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TRCC-Builder Agency News
Dallas Morning News - Guest Commentary |
Friday, 09 September 2005 |
Heidi Wanken: Home buyers, beware The moral of our story is this: Your home builder is not your friend, and the company isn't looking out for you. The builder will woo and court you while you're looking at the model homes and floor plans. It is an entirely different story once you own the house... And if you have any doubt about the potential for problems, consider this: To be a builder in the state of Texas, you need only fill out a two-page form and submit a check for $125 to the TRCC. If we had known then what we know now, we would have walked away and never looked back. |
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Juliet Home - Building Status has been Canceled |
Thursday, 08 September 2005 |
TRCC CANCELED - Juliet Home Juliet Homes to begin work on new residential community See: Tremont & Juliet Homes |
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Texas Monthly - Home Buyer Beware |
Friday, 15 July 2005 |
How a new state agency of the builders, by the builders, and for the builders makes it harder for you to sue, yes, your builder. In 2003, after spreading around $9 million in campaign contributions, the powerful home buildersâ lobby got the Legislature to agree with its contention that implied warranties were too darn vague and that the lawsuits they produced were too damaging to the industry. Instead, it asked lawmakers to create a new state agency to protect builders from legal retribution. It was one of the most blatant power plays in recent years, made possible by an anti-lawsuit fervor that swept through the new Republican-controlled Legislature and by the influence of two politically active builders: the biggest individual contributor, Bob Perry (no relation to Governor Rick Perry but lots of political ties), and the co-founder of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, Dick Weekley. Thus was born the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), which in its short life has served as the classic case study of what can happen when a public agency is captured by the industry it is supposed to regulate... Homeowner advocate Janet Ahmad points out that the agency refuses to hear cases involving incomplete construction, even though one of the most common complaints against homebuilders involves those who disappear and leave behind half-finished projects. Ahmad conducted telephone interviews and found overwhelmingly that the consumers who had âwonâ their cases at the agency felt it did no good because they still had to pursue action in court against their builders. |
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Wednesday, 22 June 2005 |
Group demands better regulation of home builders
Janet Ahmad, president of HomeOwners for Better Building, said TRCC's Texas Star Builder Program is the main point of contention. The program allows builders to qualify as "star builders," demonstrating knowledge, experience and history of financial responsibility, Ahmad said. She said this must be made mandatory for builders instead of optional, as it is under the current system. For now, anyone with $125 and a social security number can register as a builder, Ahmad said. |
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Houston Chronicle - TRCC & Bob Perry Homes |
Saturday, 28 May 2005 |
No place like home for this cuddly Austin lapdog THE Texas Legislature, over the years, has created a number of industry lapdogs, but the Texas Residential Construction Commission, established two years ago, could be one of the cuddliest yet... A few senators tried to take some of the wag out of its homebuilder-friendly tail last week but failed. Even though some political contributions have sparked legal turmoil, money still talks in Austin, and with a very loud voice... Homeowners now have to go through an expensive, commission-run dispute resolution process before pursuing any legal action over construction complaints. This is more bureaucratic and potentially more intimidating than the mandatory arbitration process that most builders already required in new home contracts.
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Express News - Duncan grilled TRCC's Krugh |
Friday, 20 May 2005 |
Perryâs picks for TRCC are Targeted At a Monday hearing, Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, took issue with the commissionersâ work since they first assembled in December 2003. He said registered builders undergo almost no scrutiny, yet the general public thinks state registration is âgiving them a badge, they have some sort of elevated credibility.â Duncan criticized Krugh for opposing portions of a bill Duncan authored that would address some of the problems he believes exist in the process. He grilled Krugh for lobbying against a provision to provide notice to homebuyers where the only inspector is the one provided by the homebuilder. |
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Senator Duncan..."by the builder, for the builder" |
Friday, 20 May 2005 |
Star-Telegram Door slams shut on bills to protect homeowners And consumer groups apparently have found a new ally: state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, who introduced the bill two years ago that created the commission. Duncan says he now wonders whether the commission is operated "by the builder, for the builder." "It appeared to be to the public a regulatory body," he told fellow lawmakers at a hearing Monday in Austin. But in fact, he said, "The people that are being regulated by the act are the consumers, to a certain degree, as opposed to the builders." |
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New Home Buyers no better off |
Monday, 09 May 2005 |
Home builders resist reconstructing rookie agency Buyers no better off in resolving disputes, say proponents of strengthening regulator this session The fledgling Texas Residential Construction Commission was created two years ago to provide new performance standards for builders and a formal dispute resolution process between buyers and builders. A remodeling of the commission is necessary, some consumer advocacy groups say, because it was created solely with the interests of home builders in mind, leaving buyers worse off than before. The law establishing the agency was written by the lawyer for Houston home builder Bob Perry, who gives more Republican campaign contributions than anyone else in Texas. "Builders don't have to do anything differently than before the commission was created," said Janet Ahmad, president of the consumer advocacy group HomeOwners for Better Building. "This is pushing people to lawsuits; that's what the problem is." The current dispute resolution process has no teeth, Ahmad said, because it doesn't require the builder to settle with the buyer if the commission finds in favor of the homeowner. |
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Beware: Your Tax Dollars at Work |
Wednesday, 04 May 2005 |
FREE? See announcement and schedule â 22 cities Texas Residential Construction Commission Announcement Free Warranty and Building and Performance Standards Seminars The commission will be holding seminars designed to answer questions from homeowners and other interested parties about the recently adopted warranties and building and performance standards that go into effect on June 1, 2005⦠Learn how âCrack Houseâ takes on a how new meaning. Warranty and Performance Standards allow builders to legally build new homes with unlimited numbers of cracks. See how: Standards tarnishing the image of a fine University |
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The Partington Story - TRCC More Harm Than Good |
Tuesday, 03 May 2005 |
Complaints against builder illustrate agency's problems Video: Byron Harris reports In one particular instance, people are angry at one homebuilder, Robert Tidwell... It was supposed to be their dream house. More than four years ago, the Partingtons hired Tidwell to build it. They signed over their lot to him; he took months to build a little, then quit. They sued him and won $65,000, but Tidwell never paid them, and they lost everything - the lot and their partially-finished house, where someone else now lives... "This was everything we had, this was everything," Lisa Partington said. "This was our life savings." Three bills to change the TRCC went before the Legislature this session; they all died. One reason might be that the homebuilding industry spent nearly $9 million lobbying in Austin over the last four years. Related Article: The First Cheetum Mark of Distinction, Hall of Shame Award Goes To.... Robert Tidwell. Related article: Cheetum Builder Hall of Shame Award |
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MyScam - Cheetum Builder Hall of Shame Award |
Wednesday, 27 April 2005 |
MYSCAM.com Cheetum Custom Homes Proudly Presents The First Cheetum Mark of Distinction, Hall of Shame Award Goes To.... See Cheetum Builder Hall of Shame Award |
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