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
Consumers want homebuilder reforms "The TRCC was not created to help the consumers," consumer advocate John Cobarruvias said. "It was created for the builders; it was created by the builders." ...State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, has filed a bill that would erase the fee the commission charges consumers to enter complaint resolution, increase builders' registration fees to $500 and require all builders to participate in the Texas Star Builder process to improve quality... There are now more than 18,000 builders registered to construct homes in Texas. The TRCC has denied just eight applications. Video:Byron Harris reports
ATTENTION:TEXAS COMMITTEE HEARING TO REGULATE HOMEBUILDERS
Saturday, 16 April 2005
TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING HB 3404Representative Jessica Farrar Relating to the regulation of and claims against residential home builders. CONTACT: If you can attend or wish to testify -
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Express News: TRCC faces reform
Saturday, 16 April 2005
Builders commision could face reforms Authored by state Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, House Bill 3404 contains provisions that, if passed, would give homeowners some relief in the state-administered dispute resolution process that critics charge is dominated by the construction industry... "One big concern of mine is that consumer rights are diminished in the current statute," Farrar said. "It is ridiculous that this statute actually regulates consumers (on behalf of) the home building industry."
ATTENTION:TEXAS COMMITTEE HEARING TO REGULATE HOMEBUILDERS
Thursday, 14 April 2005
TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING HB 3404Representative Jessica Farrar Relating to the regulation of and claims against residential home builders. CONTACT: If you can attend or wish to testify -
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COMMITTEE: State Affairs TIME & DATE: 8:00AM, Monday, April 18, 2005 PLACE: Texas Capitol Committee Room: E2.010
Dallas Morning News Editorial Home Buyers need to know about Bad Builders
Saturday, 12 March 2005
Dallas Morning News Editorial How's the American Dream? Home buyers need to know about bad builders Sugar Land. Frisco. Georgetown. Rooftops keep popping up all over Texas. About 140,000 of them last year. But not all those new homes are satisfying home owners. Walls crack. Foundations shift. Builders even walk off the job. If you're investing in the American Dream, this is not what you expect... reformers want more, pushing House Bill 662 in Austin...We like this bill because it gives home buyers power to make informed decisions. They could determine whether their builder has put up shoddy residences... Perhaps naturally, the home builder lobby doesn't want the bill because its members would be held to yet another standard. But you'd think most builders would want this latest reform. The measure would further weed out bad builders, whom surely most home builders don't want spoiling their industry's reputation... State Affairs needs to pass this measure soon so the full House can approve it. Eissler - HB 662 See video of hearing (time 1:05) House State Affairs Hearing on HB662
HOBBBoard Member Registers as “Cheetum Custom Homes” Jo Hayman, board member and Dallas/Fort Worth representative of HomeOwners for Better Building (HOBB), exposed the ease of becoming a builder in Texas when she registered as a builder doing business as “Cheetum Custom Homes.” When asked what it took to be a builder in Texas, Hayman responded, “$125, a social security number and absolutely no knowledge of how to construct a house."
Are Bob Perry Homes an Urban Renaissance or Nightmare?
Thursday, 24 February 2005
The Dead Zone Houston buries its Inner Loop past under bright new shiny Perry Homes town houses The company promises that its homes will be solid, care-free, efficient and economical... But Perry Homes refused to fix most of the problems...The founder of Perry Homes is the largest private political donor to Republican causes in the nation... And he's no less controversial within the camps of his own industry. University of Houston architecture professor Tom Diehl speaks for many in his profession when he describes the 72-year-old former schoolteacher as, simply, "the enemy." ... "The problem with the town houses [in Houston] is not that they're all the same; the issue is that they're the same miserable, low-quality design."
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