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Organizing your community to bring public attention to builder’s bad deeds and seeking assistance from local, state and federal elected officials has proven to be more effective and much quicker for thousands of families. You do have choices and alternatives. Janet Ahmad |
TRCC in the News
Houston waits 3 years to enforce builder's registration law |
Tuesday, 05 September 2006 |
Home-building measure's effect unclear
Consumer groups are glad to see the new requirement, but they say registering with the Texas Residential Construction Commission won't do much for consumers...But Alex Winslow of Texas Watch noted it doesn't take much to be registered in the state. There aren't any tests or continuing education requirements. "It doesn't mean consumers are being protected," Winslow said. "In fact, we think it gives consumers a false sense of security, because all you really have to do is pay a fee and you're registered. There aren't any standards to be met." |
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TRCC - Critics say new agency remains toothless |
Tuesday, 01 August 2006 |
Home building commission continues to draw fire
The Andrews case underscores the debate over the Texas Residential Construction Commission, which has been criticized by consumers and an outside review as a toothless bureaucracy created to protect builders. Once the commission process has been exhausted, usually within a few months, a builder who loses cannot be compelled by the commission to make the repairs. The outside review by the state comptroller found that the overwhelming majority did not...In a survey of affected homeowners, the report said 86 percent of the respondents said the builders did not fix the defects confirmed in the state inspections. It also concluded that the law provides no way to hold builders accountable for shoddy building practices and described the agency's building standards as "overly lenient."
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TRCC - No penalties for home-building problems |
Tuesday, 01 August 2006 |
Agency's sanctions of builders don't go far
A state agency designed to bring more accountability to Texas home builders recently -- and with much fanfare -- released a list of 49 builders that the agency has penalized. But none of the penalties levied by the Texas Residential Construction Commission have anything to do with improper home-building practices, nor had the agency taken steps to identify them on its Web site...Instead, all of these infractions are for the bureaucratic failure to register with the agency. The penalties announced this month are in addition to penalties the agency has given to builders in the past. Those also focus on registration rather than home-building problems. |
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Knowledge and Financial Responsibility are Optional for Home Builders |
Saturday, 22 July 2006 |
Only 12 Builders Qualify in the Great State of Texas
Three years after the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) was created only 12 builders and remodelers qualify by demonstrating knowledge and financial responsibility for the OPITIONAL Star Builder program. Texas consumers across the state now have the option to choose from 12 âStar Buildersâ with verified experience and track records⦠See: Commission Confirms First Star Builders |
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TRCC's Negligible Disproportionate Fines |
Saturday, 22 July 2006 |
Commission Levies Negligible & Disproportionate Fines
49 Builders Affected - Forty-eight builders were assessed fines ranging from $150 to $2,500 for registering late. These fines are in addition to the $300 late renewal fee that each company is also required to pay. However, Lifestyle Design/Build, Inc., of Houston, was fined only $1,000 for using fraud or deceit in obtaining a registration. Still after 3 years, TRCC has taken no action for fraud and deceit in building defective homes in Texas. A list of those companies is available at Late Registration.pdf. Read: TRCC Press Release |
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TRCC negligible builder fines |
Saturday, 22 July 2006 |
Panel fines 48 builders for registration failures
The Texas Residential Construction Commission has fined 48 Texas builders, including two in San Antonio, for failing to renew their state registrations on time. See related article and TRCC press release. |
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Rick Casey - Builder Contributions to AG Abbott, Tough Grandma & TRCC |
Sunday, 02 July 2006 |
Houston Chronicle's Rick Casey - Proposal: A $1 million recusal rule
Take the case of Attorney General Greg Abbott. Last Dec. 15 he received $100,000 in campaign contributions from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry and his wife... Perry and his allies in the homebuilding industry worked hard to obtain the commission as a partial shield against lawsuits... Still, it hardly inspires confidence for the attorney general to accept a hundred grand from an interested party on the eve of entertaining a request to rule on an issue of considerable interest to that party. In addition, five days after sending his request to Abbott, Swinford received his first contribution from Perry, for $2,000. Six weeks later he would receive another $10,000... But the notion that the attorney general can take $100,000 from someone with a direct interest in his ruling is outrageous. And it's actually worse. Since 2001, Abbott has received $1.1 million from Mr. and Mrs. Perry... |
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Star-Telegram Special Report - TRCC's Ties to Building Industry |
Monday, 19 June 2006 |
Agency has many ties to builders
Consumer groups see the Texas Residential Construction Commission as a puppet of the Texas Association of Builders. The TAB says its interest is simply participation in government, taking advantage of opportunities available to any citizen. But thousands of pages of documents released over the past several months show the keen interest of builders' groups in the agency's workings. Most of the documents came from the state comptroller's office, which conducted an inquiry into the TRCC at the request of state Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless.... Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, introduced a bill last year that would have made the TRCC free to homeowners, required continuing education for builders and allowed the commission to take action against builders who abandoned jobs... "It's the fox guarding the henhouse," Farrar said... See related Reports: Texas Comptroller Condemns TRCC Builder Protection Agency & WFAA News 8 Report - $1,000 Lunch Scandal |
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Monday, 19 June 2006 |
Angry homeowners contend that state agency, complaint process are tilted toward builders"
There are so many problems with the legislation that passed in 2003 it would take us hours to enumerate them," said Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, an Austin-based consumer-advocacy group. "We need real protections for homeowners so that when they buy a home they know that what they are getting is built to high-quality standards and if it's not, the builder will be held responsible for it." ...State Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, asked the state comptroller's office to look into the agency's effectiveness last year. He said a lot of homeowners have wasted their time and money going through the agency. With the TRCC, consumers face a bureaucratic maze to find their way through before they have an opportunity to hold their builder accountable," Winslow of Texas Watch said. Janet Ahmad of San Antonio, president of Homeowners for Better Building, said the TAB devised the TRCC to create "an ironclad, surefire method of seeing to it that the homeowner was regulated. There was never an incentive for a builder to build the house right the first time." |
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