Home video captures destructive flood
The dramatic footage shows knee-deep water flowing over the wall of an empty lot and into a house near 98th and Gibson. In all, four homes were evacuated, with two families being put up in a hotel by the Red Cross. The flood carried with it mud which now cakes the yards and homes of residents. It also knocked out power to several houses in the area.Antonia Chavez says she rushed home from work to find her house destroyed.

Veteran Protests Taxes on KB Home
Disabled Veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that served her country for 3 years in the United States Army and 12 years in the Army Reserve took her list of defects to the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board. Now her KB Home property is devalued $72,200.00...

FBI Probes Unusual Incentives for Home Buyers
When home sales began to slow at the start of the downturn, home builders offered buyers incentives -- instead of reducing prices -- to stimulate demand. The incentives included cars, tuition and credit-card payments, and even cash. Now, federal investigators are questioning whether some of those incentives misled lenders and caused them to write mortgages that were artificially inflated, contributing to today's home-price crash...the Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into allegations that home builders, brokers and appraisers defrauded lenders by not disclosing unusually large incentives to buyers, which could have added as much as $100,000 to the price of a home.

Mold caused health issues, family says
A Daniel Island family who fled their home after receiving mold test results is suing builder D.R. Horton Inc., alleging negligence resulting in permanent and life- threatening physical injuries...The Allens left their home more than two months ago and have been living in rental housing. Their suit filed Aug. 7 asks the court to award damages sufficient to correct the construction defects, and it seeks damages because of D.R. Horton's alleged refusal to fix the problem.

Write a Better Contract - With proper contractor language, remodelers can save thousands 
These contract provisions won’t cost the remodeler anything to place in his/her contract but they will almost virtually guarantee the remodeler that no unexpected issues that develop will cost him/her any of their expected profits...  Editor’s note: Stay tuned to future law columns in BUILDERnews for more on contract provisions, such as hidden issues and dispute resolution, both of which can help you retain profits and minimize disputes with clients...Drumming up business: Peter G. Merrill is president and CEO of Construction Dispute Resolution Services LL C, an NAHB Executive Board member and past president of the New Mexico Home Builders Association. He received Builder of the Year and Remodeler of the Year awards...

INSPECTORS FOR SALE IN TEXAS - Texas Association of Builders makes a mockery of builders lack of regulation in Texas
The builder/remodeler may use the same or different Fee Inspector for each of the required inspections. Additionally, the builder/remodeler has the ability to hire the Fee Inspector of their choice and is not forced to use any one Fee Inspector for all the inspections.  Inspection records and documents will not be turned over to the TRCC by the inspector or builder. However, the TRCC will conduct random audits of the inspection records...

Certification hardly felt in struggling building industry 
For years, Georgia had the most welcoming home-building industry in the Southeast: Anyone with a hammer qualified to construct a multiton, multistory house. And almost anyone did. Accountants. Pilots. Weekend hobbyists. But after years of initial industry opposition, Georgia this summer began requiring that builders be licensed, just like cosmetologists, hearing aid dealers and auctioneers... "It sounds promising," said Janet Ahmad, president of Home Owners for Better Building, a nonprofit based in San Antonio that pushes for industry regulation. The real test, she said, is how well the state enforces the law, which the Legislature first approved in 2004 but later tweaked and delayed implementation of until this summer.

The outrage in your credit card's fine print
Would you sign a contract that says, "Any term can be changed at any time for any reason, including no reason"? Anyone who uses a credit card already has. Such are the absurd terms of the consumer credit-card industry, which is poised to be the next big crisis (after housing) that banks have aided and abetted in US households... Banks in the card game are raising rates and fees to limit their losses on mortgage loans they made. This is doubly ironic, since their delusional lending and exotic mortgage cocktails gave the housing bubble its irrational effervescence to begin with. So now millions of American households are being dragged under even further.

Housing bill no panacea
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, signed by President Bush July 30, contains a hodge-podge of new programs, protections and perks for homeowners, home buyers and housing-related companies. But considerable doubt remains as to whether the law will do much to change the current dynamics of the nation's housing markets, which are still mired in misfired mortgages and depressed home sales. The bill may turn out to be not so much too little, too late, but rather misdirected, riddled with loopholes and subject to unintended consequences.

Parade: Don't Get Clobbered By Credit Cards!
When a credit-card company claims you owe money, your legal rights are limited. At least 75% of cards have clauses that say disputes must be resolved in private arbitration forums, according to a recent survey. So when a disagreement arises, a consumer can’t take it to court—a serious issue if you’re a victim of identity theft or, like Troy T. Cornock of Hillsborough , N.H. , you simply don’t owe the money. Cornock was hit with a $9446.85 judgment for money he claimed was owed by his ex-wife, who had opened an account in his name. It’s only because the creditor went to court to enforce the arbiter’s award that Cornock—after five agonizing years—was able to get the ruling overturned. The banking industry defends mandatory arbitration as a fair and efficient way to handle disputes. However, a study by the consumer group Public Citizen of 34,000 California cases found that consumers lost to companies in arbitration proceedings 96% to 99% of the time. So is there hope? The laws may soon be on your side. Until then, think twice before you whip out a card.