Mayor: Some homes "need" to be re-purchased
"I wouldn’t want to live in one of those houses either.  If I was out there I’d probably be right there in the middle of the group. …Absolutely some of them need to be repurchased…"
The mayor of Schertz said some homes in the Fairhaven neighborhood "need" to be bought back. "Some of them need to be re-purchased. ...I don't know how severe the problems are in all of those houses," Mayor Hal Baldwin said...  About 60 homeowners have complained about problems with their foundations, and they want the builder, Pulte Homes, to buy back their houses. Several said they had tried to get information from the city and Pulte about inspections or plans in the neighborhood, but were unable to get any answers.

SCHERTZ, Texas - The mayor of Schertz said some homes in the Fairhaven neighborhood "need" to be bought back.

"I don't know that I support the buy back efforts. Some of them need to be re-purchased. Some could live with repairs. I don't know. I don't know how severe the problems are in all of those houses," Mayor Hal Baldwin said. 

He said he had been out in the Fairhaven area, but had not been inside any of the homes. He wouldn't provide a number of how many homes he believes could be bought back, but said he was talking about homes with severe issues.

About 60 homeowners have complained about problems with their foundations, and they want the builder, Pulte Homes, to buy back their houses. A few dozen asked the Schertz City Council for help at their meeting Tuesday night. Several said they had tried to get information from the city and Pulte about inspections or plans in the neighborhood, but were unable to get any answers.

"I believe they (council members) have the ability to request all these documents, engineering plans, certifications, verifications that the walls are safe, whatever it may be they have the right to ask for," resident Bob Faust said.

"We can ask them but they're not beholden to give us the information. We've got our own documents that approve the subdivision that have the name of the engineer on the plat that signed off on the subdivision," Baldwin said.

The city provided News 4 WOAI the original plans the planning and zoning commission approved in 2004. A city spokesperson said two engineers hired by Pulte inspected the retaining wall and found it to be working correctly. However, the city did not have copies of any inspection report on file.

Some residents also want stricter builder regulations.

"Clearly, they can pass some type of legislation or ordinance to regulate home builders to keep them from doing this to other homeowners," resident Brian Benavides said.

A Pulte spokesperson has repeatedly said buy backs are not an option. The company is working with residents to fix any problems and the company is standing behind its homes.

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Mayor-Some-homes-need-to-be-re-purchased/aIw8pTf0vkSCKXOWlRnUKg.cspx