Zebulon Robbins Sr.

Anthony Scott 
Jan. 16, 1994 
Anthony C. Scott, Of Floral Park, N.y., Died Jan. 16 In New York.

By LEANORA MINAI; Times Leader Consumer Reporter
 Sunday, January 30, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1 &amp; 2F QUICK WORDS: LUMBER PRICES
GETTING TOUGH TO NAIL DOWN 





Home buyers and builders now trying to nail down lumber prices may feel
like they've been hit over the head with a 2-by-4. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We've got this lumber headache," says Jack Moreck, owner of Moreck
Construction Inc. in Kingston. "As soon as interest rates come down, the
lumber prices go way up." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Over the last 90 days, lumber prices have fluctuated like gold and silver
on the commodities market. The erratic prices create a bidding nightmare for
builders basing home project costs on materials like plywood. And they spur a
fear of the unknown, which festers in the minds of people pursuing their dream
houses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The uncertainty has reached the point that local lumber dealers such as
Forty Fort Lumber Co. and Hechinger's Triangle Building Center are promising
ply wood prices for only a week to 10 days. Usually, they guarantee prices for
30 to 60 days. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The problems that I've been running into is bidding the job accurately,"
says Mark Allen, owner of Mark Allen Construction in Wilkes-Barre. "I bid at
current lumber prices, then one month later the prices jump up astronomically
and how do I get the money off the customer?" &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While spring is still months away, now is the time many builders and buyers
are trying to place a firm pricetag on the Great American Dream: a new home.
January and February have historically been peak months to buy plywood,
according to Joe Popowycz, Triangle store manager in Wilkes-Barre. While you
may not be able to control plywood prices, you can do some homework that will
save you money and ease that "lumber headache." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The jump in lumber costs since July, from about $280 to more than $500 per
1,000 board feet in December, has been enough to add about $4,000 to the price
of the average new home, according to the National Association of Home
Builders in Washington, D.C. A board foot of lumber is 1 inch thick and 12
inches square. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Two months ago, a 2-by-4 -- a common building staple -- cost $2.20. Now,
the price of the board is inching toward $3 at Triangle, which provides
plywood to 600 contractors in Northeastern Pennsylvania, according to
Popowycz. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Depending on who you ask about lumber prices, the reasons for the
fluctuations have to do with supply and demand -- declining lumber supplies
and increased construction demand -- or greedy commodities traders and
profiteering by big lumber companies. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lumber prices have dropped since their December peak, but the expected rise
in the demand for wood to rebuild after the Los Angeles earthquake has sent
prices up again. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Right now, home builders are in the pricing phase. They're calling lumber
yards and asking for price quotes on plywood that will allow them to give home
buyers a bid on what it will cost to start building homes this spring or fall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some contractors say they'll be able to offer you locked-in costs by asking
suppliers to guarantee lumber prices. However, dealers aren't promising prices
for long. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I cannot afford to be caught with a gigantic truck load of 2-by-4s that
cost me $4 a piece when next week they'll cost $3," says Joseph R. Stager Jr.,
general manager of Forty Fort Lumber. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Home buyers can protect themselves too. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deputy Attorney General J.P. McGowan suggests that you visit several lumber
yards to double check plywood prices quoted by contractors. Also, you should
make sure a contract is specific, right down to start dates and the price,
grade and dimension of plywood. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The best kind of protection would be to lock the contractor into a price
as early on as possible and make sure the contract is specific," says McGowan,
of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There are contractors who will underbid and then you have a situation
where they come back and tell the customer `We'll walk off the job unless you
give us more money,' " McGowan says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To avoid that possibility, new home buyer Dr. Richard Stanis suggests
paying a deposit a little earlier. Stanis signed a contract for his Plains
Township house after Hurricane Andrew, when lumber prices were rising because
of demand to rebuild from the disaster. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When we put the deposit down, we're stating what the price of the house
will be," says Stanis, a 44-year-old dentist in Avoca. "Once you put the
deposit down, they can't come back to you and say the price has gone up. Once
the deposit is down, you're locked in on that price." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To deal with the yo-yo effect of lumber prices, area builders say thye may
be forced to increase home construction costs by at least 5 percent or write
an inflationary clause in their contracts. The clause would state that the
home buyer is responsible to pay for the difference should lumber prices
increase after the start date. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The thing that really is depressing is interest rates are down, but the
prices of the homes have to be raised to meet lumber prices," Allen says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.

Lumber Prices Getting Tough To Nail Down Fluctuations Have Created A Nightmare For Anyone Trying To Put A Pricetag On A New Home