A message from Janet Ahmad- Home Builders Whining, While Texas Homeowners Gather to Lobby Legislators for Change

A message from Janet Ahmad
Home Builders Whining, While Texas Homeowners Gather to Lobby Legislators for Change

Home Builders whine as Florida Lawmakers get tougher on building codes.  Meanwhile, Washington State lawmakers seriously consider Senator Brian Weinstein’s “Homeowner's Bill of Rights."  Frustrated at the prospects of its passage, the Seattle-area building association officials repeatedly warned Habitat for Humanity to stop supporting the bill and to help kill it.  In Texas praise continued as yet another lawmaker; Representative Todd Smith filed a bill (HB 2008) intended to overhaul the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC).

The Washington Spokesman Review reported, what looked “like go-nowhere, campaign-fodder legislation – a ‘Homeowner's Bill of Rights’ – now looks like it actually has a chance of passing. More than half the state Senate, including Majority Leader Lisa Brown, has signed onto Weinstein's proposal to require transferable warranties of up to 10 years on new homes. Builders would be liable for all costs of repairing a defect.”

Attention: Attend the Texas Watch & HOBB Homebuilder TRCC Reform Lobby Day
Thursday, March 15^th
Lobby Your Legislators for Change
Help us make a difference this legislative session by attending a Citizen Lobby Day!  Citizen Lobby Days provide a unique opportunity to share your priorities with your lawmakers by visiting their Capitol offices in Austin .  Lunch will be provided for all attendees by Texas Watch Citizen Lobby Days.

We're happy to provide more detailed information to those who are interested.  Please RSVP if you'd like to attend by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 1-888-738-4226. 

Send Texas lawmakers a letter demanding that they stand up for Texas homeowners, once and for all.    It only takes a few minutes of your time to make a big difference. 

Together we have and will continue to make a difference!  Help us to help you by keeping in touch. Please take a few minutes to post your comments on the H O B B   F o r u m   and write your elected officials.  Your participation is vital.

Thank you,
Janet Ahmad, President
HomeOwners for Better Building
 **********************************************************************
NEWS UPDATES:

New homes create headaches for homeowners
Several homes in Williamson County have defects. Builder is making repairs, but homeowners say that's not enough Residents of the Legends of Hutto subdivision say some of their homes have cracks in the walls and other issues. Some of the families have had the problems fixed, but others are still waiting. Residents of the Legends of Hutto subdivision say some of their homes have cracks in the walls and other issues. Some of the families have had the problems fixed, but others are still waiting..."First they said it was the foundation, second defective trusses, and now it's only cosmetic," said Bourke's girlfriend, Conny Thibodeaux. Bourke's neighbor Eva Marie Cole and her sons stayed in a hotel for a week while repairs were made to their home. She said she had to hound the company to pay for the hotel upfront...Homeowners are "entitled to a home that's going to last," Ahmad said. "Believe me, this happens every day. The homeowners have to fight for everything they can get." Read more...

Washington State Legislator want guarantees for new-home buyers - "Homeowner's Bill of Rights"
Washington Legislature: Buyer-rights battle builds
Weinstein, a sometimes-abrasive Mercer Island lawyer who specialized in asbestos litigation, is in a bitter public clash with the powerful home-building industry. And what a few weeks ago looked like go-nowhere, campaign-fodder legislation – a "Homeowner's Bill of Rights" – now looks like it actually has a chance of passing. More than half the state Senate, including Majority Leader Lisa Brown, has signed onto Weinstein's proposal to require transferable warranties of up to 10 years on new homes. Builders would be liable for all costs of repairing a defect. Read more...

Effective Homeowner Website gets results - "Don't Do Drees"
Frustrated home buyers find spot to vent online
The Montville Township mortgage broker had been waging a one-man campaign against his home builder, Drees Homes of Fort Mitchell , Ky. , on the Internet since early this year. He criticized the builder's workmanship in the Ridgewood Falls subdivision and Drees' follow-up on complaints. After two years of dealing with Drees, he decided to make his complaints public with the Web site www.DontDoDrees.com. The message helped Hixenbaugh reach a settlement with Drees Homes. He said he planned to take his Web site down this week. Read more...  Related article:  Drees Homes "Warning" Website featured on Fox 8 in Cleveland, Ohio

Republican lawmaker's bill could gut Austin 's home-size ordinance
Seguin representative wants to limit cities' zoning restrictions
A state lawmaker has filed legislation challenging Austin 's ordinance outlawing new homes that loom over older ones in central neighborhoods. Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, said he developed the bill at the behest of Austin builders to get city officials talking about how the ordinance might be changed to better protect homeowners and landowners...Kuempel's proposed legislation, which would apply statewide, would restrict cities so they could enforce only one of three zoning limits: the percentage of a lot that may be occupied, the amount of impervious cover allowed on a lot or the floor-to-area ratio. Read more...

