Texas Rep. Smith Bill HB2008 would make TRCC Process Voluntary for Homeowners |
Saturday, 03 March 2007 |
Consumer Advocates Applaud Representative Todd Smith for filing House Bill 2008
House Bill 2008, authored by Representative Todd Smith (R-Bedford), would greatly assist homeowners by enacting critical and necessary reforms to the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), according to consumer groups. A major complaint against the TRCC is that homeowners are required to go through its inspection and dispute resolution process before they can pursue legal action against an unscrupulous or incompetent builder. âIn the four years that the TRCC has been operating, it has often been a hindrance rather than a help to
Texas homeowners,â said
Jeff Brooks, advocate for the Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG). âHouse Bill 2008 would go a long way towards transforming the TRCC into an agency which can best serve the needs of ordinary
Texas citizens.â |
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Press Release: Texas Representative McClendon HB 1686 |
Tuesday, 27 February 2007 |
REP. MCCLENDON HOUSE BILL 1686 PROTECTS HOMEOWNERS FROM FRAUD
Her proposal, House Bill 1686, would protect homeowners, in particular senior citizens, by requiring most home remodeling and building contractors to register with the Texas Residential Construction Commission and be under its supervision. Under this proposal, homeowners who have a complaint could ask the Residential Construction Commission to take disciplinary action. The Commission would maintain a "recovery fund" that would provide some relief for certain types of damages, and could pursue criminal penalties against non-complying contractors. |
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Major Overhaul of the TRCC |
Tuesday, 27 February 2007 |
Texas State Representative Ruth Jones McClendon files outstanding bill â HB1686
The bill would effectively ban the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in contracts for homes or home repairs, require all builders to be registered with TRCC and to carry insurance. The bill would also regulate home improvement contractors for any repairs costing more than $2,500 and much more... Read responses to bill and add your comments |
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Houston HOBB Spokesperson Cohn says TRCC has little power |
Saturday, 24 February 2007 |
ABC 13 Houston Reports - One bill would remove binding arbitration clauses from new home contracts
When Cohn learned about the problems she says she called her builder, but the builder would not fix the house. Cohn then learned she could take her case before the Texas Residential Construction Commission, but discovered the TRCC had little power to force the builder to make repairs. "TRCC from what I experienced and have heard so far is their hands are really tied," Cohn lamented. But that may change soon. The state legislature is considering several bills that would strengthen the TRCC. One bill would remove binding arbitration clauses from new home contracts and create a fund to pay homeowners for claims when builders can't. The TRCC would recoup the money from a builder's insurer. |
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America takes shoddy construction practices to Iraq |
Saturday, 24 February 2007 |
Did Iraq contractor fleece American taxpayers?
New revelations have emerged about how tens of millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted in Iraq. A new report by government watchdogs singles out a big American contractor â Parsons â for shoddy work. Investigators charge that Parsons managed to turn a flagship project to help train Iraqi police into a hall of horrors using taxpayer money...the American construction company turned it into a disaster from the start: incomplete and substandard designs, shoddy construction and no real quality control. "This is the worst project that my inspectors have visited," says Stuart Bowen, inspector general for Iraq. |
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KB Home Investigation Broadens |
Saturday, 24 February 2007 |
DOJ Launches KB Home Stock Options Probe
The Department of Justice has launched a probe into the handling of stock options at KB Home, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, although it is not targeting the company directly, KB Home said Friday. As part of its inquiry, the Justice Department is interviewing current and former executives of KB Home, a company spokesman said. The company last month acknowledged that the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a formal investigation into its options practices. |
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Major Overhaul of the TRCC |
Friday, 23 February 2007 |
Texas State Representative Ruth Jones McClendon files outstanding bill â HB1686
The bill would effectively ban the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in contracts for homes or home repairs, require all builders to be registered with TRCC and to carry insurance. The bill would also regulate home improvement contractors for any repairs costing more than $2,500 and much more... Read responses to bill and add your comments |
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Texas State Rep's Farrar & Liebowitz Bills to Amend the Problematic TRCCA |
Friday, 23 February 2007 |
Press Release - Bills Would Protect Homeowners from Shoddy Construction
AUSTIN â Representatives Jessica Farrar and David Liebowitz have filed the first two bills intended to amend the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) in the upcoming 2007 Legislative Session. Since its creation in 2003, the TRCC has repeatedly come under fire for its inability to successfully assist homeowners in resolving home construction defects, and for the lack of enforcement powers to make builders comply with the conclusions of the commission.
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Austin KVUE- TRCC Under Fire |
Tuesday, 20 February 2007 |
Special Assignment - Agency Under Fire
Homeownership has long been considered the ultimate American dream. But building a new home can easily turn into a nightmare. The state agency created to resolve differences between homeowners and homebuilders is under fire. Some homeowners say it's not working and they have nowhere left to turn...Homeowner Connie Hudson: So far I think it seems to me to be a wasted state agency. If they canât help a person in my situation then I donât know why they exist... Homeowner Betsy Martinez: It was absolutely a waste of time a waste of money and it was irritating that we had to go through whole thing for nothing... TexPIRGâs
Jeff Brooks
: As things stand now the TRCC instructs a builder to make repairs to somebodyâs house the builder just ignores them. So if 92% of people they find flaw and only 14% are getting repairs made thereâs obviously a very big problem. See video report |
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TRCC slaps builder’s hands – Its business as usual for Builders |
Saturday, 10 February 2007 |
Tarrant home builders, others fined
Three Tarrant County-based builders have been fined by a state agency that oversees home builders. The Texas Residential Construction Commission fined 17 builders in all. Larry Travis, a partner with his brother in Travis Construction, said everything is cleared up now. The company forgot to re-register on time. "It's a new policy, and I know it's caught a lot of builders off guard," he said. Representatives from La Ventana Homes and Austin Design/Build did not return phone calls Friday seeking comment. |
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Dallas Morning News Letter to the Editor by Stephanie Thompson |
Sunday, 07 January 2007 |
TRCC site is no help
Although I filed complaints against my builder and received numerous letters from state officials, including the attorney general's office and Gov. Rick Perry, stating they were forwarding my complaint to the Texas Residential Construction Commission for action, my complaint does not show up on the Web site. Texas Residential Construction Commission obviously has made a concerted effort to hide the true number of complaints filed against homebuilders? Perhaps it's something I should have expected, since TRCC is run by the homebuilders for the protection of homebuilders. Website: Destiny Home Horrors |
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