Victory for Lemons & Homeowner |
Thursday, 16 June 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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Heather Michelson discloses loan fraud by Tremont |
Monday, 13 June 2005 |
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In Nevada Speak Up – Tell Officials |
Friday, 03 June 2005 |
In Nevada - NV State Contractors Board online - If a builders license is revoked and the problem is not fixed, the homeowner can make a claim under the residential recovery fund. The fund will pay the homeowner their actual damages to get the problem fixed. The fund can pay up to $35,000 per homeowner. But the resident could still choose to sue. |
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Nevada - 1,400 Homeowners Sue Del Webb |
Friday, 03 June 2005 |
Nevada's Largest Construction Defect Lawsuit The largest construction defect lawsuit in the State of Nevada is pitting hundreds of homeowners against a well-known developer. Residents of Sun City Summerlin are suing the neighborhood's developer -- Del Webb -- claiming it failed to install metal strips that protect a home's foundation against water damage. It is this community in Summerlin where frustration and concern among homeowners is common. They say a small 5-inch piece of metal called a "weepscreed" was not put in place by Del Webb when these homes were built. Weepscreeds help keep moisture out of dry wall paneling. And now more than 1,400 homeowners have filed a lawsuit. |
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Nevada means business, help homowners and prosecute builders |
Friday, 03 June 2005 |
Home Defects: Know What You Should Do The Nevada State Contractors Board receives about 4,000 complaints a year in the valley. Contractor charged: A fraudulent unlicensed contractor has pleaded guilty to 44 felony charges. Frank Boyd Hall of the Las Vegas based Curtis Construction Company is charged with obtaining money under false pretenses, diversion of funds and theft. Hall filed a plea agreement, which states that he'll pay back all his victims, sign a civil confession of judgment and will not work in the contracting business again. |
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE - FBI MORTGAGE FRAUD REPORT |
Sunday, 29 May 2005 |
Report Mortgage Fraud: WWW.NAMB.org FINANCIAL CRIMES REPORT TO THE PUBLIC MORTGAGE FRAUD - MAY 2005 The increased reliance by both financial institutions and non-financial institution lenders on third-party brokers has created opportunities for organized fraud groups, particularly where mortgage industry professionals are involved. |
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Houston Chronicle - TRCC & Bob Perry Homes |
Saturday, 28 May 2005 |
No place like home for this cuddly Austin lapdog THE Texas Legislature, over the years, has created a number of industry lapdogs, but the Texas Residential Construction Commission, established two years ago, could be one of the cuddliest yet... A few senators tried to take some of the wag out of its homebuilder-friendly tail last week but failed. Even though some political contributions have sparked legal turmoil, money still talks in Austin, and with a very loud voice... Homeowners now have to go through an expensive, commission-run dispute resolution process before pursuing any legal action over construction complaints. This is more bureaucratic and potentially more intimidating than the mandatory arbitration process that most builders already required in new home contracts.
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Another dream home turns into Nightmare |
Friday, 27 May 2005 |
The Kimmler House of Ohio It all started with a dream and a desire to build something that would last and remain in the family for years to come, but alas it has only been a nightmare. In approximately October of 2000, my husband purchased the 5-acre, lakefront, cattle field and envisioned a Tuscan farmhouse with a view. |
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No State Agency to regulate builders like Robert Tidwell |
Thursday, 26 May 2005 |
Chorus of complaints against builder grows The list of complaints against a Kaufman homebuilder profiled in a recent News 8 investigation grows, but the individuals making those complaints aren't getting help from state regulators or law enforcement officials. When News 8 talked to homebuilder Robert Tidwell earlier this month, we had no idea how many people were mad at him. See WFAA Video: Byron Harris reports - See related story: The Partington's - Video: Byron Harris reports |
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Express News - Duncan grilled TRCC's Krugh |
Friday, 20 May 2005 |
Perryâs picks for TRCC are Targeted At a Monday hearing, Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, took issue with the commissionersâ work since they first assembled in December 2003. He said registered builders undergo almost no scrutiny, yet the general public thinks state registration is âgiving them a badge, they have some sort of elevated credibility.â Duncan criticized Krugh for opposing portions of a bill Duncan authored that would address some of the problems he believes exist in the process. He grilled Krugh for lobbying against a provision to provide notice to homebuyers where the only inspector is the one provided by the homebuilder. |
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Senator Duncan..."by the builder, for the builder" |
Friday, 20 May 2005 |
Star-Telegram Door slams shut on bills to protect homeowners And consumer groups apparently have found a new ally: state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, who introduced the bill two years ago that created the commission. Duncan says he now wonders whether the commission is operated "by the builder, for the builder." "It appeared to be to the public a regulatory body," he told fellow lawmakers at a hearing Monday in Austin. But in fact, he said, "The people that are being regulated by the act are the consumers, to a certain degree, as opposed to the builders." |
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Public Citizen - Locked out of courthouse |
Thursday, 12 May 2005 |
Business-Backed Class Action Bill Locks Consumers Out of Court Statement by Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook This week, the Senate will debate one of the most unfair, anti-consumer bills that weâve seen in years. This business-backed class action legislation (S. 5) will lock millions of consumers out of the courthouse. Business interests have spent tens of millions of dollars to pass it to avoid public accountability for fraud and deceptive practices. |
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Tuesday, 10 May 2005 |
Home Appraisers Under The Gun No one knows exactly how often appraisers tinker with reality. But reports suggest that they face enormous pressure to tweak their numbers. Some observers predict they'll face even more if the real estate market cools. |
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New Jersey begins sweeping changes for builder regulation |
Tuesday, 10 May 2005 |
Governor orders ethics code for state's building inspectors Reacting to a damning state report on shoddy new construction, acting Gov. Richard J. Codey yesterday ordered up a new ethics code for building inspectors and a push to advise homeowners of their rights. The SCI investigation found the program -- one of the nation's first -- riddled with problems. Buyers testified that they were strung along by builders until warranties expired and that arbitration tended to favor builders. It is unclear when the Legislature might act on more sweeping recommendations, such as the lemon law requiring builders to buy back defective homes, regulating some building trades not now licensed and bringing new housing under the Consumer Fraud Act, which would make builders liable for triple damages. |
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New Home Buyers no better off |
Monday, 09 May 2005 |
Home builders resist reconstructing rookie agency Buyers no better off in resolving disputes, say proponents of strengthening regulator this session The fledgling Texas Residential Construction Commission was created two years ago to provide new performance standards for builders and a formal dispute resolution process between buyers and builders. A remodeling of the commission is necessary, some consumer advocacy groups say, because it was created solely with the interests of home builders in mind, leaving buyers worse off than before. The law establishing the agency was written by the lawyer for Houston home builder Bob Perry, who gives more Republican campaign contributions than anyone else in Texas. "Builders don't have to do anything differently than before the commission was created," said Janet Ahmad, president of the consumer advocacy group HomeOwners for Better Building. "This is pushing people to lawsuits; that's what the problem is." The current dispute resolution process has no teeth, Ahmad said, because it doesn't require the builder to settle with the buyer if the commission finds in favor of the homeowner. |
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