Groups Deplore Builders' Influence |
Tuesday, 25 January 2005 |
Houston Chronicle: Groups Deplore Builders' Influence
After receiving millions in donations from Texas homebuilders, the Legislature created a new state agency that restricted homeowners' rights to sue builders in court, two public advocacy groups said Monday. |
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Criticisms Of Texas Residential Construction Commission |
Tuesday, 25 January 2005 |
KXAN TV Austin: Criticisms Of Texas Residential Construction Commission Last session, Texas lawmakers created a new state agency to tackle trouble with home construction. Now there are accusations it is hurting homeowners. |
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Negative Web postings depict builders as unscrupulous businesspeople |
Monday, 24 January 2005 |
Builder
The Magazine of the National Association of Home Builders
Parallel Universe
The worldview of Home Builders versus that of the people who post negative web sites about them is so different that some might wonder whether the two groups live on the same planet.
The negative Web postings depict builders as unscrupulous businesspeople who market shoddy, hastily built products and force people into binding arbitration agreements that forfeit the legal rights of home buyers. |
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Builder accused of bilking customers |
Saturday, 22 January 2005 |
Illinois sues remodeling firm Builder accused of bilking customers out of $470,000; cops seek president The company was supposed to build an $80,000 second-floor addition on her Arlington Heights home, but so far, no workers have shown up to do the job. |
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Builder Regulation gets fired up in Frisco |
Saturday, 22 January 2005 |
Frisco Enterprise Charter meeting gets passionate Passions grew as frustrations rose among the participants in the meeting - the Take Back Your Rights group, the City Council and residents in attendance. The meeting was an attempt to iron out issues regarding TBYR's efforts to create legislation designed to protect homebuyers from faulty construction of new homes in Frisco. |
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Buy a New Home- Don’t Sue and Shut Up |
Saturday, 15 January 2005 |
Outrageous! Buy a New Home - Donât Sue and Shut Up
Homebuilders will stop at nothing â Now Buyers must agree not to Speak
Goff Homes Arbitration Clause - Beware of New Builder Clause â Homebuilder requires that homebuyers sign an Arbitration Agreement at closing causing them to give up their 1st and 7th constitutional rights. For the homebuyer itâs a decision between constitutional rights and the American Dream.
Imagine keeping this backyard event a secret
Goff Homes has changed its name to National Homes
Buyers must agree not to: FILE ANY PROTEST, GRIEVANCE, OR COMPLAINT⦠INCLUDING THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OR ANY MEDIA ENTITY, TELEVISION OR OTHERWISE⦠AGREES THAT NO SIGN OR BILLBOARD OR WRITING OR CHART OR DRAWING CONCERNING THE CONDITION OF THE HOME AND/OR PROPERTY SHALL BE ERECTED OR PLACED IN SUCH A WAY THAT IS VISIBLE TO PERSONS PASSING BY THE PROPERTY⦠and much more.
Also contained in the contract is a biased arbitration provision that specifies the use Construction Arbitration Services (CAS) . If that isnât enough, the final clause in the agreement could cost homeowners their home â âA SUM EQUAL TO THE PURCHASE PRICE, OF THE HOME,â if the owner appeals the arbitratorsâ decision to the appellate courts.
See related HOBB article: Public Citizens News Release September 01, 2004
CAS Arbitration Investigated â Recently an investigative report by Public Citizen helped launch numerous state investigations â The Public Citizens report points to Home Buyers Warranty (HBW) and their specified arbitrator (CAS) as having close ties, which could lead to a biased mandatory arbitration process that shields âhomebuilders from liability for construction defects.â Public Citizen call for investigation of HBW and CAS.
