Happy New Year to you and yours this 2009 and new season. I pray it will be a great year for you all.

We are back in the office after a long Christmas break but are snowed in! Had to use the Expedition to get to the office today. Can you believe it? This is January n Vancouver. We usually get rain and more rain in the winter, but very little snow. Now we have 2 feet of it on the ground.

I an very optimistic about this year ahead and where housing and Allpro will be going. You will see some changes here this year and will be positive ones once they are finalized.

I will send out a Newsletter explaining more in a few weeks.

Feel free to contact us at anytime if you have questions or need some advice.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark
President
Allpro Homes Group of Companies Inc.

Just thought I would inform our U.S. based clients that the Canadian dollar has weakened in the last week against the U.S. dollar and this gives you an approximate 10% extra buying power now purchasing home packages from Canada. Because we price in Canadian funds, you can purchase money orders from your Bank with the exchange and save some money.

Not sure how this is going to last but we are opening up a price guarantee for this Fall that will hold pricing until Spring 2009 with a deposit now. You can contact us for details at 1-866-504-1555

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

We were running out of space in our old Office and needed bigger ‘digs’ so we have searched for approximately one year and now have a new home! The good news it is larger and is around the corner from our last office space.
I will post some pictures in a few days for you as well.
Please note the NEW address is:

C2609 Progressive Way, Abbotsford, BC Canada V2T6H8

Our phone numbers will not change and we have updated the phone system as well to better assist you when calling.

To your building future,

Larry J Clark

I just read an article from Jackson City Mississippi. The City Council banned Modular Homes from being built in their City. Panelized Homes, like ours, were officially given clearance to be used. Interesting.

Here is the LINK to the article online.

To your Building Future,

Larry J Clark

Got a call today from a Canadian client who said …” I have a friend who said stay away from these Prefab Homes as they look just like Trailers “. I am confident you guessed that ‘Trailer’ means mobile home. Nothing bugs me more that people who comment on something they do not have all the facts on. So allow me to set the record straight.

Way back in the 70’s and 80’s, you may have seen a prefab or panelized home that was built to the same look as a mobile or modular home, but those days are long gone. Modern prefab and panelized homes can be built to any plan design and some of the most awarded homes now are Prefab designs and modular units. With sophisticated software, the framing of new homes has improved dramatically and is very accurate and therefore very efficient to frame/erect. The only thing that we cannot frame is rounded walls. We have even done octagon designs.

Even the new breed of Modular homes are being done with “cottage” or hip roofs which was unheard of 10 years ago. Perhaps this ‘friend’ does not get out much or has not taken the time to visit our Cabin and Cottage site and looked at the photo gallery of some beautiful A-Frame Cabins we have done with panelized construction. You would be amazed at the quality and designs now being fabricated on a regular basis across Canada and the U.S.

Am I ever thankful this client was educated enough to call us anyway and find out the real story. Now you are educated as well!

Here’s to your Building Success,

Larry J Clark

I wrote a blog post a couple of months ago on why now is the perfect time to build if you are an owner/builder. Well, Money Magazine has put out and article of their own on the same topic with a interview with a couple building now. Great reading and here is the LINK.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

I had a client come up today from Washington and we were discussing options, etc. and I mentioned that Allpro does not charge more for custom designed homes vs. our pre-priced models. I also mentioned that our estimation program has the same numbers for everyone. So the response back was…”why does my home cost more per square foot than most of your models?”
Here was my response to him:

1. His home had a good amount of windows. Most homes have between 10-15 windows and obviously, when you have more than that the cost per square foot would increase as your floor square footage remains the same.




2. Are his wall heights more than 8 feet high? Yes. Well increasing the wall heights even to 9’ adds cost to the home. Think about that most studs are 8 feet high and you can now buy 9’ and 10’ studs but they are more. Plywood comes in 8 foot sheets normally (added to outside of the walls) so now we would have to buy 9’ plywood or cut 1’ strips into the middle of the wall panels which adds labor and materials to the cost.




