Minnesota: Possible help for home buyers vs. builders |
Friday, 22 February 2008 |
Bills before the Legislature would add time to file claims of faulty construction and force builders to pay successful plaintiffs' legal fees The five bills would close loopholes used by builders and their insurers to defeat claims of shoddy construction under the state's Home Warranty Law, bill sponsors and consumer advocates told the Labor and Consumer Protection Committee in a hearing. A builders group called the changes unwise, and some legislators expressed concerns about some language, but the committee advanced the five as a package to the House Commerce and Labor Committee. |
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Luxury Living not all its cracked up to be |
Tuesday, 23 May 2006 |
Part I: Luxury living or glorified apartment? Buyers paying a premium for lofts, condos and townhouses expect high-quality construction and quiet. But often what they get behind the gleaming surfaces and lofty ceilings is an ordinary apartment in which owners can hear the clack-clack of high heels overhead and smell cigarette smoke from five floors below and moldy odors emanating from electrical outlets... In the past few years, multifamily housing has made up more than half of all new housing built in the Twin Citieis metro area. Last year alone saw almost 10,000 new attached units built, mostly condominiums and townhouses...It becomes a big-stakes game: "At one arbitration, there were 35 lawyers sitting in the room," said Steven Orfield, a Minneapolis acoustics consultant and expert witness in several multimillion-dollar lawsuits. |
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Minnesota Moves Consumer Bills |
Monday, 03 April 2006 |
New home warranty bill advances ...fix a loophole in the law that allows builders' corporations to dissolve before the statutory 10 year new home warranty runs out and escape terms of the warranty...the awarding of reasonable attorney fees and costs in litigation relating to new home warranties. |
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Homeowner Bills filed in Minnesota |
Wednesday, 22 March 2006 |
Minnesota Homeowner Bills filed by Representative Barb Goodwin and Senator Larry Pogemiller |
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Minnesota Lawmaker Address Warranties |
Wednesday, 22 March 2006 |
Measure forces builders to honor claims on warranties A proposed bill would address a conflict in state law that is proving costly for some home owners who bring warranty claims against their home builders. Rep. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, wants home builders to honor their 10-year warranties even after they have ceased doing business and have dissolved their corporation. âCurrently builders are dissolving and then coming back under a different name, and when they do that, the warranty is no good on the home,â Goodwin said. |
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Minnesota to Regulate Homebuilders |
Wednesday, 22 March 2006 |
Lawmakers move to help homeowners stuck with moldy homes New legislation in Saint Paul would protect homeowners from bad builders. The problem has to do with warranties on new homes and newly remodeled homes. Those warranties are supposed to last for 10 years, but if a builder goes out of business, those warranties become useless. |
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