Nationstar Mortgage LLC and Centex Home Equity Sued for Truth In Lending Violations and Participation in Unregistered Securities Scam
Nearly two dozen home loan borrowers filed a multi-million dollar unfair business practices and negligence case against Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, and Centex Home Equity, LLC. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated. The San Diego Superior Court case was filed as Case No. 37-2008-00092170-CU-BT-CTL on September 22, 2008. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, is a Texas-based company which took over Centex Home Equity and maintained past mortgage loan operations in Southern California. The case is captioned Mark Richter, et al., v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, et al..

Developer broke restriction by selling to speculators, Stuart condo association says
As a condition of sale, buyers had to sign a deed restriction that said they must occupy the condominium as their primary or secondary residence for at least one year. But Centex sold units to investors who did not occupy the units... The suit also alleges numerous inadequacies in design and construction, including landscaping, plumbing, irrigation and drainage, potable water system, fire hydrants, downspouts, sidewalks, sunken pavers, entrance gates and roadways. Some of these flaws are in violation of the Florida Building Code or city ordinances, the suit said.

Pulte-Centex - Class-action possibility increases interest in Sun City stucco lawsuit
Lawyers representing a Sun City Hilton Head couple suing for allegedly defective stucco work say interest in the lawsuit has increased following a state Supreme Court ruling allowing homeowners to seek class-action status....stucco problem in Sun City is widespread. An engineer hired to inspect a sampling of about 250 homes found the stucco could have been improperly applied in all 2,500 homes.

Statesman Watch update: Homebuilder obtaining occupancy certificates for East Austin homes
Girija Shanmugam now has a piece of paper called a certificate of occupancy that the city requires for her and her husband to legally live in their Woodland Hills home. Their builder, Centex Homes, had earlier failed to complete the city's permitting process that requires a home pass final inspection.  Centex also learned that 39 of the other 170 homes in Woodland Hills also lacked certificates of occupancy. Centex has built 580 homes in the area east of U.S. 183 near FM 969.  Leon Barba, a City of Austin building official, said the company has completed the necessary paperwork for 25 of the homes and is working on the other 14.  Related article: Couple's home, built on former pond

Arizona Attorney General settles with Pulte on consumer protection violations
Attorney General Terry Goddard has announced a $1,181,400 settlement with Pulte Home Corporation and Pulte Mortgage LLC, resolving the State’s investigation into allegations that Pulte’s pre-qualification practices, earnest money deposit policies and Spanish-language marketing efforts violated Arizona’s consumer protection law. The settlement, in which no admission of fault or finding of liability is made, will be submitted to the Maricopa County Superior Court for final approval...homebuilders and lenders have a legal obligation to provide their customers with complete and accurate information. I commend Pulte’s commitment to amend its practices and bring more transparency into buying and financing a Pulte home.”

Couple's home, built on former pond, plagued with water problems
Trying to find answers, the couple went to the city's Watershed Protection Department. They got a series of surprises, and now the builder is in trouble with the city over a missing occupancy permit for the home. "Watershed Protection told us, 'Did you know your house was built on a pond?' " Girija Shanmugam said. On the department's website, she found an aerial photograph from 2003 of their home site and realized that the house is smack in the middle of what was a human-made stock pond...the couple then were told by Watershed Protection that their house had failed final inspection and did not have a certificate of occupancy.

The Rivermist Story - AND THE WALLS CAME TUMBLING DOWN
See the Newest Feature - Pulte-Centex Big Secret - Sell a Unsafe Manmade Hill Without Telling 
See the Rivermist Community - See More Photos

Uphill battle: Homeowners sour about construction
On Wednesday, homeowners will be in Detroit dressed as lemons, because they are still sour about the way the company and the city has handled the wall collapse. Meantime the city is reviewing Centex's plans to repair the wall.  Protesters will be showing up at the company's annual shareholder meeting to accuse them of turning a blind eye and cutting corners on construction.

Builder to resell Rivermist homes
Homes in the Rivermist neighborhoods that builder Centex Homes has offered to buy back will eventually be repaired and resold. Sherwin Tolentino, who is among the 27 evacuated homeowners who have had their certificates of occupancy revoked by the city, was told he had until Monday to accept the builder's buyback offer. The offer covers the purchase price, closing costs, moving expenses, home improvements, utilities for the last few months and some attorney fees. But Tolentino is unhappy that the offer does not include damages. He said he would have been in better financial shape if he had rented an apartment for the past few years, which would cost about half the price of his $2,000-a-month mortgage payment, and pocketed the rest in savings. “They're pressuring me to sign their proposal or they're going to kick me out,” Tolentino said. “It's just tough for me to swallow. I need to start my life all over again.”Dolenga said Tolentino is the only resident who was given a deadline for the buyback offer.