks were similarly affected negatively

 

Source: LBM Daily, December 31, 2007

 

Existing-Home Sales Rise in November, Market Likely Stabilizing… Existing-home sales rose slightly in November, indicating stabilization in housing in the wake of mortgage disruptions earlier this year, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

 

Source: National Association of Realtors, December 31, 2007

 

More Dealer News… Looney and Bloess Lumber Co., Sedalia, Mo., will close its doors this spring when its 80-year-old owner, Jack Bloess, retires, the Sedalia newspaper reported. Unusual among LBM operations, Looney and Bloess also sells archery equipment. … Hughes Lumber will consolidate some of its operations by closing a lumberyard in Owasso, Okla., and moving its Tulsa headquarters to an 11-acre site in the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, Okla., press reports said.

 

Source: ProSales Business Update, January 2, 2008

 

States in the U.S. Increasingly Passing Laws to Curb Illegal Logging… With timber prices on the rise, so-called rogue loggers who fraudulently acquire their timber now face stiffer penalties for their actions in the United States. South Carolina, Mississippi and Virginia have timber theft laws in place that punish illegal logging as felonies. Now Kentucky may join their ranks; legislation has been introduced in that state's legislature that would allow the defrauded timber owner to press criminal charges against the thieves.

 

Source: LBM Daily, January 4, 2008

 

AS GOOD AS IT EVER WAS

 

Business owners of C-corporations are often looking for ways to supplement retirement. Are you one of them? If so, IRS Section 162 Executive Bonus may be the answer for you. It has been around for many years, but its benefits may have been forgotten. Let’s step “back to the future” and see how it is still as good as it ever was.

 

An Executive Bonus Plan is a method of compensating business owners of C-corporations or key employees with extra income for personal life insurance. It allows business owners of C-corporations to have the business pay for personal life insurance and accumulate cash values tax-free to supplement their retirement. Since the policy is owned personally by the business owner, the control lies with the business owner. It is a great way to take advantage of the tax code by using your business to help you achieve a safe and secure retirement.

 

How does it work?

 

• You purchase a life policy on yourself.

• You name your personal beneficiary(ies).

• Your corporation pays the insurance premium.

• Premium amount is tax-deductible to the corporation as a compensation bonus.

• Premium is taxable income to you as a compensation bonus.

• You own the cash values. You can take out small amounts of money from your business in the form of premium payments now with known tax treatment instead of larger amounts in the future without knowing how it would be treated (dividends, etc).

• You can generally withdraw cash values tax-free in the future, such as for retirement.

 

Executive Bonus is still as good as ever.

 

This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association’s recommended insurer.

MLA is proud to endorse….

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

“Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands -- and then eat just one of the pieces.” –

Judith Viorst