WOOD TANKS

replace any of them.

tions, such as the DF PA Leisure-Home progTam, but would not aids, study plans and market inforrnation, will be in operation before the first of the year, according to an a"rurouncement from the Douglas I'ir Plywood Association.

"Thls ls a,nother areo where we feel we sen help the ilealer ffnd a new source of buslnessr" he saltl. "The Second-Home progra,m ls & suosess, anil thts retlrement houslng market corta,lnly ha,s potentials for the dea,lor."

Misconceptions about the market and a lack of reliable, centralized information are preventing the average builder or dealer from tapping this vast field, the conference members agreed. While they acknowledged the role of federally supported projects, the gtoup emphasized the important place private industry can have in solving the housing demands of senior citizens.

A number of concluslons about the market and how to reach It carno from the conferencs:

1. All retired persoru are not indigent. While their income level is low, it is increasing, and many families have capital set aslde, or invested in an existing house, which tley can use for a retirement dwelling.

2. Only a tiny percentage of retired persons needs special care of the sort provided by institutions. Most resent emphasis on special-home features for the "aged" or incapacitated, and nearly all are capable of independence if a minimum of medical and service facilities are available.

3. Only about ao/o of retired families are considering: a move away from present communities or neighborhoods, but as many as 66Vo would move to a difrerent dwelling in the same region. This mearur that all builders, not just those in Florida and Arizona, can win some of this business.

4. As a true "leisure class," retired persons demand good recreational and service facilities before they will consider a move. This doesn't mean creating new ones, however; developments can be located near shopplng centers or existing golf courses or flshing areas. for instance.

5. Strict attention to the present principles of good house design will produce satisfactory homes for retired buyers. There was considerable criticism of the lack of "common sense" in average home design.

6. Any builder can develop a sales program to attract this market. Local conditions will determine how this is done, but 9Vo of the nation's population is in this age group, located for the most part near major population centers. A retirement house as part of a Parade of Homes, for instance, would help to gauge the market in a particular area.

7. There are many advantages in appealing to this market. For one thing, retired persons buy homes at a steady rate, since tJrey know economic conditions aren't going to have any efrect on income. A housing development for this group also can be a "new industry" to a community, since it makes few demands on job pools, police forces, none on schools and few on welfare agencies, since incomes usually are adequate. The retired person spends his income, since it will be replenished the fo[owing month.

8. Financing retirement housing is simplified by a government prog?arn that makes mortgage insura.nce available, with considerable latitude in the form. These mortgages may be for up to 30 years, regardless of age. Assistance in flnancing rental unitshouses or apartments-also is liberal and in some cases mortgages can be as much as 7O0/6. Nursing homes and low-rent houslng projects also are covered, with a"n assist from F''NMA via mortgage purchases for single or multi-unit family living units.

These and other areas are being thoroughly explored by the

DFPA, Difford said, and information already is available by writing to the Douglas FIr PlJrwood Assoclation, Tacoma 2, \ilashlngton. A file of inquiries will be kept, Difford said, and new material automatically mailed to those interested.

In addition to key DFPA personnel, those participating in the conference included Mrs. Mary Cleverley, assistant commissioner, Housing for the Elderly, Public Housing Administration; William C. F'itch, executive director of the 500,000-member American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, D.C.; prof. Alexander Kira, assistant director, Housing Research Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.; James M. Lange, vice-president and editor, Practical Builder magazine, Chieago; Joseph B. Mason, editor, American Builder, New York; Carl T. Mitnick. chairman of the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C., a past president of the National Association of Home Builders and a mass builder of retirement housing; Carl Norcross, executive editor, House & I{ome, New York; Joseph Rosati, developer of Florida Retirement ViUage, Pinnelas Park, F la., and Eugene D. Sternberg, Denver architect who has been prominent in design of retirement housing.

Dump-truck Owner-Drivers ro Fight Union

Southern California owner-drivers of dump-trucks in the construction industry disclosed Nov. 29 they are flghting what they called "efforts by big contractors' groups" to force them into membership in the Teamsters Union.

Spokesmen for the California Dump-Truck Owners Assn. said they are preparing court action against t}re Union and the Associated General Contractors of America (Northern California sec- tion) to block, if possible, a new contract between AGC and San

Francisco Teamsters Local 216. The contract, announced late in November, brings 1,000 owner-drivers of dump-trucks in Northern California into the giant independent union of Jimmy Hoffa and Senate Investigating Committee notoriety.

The owners' association, representing 700 owner-drivers mosily in Southern California, noted that the Northern California contract marks the flrst time in history that the Teamsters have been successful in a campaign to organize owner-drivers in the construction industrv.

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