3. Roof line. How much roof do you have and how steep is it. This clients roof wasn’t too bad but did you know hip roofs are more expensive than gable roofs? This is because they cover more area and require more roof sheeting. The steeper the roof the more the cost as well as more trusses/rafters and more sheeting to cover that roof area. Thus more shingles as well and more cost per square foot.

4.Other things to consider. Covered decks require a roof and supports. More cost. Oversize garages. Most garages (standard) are @ 21 feet x 21 feet or so. We are getting allot of requests for larger attached garages which are part of the cost of a standard package, therefore adding more cost and puts your cost per square foot higher.

I hope this helps dispel some common misconceptions regarding per square foot costs and comparing with other pre-priced homes.

Email me if you need more help or clarifications.

Kind Regards,

Larry

I just received a call from a Gal who said she was on my Allpro Building Systems site and can guarantee me the very top position on Google and not only that, it would be permanent! Hey, that sounds like a great offer….NOT. The only way to get to number one on Google constantly is either working hard on getting “natural” traffic to your website or paying big bucks for a adword campaign from Google.

What she was offering was for me to pay them a substantial amount of money and they would set up a Google adword program and I would ‘pay my way to the top’. Now, I am not totally against adword campaigns and I have used them myself for BRAND NEW sites that you want to start attracting traffic to. The good news is, if you have some patience, you can actually get to the first page of Google for your site and consistently be there by not buying one adword! How do I know this? Glad you asked. Look up panelized and panelized homes on a Google search and we are on the first page. This was done by good old fashion hard work and persistence and strategy.

As a matter of fact, we are so good at natural Web Site Optimization, that our Web Development Company, www.websmartsolutions.ca is now working on building Industry Sites to help them do the same thing. I will write an article soon that I will make available to you of how we do what we do and how you can just use your time to develop a natural traffic flow to your sites.

Thanks for reading and I will work on that article and let you know where to download it.

Kind Regards,

Larry

Allpro Building Systems has now added Log Home and Log Cabin Kits to its line of fabricated Housing.
We have partnered with Log Home manufacturers in BC Canada to supply real log homes and log cabins. This includes actual round log as well as machined log styles like “D-Log”.

We have received allot of email in the last year or so that was requesting actual log Cabins and Homes so we pursued leaders in the Log Industry here in Canada and are pleased to be able to offer a quality log product. Allpro also is positioned to provide all the extra materials required to get the Log Homes to a ‘dried-in’ and lock up stage. We can supply the roofing, windows/doors, etc. as well to give you a full kit. All the plans on the site are priced as well.

Please take the time to visit the site here www.loghomekits.ca and give us some feedback. Thanks

Larry J Clark

Now is the perfect time to build…really. I know, you are wondering if I fell off a turnip truck or have been hiding in a cave somewhere, but I assure you that is not the case. I am well aware of the lending crisis, the foreclosure crisis, the gas price crisis, etc. If you have ever considered or may want to consider building a new home, now is the time. Let me explain…

Land values of dropped recently and although that is not particularly good news if you own land, in some places in the U.S. land is great value and price right now. Considering the inflated pricing of land in CA in the last 5-10 years, I believe land is coming down to a reasonable buy. If you do own land right now, I understand it may not be worth as much but it certainly would be worth more down the road with a house on it.

With the downturn in new home construction, more labor is available then ever before. With fewer or no projects to work on, labor bids should be more competitive as well saving you money on the project. This should also mean more people to choose from which doesn’t mean you have to take the only guy in town.

Material costs are coming down, especially wood product. With low demand means lower pricing. We have seen it here in Canada since last Fall and we recently dropped the prices of our Cabin and Cottage line by 8-12% the first of this year. This was mainly due to lower dimensional lumber cost from our wholesalers. Using a panelized new home package will also save you money as it includes all the materials to get to a “lock up” stage and the price is guaranteed along with the quality and quantity of materials. No shortages or shopping.

Did you know that you can still get lenders to do 100% Owner Builder financing? Yes, they are still out there and lend on appraised land and plans. I understand the rules have tightened but nothing ventured nothing gained.

I trust this has at least inspired you to do a little research on whats involved with building a new home and let us know if you need help in any way.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark President