Same Pig. Uglier Lipstick
Texas Residential Construction Commission, which exists to protect Bob Perry, David and Dick Weekley, and other well connected homebuilders from lawsuits that previously could have been brought by disgruntled buyers. Apparently one loophole was left open that could have subjected a builder to disciplinary action. Not to worry. The Senate has closed it. Adding the word "court" means that failure to pay a final arbitration judgment would not be grounds for discipline by the TRCC. As far as I know, Perry Homes is the only builder that has been ordered by an arbitration panel to pay a homeowner. He has appealed the decision to the Texas Supreme Court. Oral arguments were heard n March and we are awaiting the Court's decision.  See Related Texas Monthly article: Lipstick on a Pig

Lipstick on a Pig
It is undoubtedly a good-faith effort to improve the process by which home buyers are prevented from recovering money from unscrupulous and/or incompetent builders, and Dan Gattis, who has had buyers' remorse about the TRCC for four years now, put his best efforts into putting still more teeth into the law, and so did Ruth McClendon. In the end, however, it still added up to lipstick on a pig, and not just any pig, but the ugliest, dirtiest pig the Texas Legislature has brought into existence in all the years I have been covering it. There is only one remedy for the TRCC, and that is to send it into oblivion.

House bill targets builders who fail to repair defects
The Texas House tentatively made it a crime for a builder to fail to register with the state, but rejected an attempt to require contractors to buy back houses with serious defects. The sponsor of House Bill 1038, Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, said the Texas Residential Construction Commission has had problems...By 83 to 60, the House rejected an amendment to require builders to buy back houses with defects that create a safety hazard or reduce the home's value 5 percent or more if the defect can't be fixed. Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, said the amendment would add to the cost of everybody's house, but Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, shot back: "I'm not trying to protect unscrupulous builders."

A Citizen’s Lament - Was justice denied in a Fannin County court?
“In June 2005, after helping construct a subfloor for Pat and Bob Egert’s new house in Ben Franklin, Bobby Fines, owner of Cedar Log Homes in Ivanhoe, owed me $530 for my work,” Starkey said. “I called his residence and Vicky Leggett, his partner, answered.  I said, ‘I’d like to have my money.’”...And Starkey was $1500 poorer because of a lawyer he shouldn’t have needed and was still out the $530 allegedly owed him by Fines. See related article: Homeowner convicted for reporting Builder to TRCC & the Better Business Bureau

Consumer Groups, Citizens, Present Dramatic Testimony at State Affairs Committee Hearings on Homeowners Rights
In hearings that lasted from four in the afternoon until nearly four in the morning, the House State Affairs Committee heard testimony Monday and early Tuesday from a large number of aggrieved citizens and several consumer advocacy groups on how to reform the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) and the Home Lemon Law.

Consumer made two tactical mistakes
Perry Homes is one of Texas’ best-known homebuilding companies. Owner Bob Perry of Houston is a philanthropist who donates millions to charities. He donates millions to Texas politicians, too. In fact, he is among the largest political contributors in the country...Many of the recipients are state legislators who now face decisions on a slew of bills recently filed that would toughen the Texas Residential Construction Commission’s enforcement powers. The TRCC, created in 2003, is supposed to help homeowners and builders resolve construction-related disputes through a state-mandated process. Critics say the commission is biased in favor of builders. Builders say the commission was designed to resolve disputes with homeowners and avoid costly lawsuits.

Texas House State Affairs Hearing on Home Lemon Law, First in Nation to be Considered
Monday, March 19, 2007 the House State Affairs will hear testimony on 12 bills.  One is the Home Lemon Law, which would give an incentive to build a home right the first time or be forced to buy a house back if the builder failed to make repairs.  The committee will consider how to solve the chronic problem of substandard building in Texas . One bill if passed would abolish the troubled Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC).  Other bills  would beef up registration requirements for builders to demonstrate knowledge and financial responsibility and give enforcement powers to the TRCC.

Texas Representative Craig Eiland files HB 3269 a bill to abolish the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC).  
Ask most State lawmakers privately and most will agree that TRCC was a big mistake and should be abolished.  Ask any homeowner who has experienced having to endure the punishing so-called “dispute resolution” process of TRCC and all would agree that the agency should be abolished.  In the waning hours of the bill filing deadline Rep. Craig Eiland surprised everyone.  See HB 3269 

Rep. Todd Smith's HB 2008
Bill Incorporates the Recommendations of Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) Report, January 23, 2006.

KVUE Defenders Look at Liens in Austin
An eye opening look at what can happen to the title on your home - if you're not paying attention. Could you have liens on your property that you don't know about? The builder of a popular Northwest Austin subdivision admits he owes tens of thousands of dollars in liens, that blanket his entire subdivision of about 80 homes. And several homeowners tell KVUE that's just the beginning of their concerns.  See Defenders Report