More KB Home Troubles - Liens filed against builder
Three contractors say KB Home must pay them $855,000
KB Home's first foray into Manatee County raised eyebrows last month when the company announced it would be selling the Willowbrook townhome community to a property management company in order to go rental. Three local subcontractors who worked on the project have filed eight liens against KB Home totaling $885,001. Turlington Custom Stucco & Plastering claims it is owed $852,096...Turlington was the first to file a claim of lien and has since tried to foreclose on that lien. On Friday, another company, Southeast Framing Inc., also filed to foreclose on its $11,944 lien. "I've never seen a situation where having $885,000 worth of liens on you is a good sign," Collier said. Read more...

Texas Curbing Mandatory Arbitration
Progress on Curbing Mandatory Arbitration in Texas
As predicted this year is shaping up to be one of the best in many years, for the restoration of consumer protection rights. The filing of a bill (HB1686) by Representative Ruth Jones McClendon of Texas last week has to rank as one of the most exciting news events thus far.The McClendon bill would effectively ban the use of binding mandatory arbitration (BMA) agreements in contracts for new homes as well as home repairs. Read more...

OUTSTANDING REPORT!    Once Again TRCC Powerless to Help
KVUE Defenders Look at Liens in Austin
An eye opening look at what can happen to the title on your home - if you're not paying attention. Could you have liens on your property that you don't know about? The builder of a popular Northwest Austin subdivision admits he owes tens of thousands of dollars in liens, that blanket his entire subdivision of about 80 homes. And several homeowners tell KVUE that's just the beginning of their concerns.  See Defenders Report

Pattern of Binding Mandatory Arbitration (BMA) - Builder Wins Again
Why? Question About Arbitration
After enduring the three day insidious arbitration process and three years of torment, my husband and I received our "Award of the Arbitrator” from the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"). (It takes thirty days for the arbitrator to make a ruling. Those days are referred to as post study. We were billed $1687.00 dollars, for her painstaking post study, for an already made-up mind.)...We are staring at this piece of paper issued because we were fraudulently induced to purchase a substandard, defective, $360,000 dollar, uninhabitable house. This award says: for our attempt to exercise our seventh amendment rights and for going before a judge for a hearing, on fraud because of fraud we are to pay the builders, Tremont/Stature, $14,597.50. We are to pay them because WE breached the contract. Read more...

Press Release: TexPIRG & Texas Watch Applaud Todd Smith HB 2008
Consumer Advocates Applaud Representative Todd Smith for filing House Bill 2008
House Bill 2008, authored by Representative Todd Smith (R-Bedford), would greatly assist homeowners by enacting critical and necessary reforms to the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), according to consumer groups. “In the four years that the TRCC has been operating, it has often been a hindrance rather than a help to Texas homeowners,” said Jeff Brooks , advocate for the Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG). “House Bill 2008 would go a long way towards transforming the TRCC into an agency which can best serve the needs of ordinary Texas citizens.” Read more...

Delaware Attorney General delivers Irresponsible Bad Builders Wrong Message
Major Problems Spur Complaints From Delaware Homeowner
Imagine buying a brand new home only to discover water seeping through the walls. A new homeowner in Delaware says he has that problem right now. From a leaky door to a leaky basement and possibly mold problems, Todd Bell is fed up and angry. He said there are cracks outside his new Camden home that allow water to seep under his floors and down his walls. Todd said he has called the developer about 60 times since moving in to fix the problems. Bell and his family have lived in the new home for about a year and two months, and he said the problems have been ongoing from the start... Officials with the Attorney General's Office say issues like Bell 's are often a civil matter between homeowners and developers. Read more...


Texas Rep. Smith Bill HB2008 would make TRCC Process Voluntary for Homeowners
Consumer Advocates Applaud Representative Todd Smith for filing House Bill 2008
House Bill 2008, authored by Representative Todd Smith (R-Bedford), would greatly assist homeowners by enacting critical and necessary reforms to the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), according to consumer groups.  A major complaint against the TRCC is that homeowners are required to go through its inspection and dispute resolution process before they can pursue legal action against an unscrupulous or incompetent builder. “In the four years that the TRCC has been operating, it has often been a hindrance rather than a help to Texas homeowners,” said Jeff Brooks , advocate for the Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG). “House Bill 2008 would go a long way towards transforming the TRCC into an agency which can best serve the needs of ordinary Texas citizens.” Read more...

Delaware Attorney General delivers Irresponsible Bad Builders Wrong Message
Major Problems Spur Complaints From Delaware Homeowner
Imagine buying a brand new home only to discover water seeping through the walls. A new homeowner in Delaware says he has that problem right now. From a leaky door to a leaky basement and possibly mold problems, Todd Bell is fed up and angry. He said there are cracks outside his new Camden home that allow water to seep under his floors and down his walls. Todd said he has called the developer about 60 times since moving in to fix the problems. Bell and his family have lived in the new home for about a year and two months, and he said the problems have been ongoing from the start... Officials with the Attorney General's Office say issues like Bell 's are often a civil matter between homeowners and developers. Read more...

