More Troubles for Tremont Homes |
Saturday, 02 July 2005 |
Not quite lemonade, but at least some conciliation âYouâre simply not going to see companies like this remain in the Better Business Bureau,â said BBB spokeswoman Kim Lawrence of Tremont Homes, Stature Construction and several other listings involving the same principals...âTheyâve got 14 or 16 corporations, but in our eyes they are still one member,â she said. |
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Victory for Lemons and Homeowner |
Saturday, 02 July 2005 |
Angry resident paints giant lemons on her condo's windows in protest ABC13 Eyewitness News (6/15/05 - HOUSTON) â A homeowner has found an unusual way to speak out against her homebuilder...Heather Michelson headed to court over large yellow lemons painted on the window of her quarter million dollar Montrose condo. It was art -- and a statement. "The only voice I had," she said. "I put lemons up and I moved out." ... "I had bloody noses at night, nauseous, dementia," recalled Michelson. "I was fatigued. I'd sleep for 18 hours a day." The symptoms, she says, disappeared when she moved out... Janet Ahmad with Homeowners for Better Building explained, "Anyone can be a builder in Texas. But only in Texas are the home builders unregulated and the buyer is regulated." |
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More troubles for Tremont Homes |
Thursday, 30 June 2005 |
Not quite lemonade, but at least some conciliation âYouâre simply not going to see companies like this remain in the Better Business Bureau,â said BBB spokeswoman Kim Lawrence of Tremont Homes, Stature Construction and several other listings involving the same principals...âTheyâve got 14 or 16 corporations, but in our eyes they are still one member,â she said. |
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Birth of the Texas Home Warranty |
Saturday, 25 June 2005 |
EDITORIAL Home Warranty or Builder Disclaimer? |
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Mother Jones Magazine Features Jordan Fogal |
Saturday, 25 June 2005 |
Home Sour Home When Jordan Fogal's new house turned out to be a lemon, her builders and theTexas authorities thought they could handle things quietly. They didn't know Jordan Fogal.... Seduced by beauty, certain of value, the Fogals bought the home in April 2002 for $368,564, investing nearly everything they had... Jordan had looked forward to a leisurely life taking care of her new house and writing memoirs, but when the builders would not fix the structure, and when no authority would compel them to do it, Jordan experienced, for the first time, an in-justice she could not endure. On a street corner near her house, the 59-year-old Republican began picketing for all she was worth.â A most compelling article. Donât miss this one... |
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New Jersey Builder and Homeowner Support New Reforms |
Saturday, 25 June 2005 |
Builders group backs construction reforms "Even now, in reading this letter sent to Governor Codey by the New Jersey Builders, it is almost laughable the way they (builders) still skip around the current system," said Marie B. Crosby of Jefferson. "The way many of them use the courts as a merry-go-round and in the meantime livelihoods are lost, and families suffer irreversible damage."..."The public should not waste time on the recommendations, task forces, and reforms because this is all after the fact; things have already gone wrong," said Manalapan resident Violet Peterson. "We should concentrate on upholding the law, properly inspecting new homes, requiring developers to repair homes that are not code compliant, and holding violators identified in the SCI hearings â builders and construction officials â accountable." |
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Dallas - FBI Investigates Low Income Housing |
Saturday, 25 June 2005 |
Financial corruption at center of FBI probe FBI officials confirmed to News 8 that financial corruption is at the center of the investigation, which is focusing on Hill, fellow council member James Fantroy and the Southwest Housing Development Corporation. |
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More Arrests in New Jersey |
Thursday, 23 June 2005 |
Developer identified in latest bribe case MARLBORO, Anthony Spalliero, already facing federal charges that he bribed a former mayor here, has been identified by sources as one of two developers who bribed a longtime Planning Board member...The money continued to roll in the next year. Young said he took $1,500 from the first developer as his usual reward and $2,000 from the other. That year, he also accepted the $20,000 from the second developer that was meant to be parceled out to other board members. Sources said the $20,000 came from Spalliero. |
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Thursday, 23 June 2005 |
If rezoned, airport, farms worth $25M
In August 2002, K. Hovnanian Homes agreed to pay $25 million for 123 acres of land and for obtaining township permission to build on at least 200 individual lots, company spokesman Doug Fenichel said Wednesday. In addition, K. Hovnanian agreed to pay $125,000 each for additional lots Spalliero could get approved through increased density... |
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Wednesday, 22 June 2005 |
Breaking the mold One by one they stepped to the podium to tell stories of dreams shattered. Young and old, they had the same story to tell - and many fought back tears as they spoke. |
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Wednesday, 22 June 2005 |
Group demands better regulation of home builders
Janet Ahmad, president of HomeOwners for Better Building, said TRCC's Texas Star Builder Program is the main point of contention. The program allows builders to qualify as "star builders," demonstrating knowledge, experience and history of financial responsibility, Ahmad said. She said this must be made mandatory for builders instead of optional, as it is under the current system. For now, anyone with $125 and a social security number can register as a builder, Ahmad said. |
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The Oregonian Continues- Limit buyers rights and shorten warranty |
Tuesday, 21 June 2005 |
Home defects may get scrutiny Lawsuits and damages are costing homeowners, insurers and builders hundreds of millions of dollars in Oregon and billions nationwide, The Oregonian found. Developers and builders, who've seen big increases in the liability insurance policies they are required by law to carry, want to limit homeowners' rights to sue for repairs. |
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Oregon Builders want to regulate homebuyers |
Monday, 20 June 2005 |
Builders seek shelter from flurry of lawsuits Oregon builders are asking the Legislature to protect them from a force they say is crippling their business: customers who sue... The builders want to shorten the time period in which home buyers can sue for construction defects and force homeowners into a state-run dispute process. |
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Monday, 20 June 2005 |
British Columbia installs safeguards for homeowners Faced with construction defects in the 1990s nearly identical to Oregon's now, the province enacted sweeping reforms. If any place in North America foreshadows the potential severity of construction defects in Oregon, it is this similarly drizzly city where a housing boom hit a decade earlier. |
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WOMAN SAYS TOWNHOUSE IS A LEMON |
Thursday, 16 June 2005 |
WHEN TREMONT TOWER SUED HER, SHE SAYS SHE OFFERED TO TAKE THE LEMONS DOWN. BUT THEY TOOK HER TO COURT FOR VIOLATIONG HER HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT. TODAY A JUDGE SAID IF SHE KEEPS THE LEMONS AWAY, SHE DOESN'T OWE THEM A DIME. BUT UNLIKE LEMON LAWS THAT PROTECT CAR BUYERS, EXPERTS SAY CONDO OWNERS ARE LEGALLY LEFT IN THE LURCH. |
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