HOBB Community

why doesn't this "movement" go anywhere? one look at the forums on this website tells the story. not much activity, is there? at least the "news" section on this website is somewhat vibrant (thanks to HOBB's president, Janet Ahmad). but other similar sites? http://www.poorlybuiltbypulte.info/ (http://www.poorlybuiltbypulte.info/) hasn't changed one iota in WEEKS!  No wonder there's no movement in this movement.

A short anwer might be that there appears to be no link from HOBB's home page, to the message board, anymore!  i get to it from a saved link.  I may be going blind but I cannot see a link on the home pg.

I've noticed a reduction in people being willing to publicly discuss their complaints and suspect it's because they have bigger problems due to the mortgage meltdown and loss of jobs.  So many new homes were sold to buyers who got duped into using the builder's mortgage company, and a risky loan, and there was a lot of predatory crap going on there.  Lots of these buyers could not afford the house/loan even if it had been legit.  They were assured they could afford it and flip or refi later and actually profit.  They may have construction defects but may be facing foreclosure.  I've seen a number of news articles on foreclosures that state or imply that new developments are especially hard hit, and have also seen stat's saying many of the buyers did use the builder's lender.  So if they're losing the house they aren't likely to care if its defects are ever fixed. 

But I AM perplexed at why they're not on here screaming about the loans if that's the case.  Perhaps there is a correlation between buyers who were uneducated/vulnerable and also not online.

Also, besides foreclosure, I think a lot of people are afraid to bash their house or builder becasue they hope to sell it in a slow market and get out from under it.  They are afraid of killing their own sale.  This is all just conjecture based on what people are telling me, plus what's in the news, on blogs, and in crime reports (mortgage fraud). Basically they're looking out for themselves and not really concerned with any "movement."   That does bug me that they don't at least add their voice to all this, and I can only hope they did file complaints somewhere, the Attorney General or whatever in their state--something.

But don't lose heart.  Whether they are speaking up or not, more people now than ever are AWARE of the 'fraud' that's been going on in housing and other consumer areas.  Because of that, some really good bills have a better chance of passing now than they would've a few years ago when far fewer people had been personally burned, including elected officials themselves. 

IMO the industry shot itself in the foot.  Homebuilding and Lending both. Had they just behaved ethically there would be nothing wrong with housing and no mortgage meltdown taking out the economy.