Pulte Homes Lawsuit for mold and fraud
Couple site moldy home, fraud in suit vs. developer
Alexander Kaplan and his wife, Denise, are suing DiVosta Homes and VillageWalk of Bonita Springs Homeowners Association over numerous problems associated with a four-bedroom home on Scrub Jay Lane that they closed on in April 2006, but have never lived in due to the problems...Attorneys Christopher Burrows and Scott Grant, who represent DiVosta, referred calls to Beth Cocchiarella, a spokeswoman for DiVosta’s parent company Pulte Homes... A 2003 report by New York-based Insurance Information Institute estimated that more than 10,000 mold-related injury lawsuits were pending nationwide that year, a 300 percent increase since 1999. Read more...

Chicago Mortgage Fraud Scam
State sues mortgage companies in homeowners scam
Three Chicago businesses promised to rescue more than a dozen struggling homeowners since 2003, then scammed them out of tens of thousands of dollars in home equity, state Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.  The firms--Eyes Have Not Seen Inc.; Creative Financial Solutions; and Mutual Trust Funding, formerly known as Greater Investment Solutions--lured victims by offering to help make mortgage payments, according to the suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The companies then ran a scam that involved persuading the homeowners to put their homes in someone else's name, the lawsuit alleges. Read more...

Mortgage Scandal of Unfinished Homes
Lawyer's client list grows in Coast case
A Sarasota attorney is representing at least 100 clients who are ready to take on Coast Bank and the developer who left them saddled with mortgages on unfinished homes. Tannenbaum said he is planning a class action against CCI and the entities that packaged the real estate investment deals - including Seashore Resorts and American Mortgage Link. Read more...

Foreclosures & Scams Rising
New Jersey Cautioned About "Surplus Funds" Scams Amid Rising Foreclosure Filings
Some homeowners facing foreclosure are being subjected to scams that ultimately could cost them tens of thousands of dollars, Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Acting Consumer Affairs Director Stephen B. Nolan announced. As foreclosure filing rates are increasing nationally, scams targeting homeowners facing foreclosure are raising as well. These scams typically target “surplus funds” to which homeowners may be entitled if their homes are sold at a sheriff’s sale. Read more...

Builders Whine over building safe and better homes
Florida builders lobby for code reprieve
Florida's home building industry is pushing to delay tougher building codes, claiming hurricane protections sought by Gov. Charlie Crist and passed by the Legislature in January come too fast.  "While your efforts will bring forth reductions in property insurance rates, the very law that provides the relief has spawned an immediate, and minimum, $72 million negative impact on Florida's second largest economic engine the construction industry," wrote John Wiseman, president of the Florida Home Builders Association, in a letter asking Crist to issue an emergency order delaying the new building requirements. Read more...

Press Release: Texas Representative McClendon HB 1686
REP. MCCLENDON HOUSE BILL 1686 PROTECTS HOMEOWNERS FROM FRAUD
Her proposal, House Bill 1686, would protect homeowners, in particular senior citizens, by requiring most home remodeling and building contractors to register with the Texas Residential Construction Commission and be under its supervision. Under this proposal, homeowners who have a complaint could ask the Residential Construction Commission to take disciplinary action. The Commission would maintain a "recovery fund" that would provide some relief for certain types of damages, and could pursue criminal penalties against non-complying contractors. Read more...

Editorial: SAHA/KB Home Defective Housing Mess Continues
Editorial: To fix SAHA, hold leaders accountable
The tenants forced to do business with the housing authority because they cannot afford fair market rents deserve a more responsive and less cavalier attitude from housing management. The latest SAHA program to come under scrutiny is the lease-to-purchase program. Many of the problems are not new; they have been around for years. Calling for yet another investigation of SAHA practices is not going to solve the long, festering problems within this agency. The finger-pointing and blame game need to stop, and the top management team must be held accountable. Read more...

Denver Post- Builders often key players in high-risk game
Builders often key players in high-risk game
Carmen Pedrego said the builder assured her she could own a brand-new home for no more than her monthly rent. But when she came to the loan closing, a surprise awaited her. No one was in the room except a stranger from the title company. And after Pedrego signed a first mortgage loan, the agent produced a second mortgage. They totaled 64 percent of the single mother's take-home pay. Because she had already signed one contract, "I felt trapped, like I couldn't get out of it any more," Pedrego said. She signed the second and made two mortgage payments, she said, then filed for bankruptcy. This year, she became one of 11 homeowners in a small Greeley neighborhood who have lost new houses in foreclosure sales. Read more...

Janet Ahmad, PresidentHomeOwners for Better Building

210-402-6800