Volume 4, No. 8 Wichita Falls, Texas August 2011

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID WICHITA FALLS, TX

PERMIT NO. 491ReporterNORTH TEXASHOME BUILDERSASSOCIATION

North Texas Home Builders Association

General Membership Meeting

14145 U.S. Hwy 287 (in the Mustang Room located at the back of the resort past the RV hook-ups)

President

Nationwide housing starts rose 14.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000 units in June, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. This was the best pace of housing production since the beginning of the year, and was attributable to significant gains registered in both the single-family and multifamily segments as well as every region of the country.

“Today’s numbers are an encouraging sign that builders are responding to improving consumer interest in new homes and apartments by gradually replenishing their extremely thin inventories in places where demand is evident,” said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev. “That said, the lack of access to construction credit remains an impediment to starting new projects and getting building crews back to work in markets that are improving.”

“The latest housing production figures show broad-based gains on both the single-family side and in multifamily apartment construction, where we know that demand has been increasing due to the influx of renters in the market,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Going forward, we expect to see a gradual upward trend in new-home production through the end of this year as consumers begin taking advantage of the buyers’ market, though not without some bumps along the way.”

Single-family housing starts posted a 9.4 percent gain to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 453,000 units in June, their best pace since November of 2010. Meanwhile, multifamily starts, which tend to display greater volatility on a month-to-month basis, gained a dramatic 30.4 percent to a rate of 176,000 units – their best pace since January.

Starts activity improved across every region of the country in June, with the Northeast posting a 35.1 percent gain, the Midwest posting a 25.3 percent gain, the South posting a 10.6 percent gain, and the West posting a 5.4 percent gain.

Issuance of building permits, which can be an indicator of future building activity, also improved in June. Overall permits posted a 2.5 percent gain to 624,000 units, their highest level since December of 2010. Single-family permit issuance held virtually even with the previous month, with a 0.2 percent gain to 407,000 units. Multifamily permits gained 6.9 percent to 217,000 units –

their highest level since October of 2008.Permits were up in three out of

four regions in June. The Northeast was the only part of the country to report a decline, of 10 percent, whi le the Midwest registered a 5.2 percent gain, the South posted a 5.5 percent gain, and the West posted a 1.4 percent improvement.

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HOUSING PRODUCTION REGAINS SOME STRENGTH

IN JUNE

North Texas Home Builders Association will be holding an OSHA Fall Protection Seminar. The Seminar is approximately 2 hours long. The instructor will be Travis Clark, Assistant Area Director, Region IV Ft. Worth, or one of his colleagues. The content of the class will be based on preventing falls in Residential Construction and the 90 day phase in program OSHA has implemented for construction workers to come into compliance with the updated directive This class will be open to members and non-members. Please encourage your contractors and sub-contractors to attend; it could save them money in fines. Call the NTHBA Office to make reservations, 692-2211 or email nthba.teri@gmail.com no later than August 18, 2011 5:00 PM.

OSHA FALL PROTECTION

SEMINARWe’re Here When You Need Us.Serving Wichita, Archer and Clay Counties

1920 Elmwood North Ave. • Wichita Falls, Texas 76308(940) 720-5200 • (940) 691-3199 Fax

Jean Taylor, CESA Maggie Johnson Vice President / Escrow Officer Operations Mgr. / Escrow Officer (940) 720-5202 (940) 720-5203 jeant@archertitle.com maggiej@archertitle.com

CHRIS•DOCKMAN•COMPANY2071 FM 171

Wichita Falls, Texas 76305Phone & Fax (940) 767-9710

Cell (940) 704-3471 Jerry Fillmon, Owner/Manager

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING ...............................................................................................NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING ........................................................................................MEMBERSHIP, MEETINGS & EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING.................................................PARADE OF HOMES & SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE MEETING ..................................................BUDGET & BY-LAWS COMMITTEE MEETING ...............................................................................BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING ...............................................................................................OSHA FALL PROTECTION SEMINAR .............................................................................................

Calendar of Events

GOLF TOURNAMENTNTHBA 2011

The NTHBA Special Events Committee is beginning to plan this years Golf

Tournament. It will be scheduled toward the end of September or beginning of October.

Now is the time to start thinking about who you want to on your team! You will be

notified as soon as details are available.

Anyone wishing to donate items to put in goody bags for this years golfers please notify the NTHBA office

692-2211, email nthba.teri@gmail.com or just drop them by the association office.

The association appreciates the involvement and support of it’s members!

Ralph Dunkelberg IIIVice President

Mortgage Services

(940) 691-3641

E-Mail bryanl@waggonercarpetone.com

July 15, 2011 - The National Association of Home Builders commends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for reject ing a proposal to add third-party clearance testing to the Lead:

Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP).“We’re pleased that the EPA listened to the concerns of remodelers

about the extreme costs the proposed clearance testing would have imposed,” said Bob Peterson, NAHB Remodelers chair and a remodeler from Fort Collins, Colo. “Home owners are saved from spending a great deal of money on lead testing. If remodeling is more affordable, home owners will be able to hire an EPA-certified renovator to keep them safe from lead dust hazards during renovation.”

At NAHB’s request this regulation was selected for review by the EPA under the Presidential Executive Order for Regulatory Review (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, 76 FR 3821 issued on Jan. 21) concerning the impact of federal rules on small businesses and job creation.

The lead rule applies to homes built before 1978 and requires renovator training and certification, following lead-safe work practices, containing and cleaning dust, and record keeping.

Under the lead paint rule contractors have been required to wipe down the project area after completing remodeling or renovation work and match the result to an EPA-approved card to determine whether

lead paint dust is still present – a process that EPA says is “effective at reducing dust lead levels below the dust-lead hazard standard.”

