John McCarthy Construction Blog

Construction Devastator

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Action Figure – Constructicon Devastator $294.99 The ultimate DECEPTICON® weapon has arrived on Earth, and nothing will ever be the same. CONSTRUCTICON DEVASTATOR is the biggest robot ever-towering above AUTOBOTS® and DECEPTICONS alike. As his Vortex Grinder snaps open and glows with power, all before him quake in fear, knowing their destruction is inevitable! Combine all six detailed vehicles – including MIXMASTER vehicle with motion-activat…

Transformers Movie 2 Combiner – Construction Devastator $109.99 One of the biggest Transformers toys ever made, the Constructicon Devastator brings the power of the Decepticons to your home. Having appeared in the summer blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Devastator can disassemble into six, smaller, fully functional Transformer vehicles. With its motion-activated sounds and movie-accurate detail, this toy is a must-have for any Transformers coll…

Transformers Mega Power Bots – Jet Power Optimus Prime $39.99 This one of kind Transformers 2 Mega Power Bots Jet Power Optimus Prime Action Figures is based on the character from Transformers 2 Revange of the Fallen. A great way to add to your toy collection….

Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen Movie Exclusive Action Figure Constructicon Devastator 7 Robots Combine $148.99 The legends class Devastator toy, in which seven vehicles, each with their own robot modes, combine to form one large robot,…

BlueStone Construction | Building your lakehome in today’s economy…when is the right time to build?

Building today will get you more home for the dollar than you will get next year or the year after.  Construction material prices are rising (nearly 1% in June 09 alone).  That coupled with 5% annual inflation rate and an 8% US dollar depreciation means the economic climate favors preserving wealth through real assets.  And these deflationary/inflationary pressures are expected to continue down this path for a while. 

What does that mean for those who are contemplating building a lake home or cabin in Minnesota or Wisconsin?  The best dollar for dollar value can be realized now.  As the dollar continues to slide in its current direction, the dollar’s purchasing power in months ahead will not buy as much home as can be realized right now.

Don’t expect inflationary pressures to ease up any time soon.  The way our Federal government is spending can only produce dramatic inflationary forces.  Probably worse than we saw in the 80’s.  This means money in the bank will be worth far less in heavy inflationary environment. You won’t be able to buy as much.  Buying power will continue to decrease until the cause is corrected.  Over the short term this force will continue to apply pressure shifting wealth more and more into real assets.

Don’t expect deflationary pressures to let up either.  US dollar will continue to track downward as our country borrows ever increasing  amounts to cashflow national entitlements.  The dollar simply looks weaker than it was and there appears to be no effective shorterm remedy in sight that will generate a speedy turn around.  As with inflationary pressures, deflationary pressures will also shift wealth more and more into real assets.

There are other factors in consumers favor for building their lake home right now.  Generally the Construction Industry has struggled through a devastating year.  Many construction firms have closed their doors leaving large numbers of subcontractor firms surviving on significantly less business than they were a year ago.  In other words, labor is more affordable in today’s economy.  This trend will likely not remain as smaller, innovative subcontractors find new ways to attract business. And they will.

We’ve even seen some of our customers sell off what’s left of their stock postions and retirement plans;  shifting wealth into their lakehomes so they can realize 10% to 20% lake shore annual appreciation.  Their thinking is they can recoup what they lost over the next few years and have an added benefit of enjoying their lake home along the way. 

Not a bad strategy, in my opinion. At least those families will not have lost years of family memories at the lake.  Sunrises and sunsets are just as beautiful today as they were last year.  Good times…good memories…good perspective.

Those eager to get their new lake home in the ground now without sufficient capital to finish the entire project are asking us to build in phases.  That way they can capatilize from whatever is built now in an attempt  to avoid losing net worth through inflationary/deflationary trends.  A practical solution with financial benefit.

Building a project in phases takes a fair bit more planning, however, than a full continuous build.  If the contractor is savy and a skilled planner, for many aspiring lake home owners, this option is a real answer.

About the Author

Jim Raboin heads up BlueStone Construction & Project Management, LLC …a design/build lake home general contracting firm serving Minnesota and Wisconsin lake country.

Which transformers toys should i get?

Between optimus prime http://astore.amazon.com/transformer-toys-sale-20/detail/B001TK3LTW

Optimus Prime, because he is easily the one of the (if not the) most impressive Transformers toys ever. He makes for a beautiful display.

Besides, they are releasing a better looking Devastator soon, in a smaller, cheaper format. This one has individual transforming robots.

G1 Transformers Toys – Constructicons – Devastator

In by gone days all a contractor had to do was give the customer good quality and good service and he/she would be set. Then set back and let your customers do your selling for you. They would tell a friend and then that friend would tell a friend. Your phone would be ringing off the hook. I remember as an Architectural designer some days I would have up to four people wanting to schedule appointments for designs. Those days are long gone! But Fear Not! Click Here For Help