House Democrats reshape bill to help more homeowners
House Democrats, opposed to the Senate's focus on helping homebuilders, moved Tuesday to reshape housing legislation to help more homeowners. "We need to provide relief to the buyers and families themselves, not just the banks and builders," said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. House Democrats, he said, intend to put "families first."...Also today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., will hold a hearing on his bill to provide $300 billion for federal guarantees of mortgages for troubled borrowers if lenders make them more affordable.

Looming Deficit Impedes Federal Housing Agency
Housing officials say the agency will face a deficit for the first time in its 74-year history, starting in the fiscal year that begins in October. And they blame a rapidly growing and increasingly troubled sector of the F.H.A.’s mortgage portfolio, known as the seller-financed down payment loan program, which has suffered from high delinquency and foreclosure rates in recent years... In 2000, such mortgages made up less than 2 percent of F.H.A.-insured loans, officials say. By 2007, statistics show, they accounted for 35 percent of F.H.A. loans...“These types of loans have pushed F.H.A. to the brink of insolvency,”  Alphonso R. Jackson, the housing secretary, told senators recently. “They are costing hard-working Americans their homes.” Mr. Jackson announced last week that he would resign his post as of April 18...But HUD is not the only agency to raise concerns about seller down payment loans. In 2005, the Government Accountability Office raised concerns that were echoed by the Internal Revenue Service a year later.

TRCC Sunset Commission Hearing 
Watch activists will have the unique opportunity to get involved in the TRCC sunset process.The agency will be undergoing a top to bottom review by the Sunset Commission, a panel of legislators and citizens.  Activists can provide input in the process by testifying at hearings and sending letters.  Texas Watch will also have a hand in this process, ensuring that the agency is streamlined and improved for homeowners. THE REAL IMPACT OF THE TRCC

Texans Abused by Builders, Abandoned by the TRCC
With the creation of the Texas Residential Construction Commission in 2003, Texas homebuilders were shielded from liability and given a free pass to build shoddy homes.  The following stories are true accounts of homeowners who are now left with nothing and no way to hold their homebuilders accountable.

Drees Homes Buys Back Defective Houses
Are you having problems with your Drees Home?  Be persistant Drees will do the right thing.

Spending public money to shore up real estate prices won't make housing more affordable
The Senate bill hashed out Wednesday, in rare bipartisan haste, typifies Black's frustration. In its current form, the bill would provide $10 billion in tax-exempt bonds to local governments and housing agencies so that they can refinance sub-prime loans. In other words, public dollars would be used to reduce the amount of money troubled borrowers owe on their mortgages.

U.S. Chamber shields corporations, rigs legal system at consumers' expense
"U.S. Chamber and its corporate financers are lobbying to keep abusive, binding mandatory arbitration clauses as the status quo.  Just ask Jamie Leigh Jones what she thinks of the status quo. "Jamie was raped, drugged, beaten, and then confined to a shipping container by KBR/Halliburton employees while working in Iraq.  Because of a clause placed in her employment contract, KBR is trying to force Jamie to submit to a binding, secret, non-appealable arbitration.  These are the types of corporations U.S. Chamber is trying to protect.

A message from Janet Ahmad - HUD Sec. Jackson Resigns & Home Builders "Death Sprial" give Hope for Tomorrow

HUD in turmoil as secretary resigns
The Bush administration's top housing official, under criminal investigation and intense pressure from Democratic critics, announced Monday he is quitting. Jackson, 62, has been fending off allegations of cronyism and favoritism involving HUD contractors for the past two years. The FBI has been examining the ties between Jackson and a friend who was paid $392,000 by Jackson's department as a construction manager in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
That LULAC and its  National Board call for an investigation by appropriate Federal Agencies having oversight or jurisdiction over the matters of; new home construction standards compliance, affordable housing, new home warranties, compliance with federal consumer protection laws, predatory lending, waste in government, and the welfare and human rights of all peoples particularly those of Latino heritage; and...

Democratic Precinct Caucus passes Resolutions to Establish a Home Lemon Law and Amend The Federal Arbitration Act 
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Democratic Party in order to protect consumers when purchasing a new home has the same rights afforded new car buyers and supports passage of a Home Lemon Law...That the Democratic Party in order to protect consumers and their constitutional rights supports and recommends the amendment of the Federal Arbitration Act. Use examples to submit Resolutions to your Democrat or Republican Caucuses

Homeowners say Why Lie KB?
Where is the dream and security of homeownership. We are about lies. We were told by KB Salespersons that KB was not allowed to sell more than 10% of the homes in our community to investors. We are about KB manipulating us and flat out lying to us.  Chisholm Crossing is about a subdivison of investors, foreclosures and a community with 30% rental houses within the first year.  See: Chisholm Crossing See website WhyLieKB.com

The Perils of One-Stop Shopping
Like many new-home buyers, lead plaintiff Debbie Bolden had availed herself of the builder's in-house services. KB Homes offered not only in-house real estate agents, but an affiliated mortgage company - in a 50-50 partnership with Countrywide Financial. Countrywide also owned the appraisal company...California builder Ryland Group agreed to refund 850 buyers about $250 each and pay a $161,000 fine after North Carolina's banking commissioner's office accused the builder/lender of using unlicensed loan officers and charging borrowers excessive fees... Altlanta's Beazer Homes, another large builder that began funding its own loans during the boom and has since closed its lending division, is also being investigated by the North Carolina banking commissioner's office for alleged violations of federal lending laws. In 2005 a HUD investigation led to KB Home shelling out a record $3.2 million settlement in response to allegations that the builder's mortgage wing pushed through loan applications that overstated borrowers' incomes.

Builder On Line: KB Home Reports $268 Million First-Quarter Loss
KB Home, the industry's fifth-largest builder, lost $268.2 million in the three months ended Feb. 29, compared to a $27.5 million gain in the comparable quarter last year. The builder's revenue from its home building operations fell 47.1 percent to $794.2 million in the quarter, when its deliveries declined by nearly 43 percent, to 2,928 units.

Build it right the first time
If you own a home in Texas, you should get to know Janet Ahmad... Ahmad has paid the price for being an outspoken critic. A recently concluded, six-year, Tarrant County trial found Janet innocent of making a false 911 call to report a bomb in an Arlington neighborhood built by KB Homes on a defunct bombing range...KB Homes was certainly not discreet about spending a great deal of time and effort convincing the Tarrant County District Attorney to bring the baseless felony charges against me in the first place. It’s now been over 7 years since KB Homes first vowed to inflict its powerful wrath and to maybe even put me behind bars. Make no mistake; KB was on a mission to silence its many critics. Before the Arlington charges, they sued me, the HOBB organization, and their own customers for $20 million, alleging that picketing constituted racketeering, of all things!...It’s the voice of the little guy. They are the ones that inspire me. Just look at the people at Mirasol Homes. It’s voices like theirs that have given me inspiration.
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