FHBAction News (February 8, 2010)

President’s Message
By Chuck Fowke
Creating jobs and cutting through red tape will be the priority message the Florida Home Builders Association delivers to lawmakers during the 2010 Legislative Session scheduled for March 2 – April 30.

With more than 283,000 Florida construction workers jobless and costly mandates to doing business threatening the building industry’s livelihood, it’s more important than ever for lawmakers to focus their attention on job creation and economic stimulus.

Leading and uniting Florida’s construction industry behind a focused agenda is vital to protecting the home building industry’s ability to do business. That’s why our members have established a consensus agenda providing lawmakers with the legislative goals of home building professionals. FHBA’s 2010 Legislative Priorities were developed by seeking input from all local home builder associations through our Area Leaders, and unanimously approved by our Governmental Affairs Committee last December.

To effectively communicate these priorities, we have produced the 2010 Legislative Priorities guide – a brochure outlining FHBA’s six top priorities. Each member of the Florida Senate and House of Representatives will receive a copy to help ensure they are fully aware of our members’ priority issues.

During the 2010 Legislative Session, lawmakers will have the opportunity to put the brakes on Florida’s decline, improve Florida’s economic climate and create a more hospitable environment for private sector job growth. Positive legislative actions with affordable housing, growth management, ill-conceived and costly mandates, job killing regulations, and unnecessary barriers to recovery will send strong signals to Florida businesses that our state can be competitive.

Tax Relief Coming for Employers
Unemployment tax relief is on its way for Florida employers. A deal struck by Governor Crist, legislative leaders and business groups will delay most of the pain from a massive unemployment tax hike for two years. Last week lawmakers began discussing legislation that will provide short-term relief, and they are expected to take their first vote this week. The Governor has said he hopes to sign a bill during the first week of the 2010 Legislative Session that begins March 2. The unemployment tax hike occurred after the state was forced to borrow $1.1 billion from the federal government to keep benefits flowing for Florida’s unemployed. If the Legislature doesn’t delay the increase, the minimum rate would jump from $8.40 per employee to $100.30. A bill (PCB 10-01) by Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Jacksonville, would lower the taxable wage base from $8,500 to $7,000 – reducing the amount of each employee’s wages upon which the employer pays unemployment compensation taxes. The measure also establishes a quarterly payment plan for 2010 and 2011 that lets employers spread out their unemployment compensation payments over the whole year without normal application of penalties or interest. It would eliminate all elements of the rate calculations in current law that increases the tax for purposes of replenishing the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund balance for 2010 and 2011. And it allows unemployed Floridians to receive additional extended unemployment benefits funded by the federal government. The Florida Home Builders Association has advocated for this relief, and we will continue to monitor its progress and keep members apprised.

Condo Bulk Buyer Issue Gets Noticed
One of the Florida Home Builders Association’s top priorities for the 2010 Legislative Session is addressing existing barriers to buying condominiums in bulk. Currently bulk condo buyers must accept the legal and financial liabilities of the original developer. The issue is getting noticed, not only in the Legislature, but also in Florida’s leading business magazine – the Florida Trend. FHBA is urging lawmakers to pass legislation allowing investors to purchase more than seven units in a building without the investor having to accept original developer liabilities. 

Commission Approves Code Schedule
Last week the Florida Building Commission (FBC) approved a schedule for the development of the 2010 Florida Building Code. Under the schedule, proposed changes must be submitted from March 1 through April 2, 2010. The proposed changes will be posted for public comment on the FBC website, www.floridabuilding.org, from May 10 through June 15, 2010. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will review and provide comments to the FBC on August 8-9, 2010. TAC comments will be posted to the website for a period of 45 days – September 9 through October 18, 2010. The FBC will consider TAC recommendations and public comments on December 7-8, 2010. The proposed effective date of the 2010 Florida Building Code is December 31, 2011.

Aurora Award Entries Being Accepted
Entries are now being accepted for the 31st Annual Aurora Awards. Builders, architects, developers, interior designers/merchandisers, land planners and architectural designers in 12 southeastern states and the Caribbean are encouraged to submit Aurora Awards entries. Recognition as an Aurora Award winner provides added value to your public relations and marketing efforts, and can serve as an integral part of advertising campaigns to demonstrate excellence and quality of work. The deadline to enter is April 30, 2010. Enter online at www.theauroras.com. For more information, contact Lynne Edwards at ledwards@fhba.com or 800-261-9447 ext. 109.

