It's the economy!

[NYDAN]

It is the economy!

Last night I received an e-mail from my favorite local construction contractor saying that he was closing up his business. He had no business booked. I was dumbfounded!

A few years ago, it was impossible to get a good contractor around here. Everyone was booked solid. I finally found a good one by word-of-mouth. He had done an excellent kitchen remodel for a neighbor. This guy was fantastic.

• He returned calls.
• He came to appointments on time.
• He was active in the National Guard.
• He showed up to start a project on the agreed date (or sooner).
• If his actual costs were below his estimate, he passed the cost savings on to you.
• His work was top notch, and he stood behind it.

A while back he was booked for whole next summer. Now he has no work.

When I got the notice last night I sent him an e-mail saying that I was sorry things hadn't working out. This is how he responded to me via personal e-mail,

" Hey Dan and Tina,
Thanks for reaching out. This isn't necessarily the path we wanted to go but the economy has been fighting us all year. I appreciate your business throughout the last few years. I will still be taking on small projects during the summer and school year so I'm not gone for good."

If this guy can't make it as a construction contractor, IT IS THE ECONOMY!

 

[salmonchaser]

I hope your friend will see improvement with the fed lowering interest rates. Still hard to find good contractors around here.

 

[RL338]

Too bad for him.
All this is doing is allowing the scam contractors to come in and take advantage of people.

 

[Firebird24]

There is building Everywhere in my state. Maybe your friend needs to relocate. I have a small remodel I want done and my contractor of choice asked if they could wait for a snow day to knock my job out. It makes me sad to see all the open space getting built on-

 

[NYDAN]

I made a stop into the Corning Building Company about 12:20 this afternoon. There was a check-out clerk at a register at the front of the store and three Customer Service Reps at the lumber counter talking to each other. I don't recall seeing another customer on a Saturday afternoon. That amazed me.

I was thinking about it on the drive home. During and after the Coved outbreak there was a huge demand for building materials for a couple of reasons:

• A lot of people weren't working.
• A lot of people were "working from home".
• A lot of people had "economic stimulus" money
• A lot of people realized they could work from home in the country instead of commute from suburbs.

These things lead to a lot of home additions, home remodeling, and home relocations. So, things got very busy around here.

However, after that flurry of remodeling work and relocations, things settled down. Afterall, nobody wants to move to rural NYS. Oh sure, immigrants and "city people" flock to NYC, but people don't flock to Steuben County New York. There is little to attract people here except reasonable housing cost. But that is often offset with property tax cost. The population of rural NYS has decreased by 1.3% over a five-year period. https://ruralhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-State-of-Rural-New-York-Report.pdf

So, now, once the area got all caught up with housing work, and with the current higher living costs, things just seem to have come to a standstill here.

 

[JD338]

That's unfortunate. I pray we can vote our way out of this shit show.

JD338

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

EVERYONE I know (everyone) is hurting right now. This whole year has been misery and woe. And there has been none to deliver.

Oh God where art thou?

 

[sako2]

Maybe because of a certain DA and AG.

 

[NYDAN]

Maybe because of a certain DA and AG.

For sure, that is a factor. Don't forget the Gov. plays a role as well.

 

[clearwater]

Interest rates coming down, lumber prices 1/3 of the peak. Things should pick up. It is a buyers market for houses here (rural and fall) but hasn't quite forced housing prices down. Sellers think they should get pandemic prices for their homes, so not much is moving. People with stock investments (other than DJT stock) should have more money to work with.

 

[SJB358]

I see it some around here as well Dan. I bought a sawmill back in July and it’s been fairly steady but not really busy. For me it’s been a bit of good luck since I have been trying to shape up the old mill yard and get stuff organized. I’m waiting on some building plans to put a roof over the mill.

I kinda retired from govt contracting back in February so I decided to get back into the family business. Mostly I just enjoy running the mill and I’ve gotten some satisfaction out of making great rough cut lumber. My next buy is a kiln for lumber and a 4 sided planer to make paneling and other wood products.

I’m hoping November is a boost to all around.

I was just thinking of it, but my mill came out of your area, the company is in Romulus, NY.

 

[salmonchaser]

What species of wood are you cutting?

 

[SJB358]

What species of wood are you cutting?

I’ll cut whatever a customer wants Don. Mostly it’s a lot of White Pine, Hemlock, Black Locust.

I’ve sawn a fair amount of oak, hard and soft maple, butternut, black walnut, cherry and maybe some stuff I’m forgetting about.

 

[salmonchaser]

That is outstanding, sometimes I miss my timber falling days.

 

[SJB358]

Boy I’d love to have a truck load or 20 of that marvelous Doug for you all have out there. Talk about some nice lumber.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I made a stop into the Corning Building Company about 12:20 this afternoon. There was a check-out clerk at a register at the front of the store and three Customer Service Reps at the lumber counter talking to each other. I don't recall seeing another customer on a Saturday afternoon. That amazed me.

I was thinking about it on the drive home. During and after the Coved outbreak there was a huge demand for building materials for a couple of reasons:

• A lot of people weren't working.
• A lot of people were "working from home".
• A lot of people had "economic stimulus" money
• A lot of people realized they could work from home in the country instead of commute from suburbs.

These things lead to a lot of home additions, home remodeling, and home relocations. So, things got very busy around here.

However, after that flurry of remodeling work and relocations, things settled down. Afterall, nobody wants to move to rural NYS. Oh sure, immigrants and "city people" flock to NYC, but people don't flock to Steuben County New York. There is little to attract people here except reasonable housing cost. But that is often offset with property tax cost. The population of rural NYS has decreased by 1.3% over a five-year period. https://ruralhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-State-of-Rural-New-York-Report.pdf

So, now, once the area got all caught up with housing work, and with the current higher living costs, things just seem to have come to a standstill here.

What about all of those monster bucks that lurk around in Steuben county?

 

[NYDAN]

What about all of those monster bucks that lurk around in Steuben county?

Well, I am not sure I have a good answer for that. I suppose that could be a reason for someone to move here, providing they have employment. However, any NY'er can hunt in Steuben County with a (NY) resident hunting license and any non-resident can hunt here with an over-the-counter (NY) non-resident license. There is no lottery for buck tags, just antlerless tags. Land prices have gone up since Covid.

 

[salmonchaser]

Nothing like tight grain Doug Fir. Biggest tree I ever cut was a little over 7 foot on the stump, cut the first 3 logs at 16feet so we could yard them. Then a couple of 24 footers. Don’t remember for sure something like 140 160 feet of logs.

 

[SJB358]

Nothing like tight grain Doug Fir. Biggest tree I ever cut was a little over 7 foot on the stump, cut the first 3 logs at 16feet so we could yard them. Then a couple of 24 footers. Don’t remember for sure something like 140 160 feet of logs.

That’s pretty cool. A lot of lumber in those!