Homeowner: TRCC solves builder's problems, not consumer issues
“The builders never come back to do the work. For five and a half years I've been going through hell,” said Dorina Corrente, homeowner. Corrente says for the last five and a half years, she’s had cracking walls, windows and floors. She also has a problem with mold. “The doctor forbids me to stay in this house because of the mold,” Corrente said. She claims she should have had some recourse through the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), but has not got the help she needed.

Homeowner: TRCC solves builder's problems, not consumer issues
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
By Brad Woodard / 11 News
HOUSTON –Buying a home is the biggest investment most people will ever make, but what happens if beneath the façade the house starts to fall apart?                                                            Shaky Brick Wall       
           See Video Report   

“The builders never come back to do the work. For five and a half years I've been going through hell,” said Dorina Corrente, homeowner.  

Corrente says for the last five and a half years, she’s hng walls, windows and floors. She also has a problem with mold.

“The doctor forbids me to stay in this house because of the mold,” Corrente said.

Corrente says she bought the home new, but has been at odds with the builder ever since.  

She claims she should have had some recourse through the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), but has not got the help she needed.

The TRCC was formed six years ago by the State Legislature for the purpose of regulating the home building industry and providing consumer protection for new home buyers.

“The TRCC doesn't know what they're doing. They favor the builder. They get money for the builder,” Corrente said.

Corrente isn’t the only one frustrated with the TRCC. John Cobarruvias, the head of the Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, claims the problems are ongoing.

“It was supposed to give us an easy, quick and inexpensive way to resolve a defect with a builder. It became so complicated and so costly that you need an attorney to work the process,” said Cobarruvias.

Cobarruvias also claims the TRCC was designed by builders to solve builders’ problems, and not the consumer issues. 

“They fooled us. They fooled everyone in 2003 to think this was good for the consumers. It's like Osama Bin Laden saying this is good for Homeland Security. You can't trust them,” Cobarruvias said.

Apparently state lawmakers agree.  They recently voted to abolish the TRCC after the Sunset Commission concluded it was nothing more than a builder protection agency, with fundamental flaws that do more harm than good. 

The Texas Association of Builders (TAB) doesn’t agree. They say that if the TRCC is eliminated the real losers will be the consumers who will now have nowhere to turn.

“Gone will be the mandatory warranties and building and performance standards that new homes must meet,” said TAB Executive Director Scott Norman. “With the regulatory structure over builders eliminated, no mechanism will prohibit bad actors from entering or staying in the homebuilding industry.”
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Video Report: http://www.khou.com/video/index.html?nvid=365827&shu=1