KB Home Buys Back Bombing Range Home Despite Attempt to Bribe Owner 
Thea King-Lewis has maintained that KB Home in 2002 attempted to bribe her to give false statements to the Arlington Police Department and testimony against Janet Ahmad, President of HomeOwners for Better Building.  To this day she has refused. In March 2002 Thea King-Lewis refused on two occasions to sign false statements prepared by Victor Toledo, attorney and Vice President of Legal Affairs for KB Home in exchange for financial consideration.  Eventually, in December 2003 KB Home bought the Lewis home back however, the day before, she submitted the following Sworn Affidavit to the Tarrant County District Attorney regarding the attempts by KB Home's Victor Toledo to bribe her.  Read more: KB Attempts to Bribe Woman - Inman Report:  KB Community of Bomb & Attempt to Bribe  See Video: WFAA's Bryan Harris Investigates KB Home & Bombs

Redefining reform
Big business proponents contrive some of the worst bills of the 74th session. "Reform" (actually deform) of the Consumer Protection Act/Deceptive Trade Practices Act gives additional license to the worst kinds of businesses that operate in Texas. It's back to "buyer beware." If you get ripped off or even severely damaged by some sleazy business, don't bother trying to get your money back--much less any other compensation...Consider the case of Richard Weekley, a big-time real estate developer who owns shopping malls and--along with his brother--a big housing company. Weekley appeared in Austin as president of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the folks who were going to "reform" our tort system, Governor George Dubya's pet project. Imagine my surprise when The Wall Street Journal listed Weekley as one of this session's biggest "winners." I'd have listed him as the session's biggest "over-reacher." When you behave so badly that one of the three top officeholders in Texas describes you as an "ass" and points out that tort reform would have been even more pro-bidness without your able assistance, I'd say "winner" was a little strong.

Family blames illness on mold infested home
A Naples family says mold is growing in their home and now it's making them sick. But the company that built the home says it's not their fault. For John and Diane Mathieu, their brand new dream home turned into a nightmare. "I don't want anybody else to go through what I have. I am fighting for my life because of that home," said Diane. The Mathieus say their home was built without proper water-proofing, which led to mold growing in the pillars.  See website:The Naples Lemon House

Down the Test Tubes
One hotspot, the closest one to the Boeing’s old Rocketdyne lab, had clocked in at 411 times “hotter” than normal for the area. “Are we to believe that Runkle Canyon’s soil, which is next to the site of this country’s worst nuclear meltdown, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), tests cleaner than the background readings of Sr-90 in the area?” ...KB Homes had hoped to build 461 residences in the 1,595-acre canyon, but those plans have been delayed since the summer of 2006 when Southwick and a cadre of residents who call themselves the “Radiation Rangers” (See: “Dirty Business,” Nov. 1, 2007) questioned the safety of the project. In May 2007, the Rangers had Runkle Canyon tested for heavy metals and found high levels of arsenic, nickel and vanadium which is documented in reports on their Website StopRunkledyne.com. Later city tests found even higher levels as well as barium, cadmium, chromium and lead.

New homebuilding provisions reviewed
Changes in state law won't affect area homebuilders much, some say. "I don't see anything here that will affect our operation at all," said Don Farek, of Cameo Homes in Killeen. "One of the changes in House Bill 1038 gives you (builders) an out," Fortner said. Following a state inspection, a builder can make a written offer to the homebuyer to fix the errors. If the offer is agreed upon by both parties, the homebuyer can call the state and cancel the complaint associated with the inspection results. If an offer is made in advance of the inspector's report that is similar to the recommendations, TRCC will pay the inspection fee and not report finding a defect.

Buried Bombs Could Cause Fla. Homeowners to Lose Insurance
Hundreds of people who unwittingly bought homes in Orlando, Fla., near a World War II-era bombing range are suing after learning they could lose their insurance. Attorneys for the residents said Lennar Homes and other builders committed fraud by concealing that the homes were built on the bombing range. Citizens Property Insurance Corp., created by the Legislature as the insurer of last resort, said it would not consider writing a policy if there are unexploded bombs.