Reynolds Accepts Building Issues Post
Long-time Florida Home Builders Association Richard Reynolds has been appointed to serve on the National Association of Home Builders Building Issues Committee for 2010. The NAHB Building Issues Committee deals with defective materials/products used in housing, and conducts investigations where appropriate. Just last month, the committee met and discussed windows that, in unusual circumstances, melt vinyl siding and plastic deck furniture, burn grass and other vegetation because of sun reflections magnified by insulated windows that become lens (concave) when pressure changes. The committee also discussed a particular brand of fiber cement siding on a multi-family project that became detached at the nails, at the 12’ extremities of the boards, sometimes splitting vertically mid-span. The manufacturer, when pressed, agreed to provide a warranty for the product beyond the warranty period.  According to Reynolds, this problem is reported to not be exclusive of this brand. An issue likely to come up in the future is moisture with rot and mold consequences in walls because of increased energy code requirements. Reynolds encourages FHBA members to report any problems with building products to him. He can be reached at rgrynlds@ix.netcom.com.

Learn to Master Corporate Meetings
If any aspect of life at the office makes workers elicit a feeling of dread, it’s the countless number of meetings they must endure, according Maxine McBride, President of Clockwork Marketing Services. That’s because today’s businesspeople spend at least 25 percent of their working hours in meetings, and the higher you rise in the company, the more meetings you attend. “Unbeknownst to many meeting-goers, there is an art to managing and attending meetings that will result in productivity, team engagement, and fun,” McBride says. Learn how to master corporate meetings by reading McBride’s Marketing Column located at www.fhba.com.

IRS Updates Home Buyer Tax Credit Form
The IRS has published an updated version of Form 5405 as well as the instructions for home buyers using it to claim the recently extended $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and the newly-enacted $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credit. Updates to the form include the extended purchase date window — tax credit-qualified homes must be under contract prior to May 1 and close before July 1. Although the revised Form 5405 still references the “First-Time Homebuyer Credit,” it is also intended to be used by repeat home buyers, who must have lived in a single principal residence for five of the last eight years prior to purchase of the tax credit-qualified home. In addition to updating Form 5405, the IRS is also requiring additional documentation for home buyers who claim the credit for purchases after Nov. 6, 2009. Home buyers must now provide a copy of the HUD-1 form or, in cases where a HUD-1 form is not used, a certificate of occupancy for a newly constructed home.  For purchases taking place after April 30, a copy of the signed sales contract must also be supplied. For the expanded $6,500 repeat buyer tax credit, home buyers are also being required to attach one of the following for five consecutive years of the eight-year period to demonstrate that they meet the repeat buyer qualifications: a Form 1098 reporting mortgage interest, a property tax statement or home insurance records. Please note that home buyers claiming the first time or repeat home buyer tax credit cannot e-file. Because of this, taxpayers should be prepared to wait at least 12 to 16 weeks to receive their refunds. For more information, visit www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

Remodeling Poised to Recover Early
Trailing closely behind new residential construction, remodeling is expected to reach its cyclical bottom during the current business quarter and begin slowly climbing back toward more normal levels as the year progresses, according to economists speaking at last month’s International Builders’ Show. Remodelers will still encounter some reluctance from their prospective customers, who have been rattled by financial losses in the stock market and home equity, they said, but the industry will derive some strength from the housing market as it too slowly finds its way to higher ground. Stubbornly high levels of unemployment, however, will continue to restrain remodeling growth and undermine consumer confidence. The economists noted that home builders have sought refuge from the extraordinarily steep housing downturn by diversifying their operations into remodeling, which has also taken a tumble, but has held up better than other construction-related sectors. In the meantime, in dollar volume remodeling has moved ahead of the new home market and its lead may continue during the period ahead. Spending on remodeling fell to an estimated $246 billion last year, down 35% from its cyclical high of $326 billion in 2007, but was more than was spent on new home purchases, said Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University’s Joint Center of Housing Studies. “As the size of the housing stock continues to grow, home improvements and repairs will consistently outpace new construction,” he said.

NewsNotes: Search/Post Building Jobs
The Florida Home Builders Association Job Board is the ideal location to search or post construction-related jobs. It’s easy to use. Simply visit www.fhba.com and click FHBA Job Board…Like keeping up with news impacting the housing industry, but don’t like spending all day searching for it? Each weekday the Florida Home Builders Association produces the FHBA Clips of Interest – a compilation of news related to the industry. Simply visit www.fhba.com, click on Newsroom, then click on FHBA Clips of Interest…its best enjoyed with a cup of your favorite coffee.

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