The proposal would have required contractors to hire EPA-accredited dust samplers to collect several samples after a renovation and send them to an EPA-accredited lab for lead testing. Because of the cost of this as well as the waiting period for test results and the limited number of accredited labs nationwide, professional remodelers were very concerned about home owners’ willingness to undergo the process.

“The EPA has maintained its common sense approach to keeping families safe during renovation,” said Peterson. “Hiring trained professional remodelers to contain dust, use lead-safe work practices, and clean up has been shown to successfully minimize lead hazards and protect individuals from lead exposure.”

Several problems with the rule still remain. The EPA has yet to recognize an efficient, low-cost lead test kit that meets the requirements of the regulation. And last year the agency removed a key consumer choice measure – the opt-out provision – which allowed home owners with no children or pregnant women in residence to waive the rule’s requirement. In this down economy, consumers are still balking at the extra costs of the rule and often choose to reduce the amount of work done on their homes, hire uncertified contractors, or endanger themselves by attempting the work themselves.

“Reprinted with permission by the National Association of Home Builders. For more information about the lead rule, visit www.nahb.org/leadpaint.”

NAHB Applauds EPA Rejection of Renovation Clearance Testing Requirements

2801 Midwestern Parkway, Suite 200Wichita Falls, Texas 76308

940-696-0000 phone • 940-687-1725 faxwww.fstbnk.com

Amanda Jinks, Cody Klasse, Landon Lane, Bryce Tucker, and Jose Ramos were each awarded

$2,000 scholarships at the July membership luncheon of the North Texas Home Builders Association held

Thursday, July 7 at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel.Randy Schaffner, president of Stewart Title Company and

chairman of the Scholarship Committee, presented the scholarships. His committee consisted of Shirley Barr, Ralph Dunkelberg, Wayne Mansur, Bobby Rowland, and Jeff McClatchy.

Amanda Jinks attended Rider and Burkburnett high schools and plans to study engineering at Midwestern State University. Cody Klasse also plans on studying engineering at MSU. Landon Lane is an engineering student at Blinn College. Bryce Tucker is already an accomplished welder. He will be pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Jose Ramos also will be studying mechanical engineering at MSU.

The criteria for the scholarships included that applicants must be pursuing a degree or appropriate certification in fields related to and supportive of building trades or the construction industries. Appropriate fields include (but are not limited to) general construction, architecture,

engineering, electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, surveying, and welding.

Applicants must be enrolled as a full-time student starting in the fall semester. Applicants must be a student in good academic standing and have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Students who are currently enrolled at area colleges or graduating in May from high school can make application for the scholarship. Applicants also must be a resident of Wichita, Archer or Clay counties.

Association President Doug McCulloch said, “With this scholarship program, we are encouraging leaders of tomorrow in our area by helping students interested in the building or construction industry to reach their education goals. The builder members and associate members

of the North Texas Home Builders Association believe this scholarship program not only benefits our industry, but also benefits our Texoma community by bringing more young people into the building profession.”

In other business, McCulloch said June’s Parade of Homes was a tremendous success with more than 1800 viewers touring the homes.

He also announced that an OSHA Fall Prevention Seminar is scheduled for August 25 at the association office on Fairway.

HOME BUILDERS AWARD SCHOLARSHIPSAT JULY MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON

By Lee Grace

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Certified Construction Elevation SurveyRandy Pebworth940-692-6117 O&F • 940-733-5339 • rwpeb10@gmail.com

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1300 Tenth Street • 723-0771

BirthdaysAugustRANDY WACHSMAN...................................................... 7JEAN TAYLOR .............................................................. 14KENNETH BURROSS ..................................................... 19SHARON TUCKER ........................................................20NELSON TUBS .............................................................STAN MOUNTAIN ........................................................WAYNE MANSUR .........................................................

HELP GET HBI CERTIFICATION APPROVED FOR YOUR

SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Home Builders Institute’s (HBI) educational materials for high schools and two-year programs are designed to bring increased professionalism, competency and effectiveness to those entering the residential construction workforce.

word and is a must to receive various types of funding in many secondary, community college and technical training programs.

In many schools, the goal of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs is to provide students with credentials and certifications which are recognized and valued by industry partners. However, in districts across the country, the HBI/NAHB

and NAHB members are crucial in helping to address this problem and strengthen the industry’s future workforce through schools in their communities.

Involvement in CTE programs by industry professionals

available for students using the Residential Construction Academy (RCA) series of textbooks. Based on national skill standards set by NAHB industry professionals and educators, we have

institutions and adult training centers. The online assessments are available for Basic Principles for Construction, Carpentry,

commitment to assist the industry in preparing a knowledgeable and productive workforce.

Help get HBI/NAHB certification added in Texas.

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(940) 691-4212

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BIRKENFIELD ELECTRIC ....................................Gary Birkenfield CHRISTMAS IN ACTION ......................................Mark MasmanSMITH’S GARDENTOWN ........................................ Steve SmithATMD INSURANCE.......................................... Shawn BlacklockKLASSE HOMES ....................................................Steven KlasseGUARANTEE TITLE................................................. Sharon PikeSTEVE LANE CONSTRUCTION..................................Steve LaneENERGY CUT...........................................................Ed MawsonTHOMPSON BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION .........Troy ThompsonOVERHEAD DOOR CO OF WICHITA FALLS ............ John AhearnCHARLES BARR HOMES.......................................... Shirley BarrDENNIS COMPANY HOMES ................................ Steven HinsonOK CONCRETE ................................................... David LittekenTEXAS CARPET OUTLET........................................ Lane Landes

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