Claims and counterclaims mar her dream house
"At every single level, not one person has done the right thing," Soccolich said. But Soccolich has no intention of retreating to New Jersey quietly.  She recently sent a letter to Judge Lee Haworth, who presides over the 12th Judicial Court, alleging that her arbitrator -- Sarasota attorney William G. Christopher -- prejudged her case in favor of the home builder and refused to let her attorney call a witness that was key to her counterclaim or review evidence showing the difference between the model home she thought she ordered and the house that was ultimately built..."The process of mandatory and binding arbitration may not give rise to fair and just dispute resolution," Hodges said. "The arbitrator's allegiances to the builder are overwhelming. He knows he will never see the owner again, but the builder might use his services many times."..."If he is so sure that this is the house I ordered, why wasn't he willing to sit down and prove it?" Soccolich said. "Why wasn't he willing to to show me why a 20-inch window would not fit in the house I ordered? Why wasn't he willing to explain that ours was the only house in the subdivision that did not have 10-foot ceilings?"

Homeowners Push For New Lemon Laws
Jim Strickland reports.  Homebuyers frustrated with shoddy construction and ineffective regulations are demanding change. They were at the capital today to begin to push for new legislation based on the Lemon Law that protects car buyers...  They want a new lemon law on new homes. Jeannette Martin likes the idea...  Her complaint to the state construction board went no where...  The home lemon law is the easiest way to give and give the biggest incentive to build home right the first time...  (Greg Cole) It's got to come to a stop.  We need to be protected and the only way we can do that is by legislation.  There is very little that can be done when you are stuck with a bad home. Read press release 
See Video Report...

Print Exclusive: Troubles with home could have implications for others on St. George Island
Inside, the house has undergone an autopsy. Sandy Bifano's notes of what engineers found when they peeled back the wallboard are scrawled everywhere: missing beams, sagging wall systems, missing and incorrectly installed hurricane straps. The list goes on, from inadequately attached decks to a flawed staircase that makes it nearly impossible to get appliances and furniture upstairs.

Bill seeking accountability in arbitration to become law (Printed April 2, 2010)
A new law initially sponsored by Maine Rep. Sean Flaherty (D-Scarborough) and signed by Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday will enlarge the fine print by requiring companies and individuals providing arbitration services in Maine to post results of their decisions on a Web site. Basic consumer information, including potential expenses and whether an attorney may be present at a hearing, also must be posted...A 2009 report by the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection showed eight individual arbitration providers from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and three national firms helped decide 2,500 cases in Maine during 2008.

Homebuilders' group spent $1.1M in the 4th-qtr lobbying for homebuyer incentives, tax breaks
The homebuilding industry's main trade association spent $1.1 million in the fourth quarter lobbying Congress, the White House and several government agencies on housing, taxes, health care and other issues, according to a disclosure report. The National Association of Home Builders shelled out about 49 percent more than the $740,000 it spent for lobbying in the prior-year period. It paid out $750,000 in the third quarter of 2009. The NAHB also lobbied the federal government on legislation involving immigration, labor, banking, air and water quality, energy, bankruptcy, endangered species, small business, torts, transportation and trade, according to the report filed on Jan. 15.

Home sellers beware: Fee might be hidden
Here's a new concept in real estate: Buy a house, and when you go to sell it years later, owe the original developer or builder 1 percent of the sales price. Freehold Capital Partners, a company started in Texas, is selling developers across the country on a plan that would attach a private transfer fee to homes, allowing developers to profit for generations. The fee, written into neighborhood restrictions, would encumber the property for 99 years and throw 1 percent of the sale price back to the developer — or his or her estate or another investor — and Freehold each time the home changes hands. Read Comments

Homebuyer Tax Credit Backfires
Realtor associations in Chicago, Memphis and elsewhere are organizing market-wide "open houses" on April 10 and 11. At least one builder, KB Homes, is hosting a "48 hour house hunt" to attract buyers who can earn an $8000 credit if they are first-timers and $6500 if they are repeat buyers. "Homebuyers who want to take advantage of the limited-time federal homebuyer tax credit still have time to choose a newly constructed KB home...

Builder rake in refunds
Several publicly traded companies, including Lennar Corp., Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. and Pulte Homes Inc., expect to rake in roughly $2.5 billion in federal tax refunds combined, according to company filings. Lawmakers amended the tax code last fall to help struggling companies stay in business by essentially giving them a greater opportunity to recoup previously paid taxes. The move has helped some of the biggest builders turn a profit for the first time in years. But some small builders say the souped-up tax break is primarily giving their large rivals yet another competitive edge. That's because the latest windfall looks less like a lifeline and more like a war chest. Several large builders are now sitting on more than $1 billion in cash and are snapping up tracts of land to be ready for the next building boom.

Building inspectors in bribery investigation revealed
We've now uncovered the names of two City of San Antonio building inspectors who are the target of an on-going bribery investigation.  One of the inspectors in trouble is Ernest A. Martinez, a building inspection supervisor and a ten year veteran of the city's planning and development department.  The other is George Moreno, a senior electrical inspector.  Both resigned last November after the city took steps to fire them after investigating a complaint they accepted bribes from contractors in exchange for approving work they did not inspect.

A message from Janet Ahmad: Nations 7th Largest City and Largest Homebuilder Pulte-Centex Take Lots of Heat as Builder Buys Back Houses

Contractors Help Scammed Woman
Some local contractors are volunteering their services to help a woman who needs a rehabilitation room built for her son who was hit by a car. Salinas said that she paid Estrada nearly $30,000 from money she had saved and raised from a benefit barbecue. But Estrada never finished the job, Salinas said... Roger Delgado of Turdminator Plumbing, who was one of the first contractors to lend a helping hand, said that he found fitting joints unglued that wouldn't have passed inspection.