Missouri City Chatter Here is an article from a blog which better explains SLAPP-suits and why/how they are used. More than half of all states in the U.S. have legislation on the books to stop these type of frivilous lawsuits...  Read More...

Dealing with problems in newly-built homes
Industry estimates claim that nearly 85 percent of all new homes have defects, and 15 percent of these homes may have serious problems, including faulty foundations, dangerous moisture intrusion and inadequate framing. Often these problems show up months or even years after the buyer has moved in and the builder has moved on. Many of these new starter castles will be lucky to survive their mortgage.

Tougher code needed
The Florida Building Commission voted against a stronger residential building code for panhandle counties this week. The commission, despite pressure from home builders who complain that stricter building standards will increase the costs, needs to reconsider its decision when it meets in August in Miami.

Law aims to cut mortgage fraud
"What we had seen in the past, fly-by-night brokers were coming from out of state who had bad records," said Rep. Val Vigil, D-Thornton, one of the sponsors of the legislation, called House Bill 1161... If they have been convicted of fraud, deceit, theft or similar offenses, they automatically would be barred from brokering loans in Colorado... Colorado also is leading the nation in the rate of foreclosures.

BIAW hoping to pack State Supreme Court with handpicked candidates this fall
The BIAW is an association of homebuilders headquartered in Olympia, not far from the Capitol Campus. It has about eleven thousand members or so, and deep pockets ...seek to craft a government friendly to unfettered, unregulated capitalism, not to mention a government that provides generous subsidies and a steady stream of lucrative contracts to further line their pockets - codifying the culture of corruption into the nation's laws…The BIAW has used the initiative process repeatedly to get voters to repeal worker and environmental protection legislation it opposes.

Papers or not, there's work
The raid was the culmination of an investigation against Fischer Homes, a large home builder in Northern Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana that had drawn the attention of a federal immigration agency newly resolved to crack down on businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants.

Town takes developer to court
It was supposed to be the premier 55-and-over community in Huntington. But residents at The Greens at Half Hollow say the exclusive development has been plagued by shoddy construction, poor lighting, flooding and other problems...Beleaguered residents in the 1,145-unit development say they have not received a satisfactory response from the developer and eventually asked Huntington Town for help.

Churchville contractor loses license
This is the third time Dull has violated customer contracts since 1996, according to the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Clifton Forge homeowners Ronald Robinson and Karen Porter filed complaints with VDPOR in April after nearly three years of discovering construction shortcuts, including roof leaks, incorrectly installed flashing, and a blocked chimney.

Editorial: Profits before safety
They sided with builders, killed flood bill
Last week, lawmakers had a chance to approve Assembly Bill 3050 by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento. It would have required local governments to share liability with the state for any future development they approve in floodplains. Instead of approving this prudent measure, lawmakers chose to side with big homebuilders, who mounted a fierce and misleading campaign against Jones' bill... Unwilling to sacrifice a dollar of their profits -- the Los Angeles Times recently reported that the CEO of KB Homes made $46 million last year -- builders pulled out the stops in blocking AB 3050. Politicians caved. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his lobbyists were AWOL on the bill, even though they said they supported it. 

Homebuilder’s Right-to-Repair Illusion Exposed in Nevada
In Texas where the bill was touted as the first Tort Reform law in the country.  The problem is the law doesn’t give an incentive for builders to construct a house right from the beginning but encourages the industry to build them as fast as possible and worry about defects later...Time has proven that the law actually gives a disincentive for builders to make repairs by successfully limiting builder’s liability for their mistakes. The law gave builders greater confidence that they could avoid most responsibility by ignoring repairs, which created lengthy legal disputes that homeowners could not afford.  The associated legal expenses drained homebuyers financially, causing most families to give up.
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