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Builders Warranty and Standards Hammered |
Tuesday, 11 January 2005 |
Express-News Building rules are hammered Jason Gallas, co-owner of Tri-Built Custom Homes and a builder for 21 years, is not impressed with the Texas Residential Construction Commission's work⦠Gallas notes the standards discuss maximum width for foundation cracks but make no mention of the type of steel that should be used or the strength of the concrete needed for each soil type⦠On the suggestion of San Antonio home inspector Mark Eberwine, for instance, the commission changed language that would have allowed chimneys to separate from walls by up to 11/2 inches and masonry walls to bow by up to 21/2 inches. But Eberwine said the new 1-inch tolerance still is too much⦠"This document is more of a pre-emptive strike on complaining homeowners than it is a warranty," Eberwine said. |
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No Surprises –Texas Residential Construction Commission has no power to enforce its findings. |
Thursday, 06 January 2005 |
A whole lot of talk yields little action Homeowners wish mediation agency could force repairs MINDY Brooks just wants her house fixed. Shoddy construction left her Fort Worth home with a laundry list of problems⦠The commission's inspector found more than a dozen defects. But the commission had no power to enforce its findings, leaving Brooks feeling helpless. |
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Public should keep right to day in court |
Tuesday, 04 January 2005 |
Within the United States, however, some in the business community are doing whatever they can to shake themselves free of the judicial system in favor of "binding arbitration" clauses in contracts that automatically send disputes to an arbitrator rather than a courtroom. Link: Click to read more |
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Consumer advocates hammer arbitration |
Tuesday, 04 January 2005 |
Homeowners from across Texas Rally at the TX State Capitol prior to the Hearings on Arbitration. Hearing Audio Available Link: Consumer advocates hammer arbitration |
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Senate Committee: Binding Arbitration Recommendations |
Tuesday, 04 January 2005 |
Texas Senate Committee on Jurisprudence Specifically, the Committee shall make recommendations to improve and ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness of arbitrators and arbitrations.
The Legislature should enact legislation requiring any business that includes a mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clause in their contracts to provide their consumers with certain upfront information. The information provided to the consumer shall specify which rights are being waived, who will arbitrate the dispute, who will cover the costs of arbitration, whether rules of discovery will be followed, what laws are applicable, what information will be public... |
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Contractor Scam: Woman and dying husband victimized |
Sunday, 02 January 2005 |
Contractor Scam: Woman Still Waiting on Dream Home You do your research and check him out, but he still takes your money and runsâ¦after giving him $14,000 for materials, she says he disappeared... |
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Group protests against home builder over fee |
Friday, 31 December 2004 |
Group protests against home builder over fee Assessment leads to protest Berea- Residents of a Ryan Homes subdivision notched up their protest against the builder Wednesday, when more than 75 of them demonstrated at a new Ryan development in Berea. The demonstrators, many of them owners of Ryan homes in the Westfield Park subdivision in Olmsted Township, accused the builder of failing to disclose costly assessments... |
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Homebuilder Perry, Contributions & Tort Reform to Limit Liability |
Wednesday, 29 December 2004 |
Perryâs gifts get noticed Houston builder donated $9 million to Republicans in 2004 elections As the largest political donor in Texas elections, Houston home builder Bob Perry and the pro-business measures he advocates get noticed in Austin. After he pumped $3.8 million into the 2002 Texas elections, the Legislature approved several policy proposals that Perry supportedâ¦President Bush is trying to breathe new life into what his supporters call tort reform - limits on damage awards in lawsuits. Perry has promoted the issue. |
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Dallas Morning News -TBYR in the news again |
Monday, 27 December 2004 |
Letters: Let's build higher standards Can't stop now By Carol Becka Frisco residents fully understand that if nothing is done "now" â¦to provide protection from home builders' careless and inferior construction of new homes, all Frisco residents will ultimately pay the price in lost property values and increased taxes to subsidize the city for lost revenue from devalued homes...
Whom do you believe? By Andrew Ellender Home buyers expect the truth from home builders. We certainly did⦠Who would oppose a new-home disclosure besides someone who wants to hide the truth? I believe an informed consent requirement would be a welcome addition in any city⦠Bonding also makes sense for the home building industry⦠Dr. Becka does not want what happened to his family and others, like mine, to happen to anyone else⦠|
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