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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New York Times - New Jersey Officials Pleaded Guilty |
Monday, 11 July 2005 |
Officials Pleaded Guilty, but Town Was Changed Forever The price of corruption in this New Jersey town may best be seen in the many rooflines that snake down Woodcliff Boulevard at a uniform 25-foot setback from the curb. Or perhaps in the postmodern stylings of the luxury five- and six-bedroom homes in the planned community of Lexington Estates. |
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Forclosures rise in 47 states |
Sunday, 10 July 2005 |
A Bane Amid The Housing Boom: Rising Foreclosures Foreclosure rates rose in 47 states in March, according to Foreclosure.com, an online foreclosure listing service. The rates in Florida, Texas and Colorado are more than twice the national average. Even in New York City and Boston, where real estate markets are white-hot, foreclosures are rising in working-class neighborhoods... many policymakers say the rise in foreclosures leads to a larger question: Is the push to boost homeownership -- successive presidential administrations have strongly promoted it -- backfiring? ..."We've had a national agenda that's putting people into homeownership who are not ready for it,"... |
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HUD - History Making KB Home Fine |
Saturday, 09 July 2005 |
HUD ANNOUNCES $3.2 MILLION SETTLEMENT AGAINST KB HOME MORTGAGE COMPANY Largest settlement in history of Mortgagee Review Board (HUD Press Release) Washington-- The Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced it has reached a $3.2 million settlement with KB Home Mortgage Company in connection with a series of alleged violations of HUD requirements. The $3.2 million is the largest amount ever collected in the 30-year history of HUD's Mortgagee Review Board (MRB), which takes administrative actions against FHA-approved lenders... "This settlement sends a strong message that FHA will not tolerate violations of its requirements, especially when they can cause homeowners to default on their mortgages."... Associated Press: KB Home also agreed to beef up its quality assurance practices as part of the deal, HUD officials said. See: Associated Press Brief and HUD Press Release |
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Who Is Guarding the HUD Guards |
Saturday, 02 July 2005 |
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House moving down the mountain |
Saturday, 02 July 2005 |
Lawsuit filed over falling house in Gatlinburg Soils engineers hired by the city later determined that the house foundation cracked and the house began to move down the mountain because it was partly located on unstable ground... Although the house is still standing, the foundation is cracked and the house has tilted. According to the city's soils engineer, it should be demolished or moved because movement of the slope is expected to continue.The city had condemned the house as being unsafe. |
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Saturday, 02 July 2005 |
Six are indicted in mortgage scam A Katy real estate broker remained at large Thursday after his indictment in connection with what federal prosecutors said was a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme... Arrested Wednesday and freed on $50,000 bail were James Turner, 51; Michael McKelvey, 52; Gerald Scott, 54; and Johnny Hill, 58, all of Houston. In custody pending a Tuesday detention hearing was Cynthia Eneanya, 33, of Katy. |
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More Troubles for Tremont Homes |
Saturday, 02 July 2005 |
Not quite lemonade, but at least some conciliation âYouâre simply not going to see companies like this remain in the Better Business Bureau,â said BBB spokeswoman Kim Lawrence of Tremont Homes, Stature Construction and several other listings involving the same principals...âTheyâve got 14 or 16 corporations, but in our eyes they are still one member,â she said. |
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Victory for Lemons and Homeowner |
Saturday, 02 July 2005 |
Angry resident paints giant lemons on her condo's windows in protest ABC13 Eyewitness News (6/15/05 - HOUSTON) â A homeowner has found an unusual way to speak out against her homebuilder...Heather Michelson headed to court over large yellow lemons painted on the window of her quarter million dollar Montrose condo. It was art -- and a statement. "The only voice I had," she said. "I put lemons up and I moved out." ... "I had bloody noses at night, nauseous, dementia," recalled Michelson. "I was fatigued. I'd sleep for 18 hours a day." The symptoms, she says, disappeared when she moved out... Janet Ahmad with Homeowners for Better Building explained, "Anyone can be a builder in Texas. But only in Texas are the home builders unregulated and the buyer is regulated." |
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Birth of the Texas Home Warranty |
Saturday, 25 June 2005 |
EDITORIAL Home Warranty or Builder Disclaimer? |
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New Jersey Builder and Homeowner Support New Reforms |
Saturday, 25 June 2005 |
Builders group backs construction reforms "Even now, in reading this letter sent to Governor Codey by the New Jersey Builders, it is almost laughable the way they (builders) still skip around the current system," said Marie B. Crosby of Jefferson. "The way many of them use the courts as a merry-go-round and in the meantime livelihoods are lost, and families suffer irreversible damage."..."The public should not waste time on the recommendations, task forces, and reforms because this is all after the fact; things have already gone wrong," said Manalapan resident Violet Peterson. "We should concentrate on upholding the law, properly inspecting new homes, requiring developers to repair homes that are not code compliant, and holding violators identified in the SCI hearings â builders and construction officials â accountable." |
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Dallas - FBI Investigates Low Income Housing |
Saturday, 25 June 2005 |
Financial corruption at center of FBI probe FBI officials confirmed to News 8 that financial corruption is at the center of the investigation, which is focusing on Hill, fellow council member James Fantroy and the Southwest Housing Development Corporation. |
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More Arrests in New Jersey |
Thursday, 23 June 2005 |
Developer identified in latest bribe case MARLBORO, Anthony Spalliero, already facing federal charges that he bribed a former mayor here, has been identified by sources as one of two developers who bribed a longtime Planning Board member...The money continued to roll in the next year. Young said he took $1,500 from the first developer as his usual reward and $2,000 from the other. That year, he also accepted the $20,000 from the second developer that was meant to be parceled out to other board members. Sources said the $20,000 came from Spalliero. |
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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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