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TRCC - Latest News
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Texas Comptroller Conducts Audit of Builders State Agency |
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Sunday, 08 January 2006 |
State agency making changes
But consumer groups remain skeptical, saying the agency was created in 2003 at the behest of builders to reduce litigation by forcing consumers into a state-run dispute resolution process...Alex Winslow, director of consumer group Texas Watch, said homeowners shouldn't have to pay for the dispute process at all. He's also critical of the agency's governor-appointed board, which has many industry representatives on it — including John Krugh, who works as general counsel for Houston builder Bob Perry's company and helped craft the legislation that created the construction commission. "I think the makeup of the board speaks for itself," Winslow said. "It's dominated by industry insiders, with Bob Perry's lawyer as one of the original appointees. I think that speaks to the agency's leanings."... "The whole premise of this is to wear down the homebuyer," said Ahmad, who has been pushing for a home lemon law, similar to the one for cars. |
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State Comptroller Reviews Builder Agency |
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Thursday, 05 January 2006 |
Homebuilder review draws debate
Consumer groups have long sought a review of the two-year-old state agency that regulates home builders, claiming it favors the industry over homeowners. They finally got the state comptroller to do one... Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs, has asked the state attorney general for an opinion...Consumer advocates critical of the building commission question Swinford's motives and wonder why he wouldn't welcome input on the agency. |
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Builder Registration Revoked |
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Wednesday, 30 November 2005 |
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KHOU Ch.11 Houston Special Investigation |
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Tuesday, 29 November 2005 |
KHOU Ch.11 News, Defenders Investigation
Are problem home builders your problem?
Fly-by-night contractors flock to Texas
Over the last few months, the 11 News Defenders have dug through every complaint ever filed with the state's construction commission about builders and remodelers. State authorities put out the welcome mat…”This agency has fallen short on consumer complaints across the board.” Duane Wadill is the Executive Director of TRCC… The Defenders have discovered the commission has not fully investigated more than 80% of complaints against builders. |
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BBB Looking at Growing Trend of Defective Homes |
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Saturday, 26 November 2005 |
Protecting consumers, promoting business
...BBB statistic claiming for every one complaint the organization receives, there are twenty problems never reported...From KB Homes to David Weekley to Royce and Perry, Parsons said the growing trend in building new, damaged and defective homes, however, is a problem which the BBB is looking at..."Something very bad is going on and for the first time, I am starting to wonder whether we are going to be able to keep homebuilders as members," Parsons said... In 2003, after homebuilders successfully lobbied the state legislator for a new state agency to protect them against lawsuits, the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) was formed. Since the TRCC's inception, Parsons said nothing but problems and issues arose..."Our mandate on the TRCC is that it is the law, but it is not a good law. We don't like laws like this; we want businesses to play fair."... "Half the builders hate that law. They saw some of the zealots start to affect their industry, not because they were bad but because other builders were bad," Parsons said. Furthermore, Parsons said the TRCC hurts the good builders left in the industry. "It is a terrible law. It is interesting that you look at the homebuilders who backed the TRCC law have gone south with us-Weekley, Royce and Perry." |
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Big Money and Shoddy Construction |
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Tuesday, 11 October 2005 |
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Dallas Morning News - Guest Commentary |
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Friday, 09 September 2005 |
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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 |
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Thursday, 08 September 2005 |
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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 |
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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 builders’ 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 “won” 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 |
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Saturday, 28 May 2005 |
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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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