Bill protects homeowners from shoddy builders 
 If an auto mechanic damages your car or a tree service cuts down the wrong tree, you can sue for negligence. But buy a defective house in Washington state and you might not be able to take the builder to court. But some state lawmakers think that's wrong, and hope to change that. This is the lawmakers' second attempt to give you more protection if you buy a home that's not up to code or has substantial defects. Last year, two democrats almost got a bill passed to require new homes to come with a warranty, but the building industry got it shot down.

State lawmakers wrestle with abusive lending
In the three months since Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller launched a foreclosure hotline, nearly 6,000 Iowans have called for help. The calls come to the Iowa Mediation Service, which Miller hopes will be able to negotiate with lenders to help borrowers keep their homes. "We're trying to do it on a mass basis," Miller says. Foreclosure rates for homes purchased using non-standard, high-interest loans have reached historic highs in Iowa and around the USA.

FBI: Housing scams more than double
Federal mortgage fraud convictions have more than doubled in the past year, and the FBI expects a growth in foreclosure scams as the crisis over substandard, high-interest home loans escalates. Foreclosure rates for these mortgages, known as subprime loans, are at historic highs, according to surveys by the Mortgage Bankers Association and government records.

Foreclosure: There goes the neighborhood
Some of these neighborhoods are becoming foreclosure disaster zones. They’re places where three out of the four houses you find for sale are in foreclosure. That’s causing fear that these neighborhoods are already starting to fall apart.

Lennar BVHP LLC should QUIT while the going is good - we want them out of our community
Lennar Corporation is a ROGUE company that has been selling its homes for cheap - many for 40 cents on a dollar. Lennar Corporation is in deep trouble - it has laid off thousands of its employees - and here in San Francisco too. Lennar's stock and shares have been reduced to Junk Bond Status - the banks will not do business with them - and all over the world in the financial circles - the word is - stay away from the skunk - Lennar Corporation.

Binding Mandatory Arbitration Reform
A series of United States Supreme Court decisions have changed the meaning of the [Federal Arbitration] Act so that it now extends to disputes between parties of greatly disparate economic power, such as consumer disputes and employment disputes. As a result, a large and rapidly growing number of corporations are requiring millions of consumers and employees to give up their right to have disputes resolved by a judge or a jury, and instead submit their claims to binding arbitration.

Homeowners advocate found guilty
Janet Ahmad, founder of the advocacy group HomeOwners for Better Building, will have to pay a $4,000 fine and was given a year of probation for the misdemeanor. The case involved an Arlington neighborhood that was built on the site of a former World War II military practice bombing range. Residents previously had uncovered unexploded but harmless ordnance, and several residents sued the builder, KB Home, for not telling them about the range.  Although Ahmad was found guilty of possessing a hoax bomb, the jury found her not guilty of making a false 911 call to report that bomb to the police... Recently, Ahmad has been involved in efforts to organize residents of Mirasol Homes, where homeowners have complained to the San Antonio Housing Authority about shoddy construction and health concerns.  She said she believes the misdemeanor charges in Tarrant County were filed in retaliation for her advocacy efforts. "KB is not held accountable, and I'm disgraced on trumped-up charges," she said.  20/20 Report

Activist gets probation, $4,000 fine
"I don't understand the jury," Ahmad said. "I guess the jury believed what the people for KB said. But maybe this verdict will expose what KB does to homeowners." Ahmad's attorney, Mark Daniel, filed a notice of appeal Tuesday. Her sentence will be placed on hold until the appeals process is completed, Daniel said. "We're deeply disappointed," Daniel said. "We'll appeal, and we believe we'll have a favorable resolution from that appeal. The only thing that's a hoax is this verdict." Steven Gebhardt, a Tarrant County assistant district attorney, said that he is satisfied with the verdict and that not being able to present some evidence to the jury did not hurt his case. The fake bomb could not be used as evidence because it was checked out of the evidence room and not returned, Gebhardt said. Also, the tape of the 911 call was not preserved because of the age of the case, Gebhardt said. Related WFAA article - Home builder dispute intensifies -  KB Home build on a bombing range? YES!: 20/20 Report