HomeLatest NewsFeatured HomebuildersHome Buyer ResourcesBinding ArbitrationResource LinksSubmit ComplaintsView ComplaintsTake Action 101!Report Mortgage FraudMortgage Fraud NewsForeclosure NewsConstruction DefectsHome DefectsPhoto GalleryFoundation ProblemsHomeowner Website LinksHOA Reform
Main Menu
Home
Latest News
Featured Homebuilders
Home Buyer Resources
Binding Arbitration
Resource Links
Submit Complaints
View Complaints
Take Action 101!
Report Mortgage Fraud
Mortgage Fraud News
Foreclosure News
Construction Defects
Home Defects
Photo Gallery
Foundation Problems
Homeowner Website Links
HOA Reform
Featured Topics
Builder Death Spiral
Report Mortgage Fraud
Foreclosure Special Report
Mold & New Home Guide
Special News Reports
Centex & Habitability
How Fast Can They Build Them?
TRCC Editorial
Texas TRCC Scandal
Texas Watch - Tell Lawmakers
TRCC Recommendations
Sandra Bullock
People's Lawyer
Prevent Nightmare Homes
Choice Homes
Smart Money
Weekly Update Message
HOBB Archives
About HOBB
Contact Us
Fair Use Notice
Legislative Work
Your House

 HOBB News Alerts
and Updates

Click Here to Subscribe

Support HOBB - Become a Sustaining Member
Who's Online
ABC Special Report
Investigation: New Home Heartbreak
Trump - NAHB Homebuilders Shoddy Construction and Forced Arbitration
Home Owners for Better Building call on HUD Secretay Julian Csstro To Enforce Federal Codes
Saturday, 04 October 2014

Local homeowners call on Julian Castro to overhaul HUD
The Mirasol homes were built using HUD money, and homeowners said if builders had followed HUD's federal building guidelines, the builders would have avoided lawsuits and the wasted, taxpayer money.

Local homeowners call on Julian Castro to overhaul HUD
Joe Conger, KENS 5

    SAN ANTONIO -- With dilapidated and boarded-up homes as a backdrop, a local group is pushing for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro to overhaul how HUD handles its home building.

The group Homeowners for Better Building, or HOBB, said Castro has first-hand knowledge of what happens when HUD homes fail— and they cite the Mirasol development as an example.

Many of the homes along Precious Street are still vacant and boarded up—more than a decade after being built for the San Antonio Housing Authority for low-income homeowners Some of the owners began complaining that their houses began falling apart within weeks of moving in.

The companies that built the homes finally agreed to pay homeowners and SAHA $20 million dollars to settle claims over poor or substandard construction.

The Mirasol homes were built using HUD money, and homeowners said if builders had followed HUD's federal building guidelines, the builders would have avoided lawsuits and the wasted, taxpayer money.

Jennifer Hartman, former mayor of Cibolo, TX. says shortcuts in construction can lead to declining home and community values. (Photo: Jason Eggleston)

Angry homeowners want newly-appointed Castro to reverse HUD's legacy by calling for enforcement of HUD guidelines.

"We're not an isolated community. They are all over: San Antonio, Austin. We've been all around and heard it all across the U.S. these issues are going on. I can't point out one builder because it goes on for multiple builders," said Jennifer Hartman.

Hartman is the former mayor of Cibolo, Texas, and has been dealing with what she calls a "lemon" home for more than a decade. She, along with HOBB, have gone to Austin to ask lawmakers for homeowner-friendly laws that go beyond "contract arbitration."

In 2012, HUD officials wrote Texas U.S. Senator John Cornyn, telling him and his constituents that arbitration was the solution to homeowners' problems, not HUD enforcement of its own policy.

"Builders throw up houses overnight, with a disregard for HUD guidelines. The common practice is to submit falsified federal certifications in processing FHA and VA loans. It's a tragedy yet to be understood by home buyers," said Janet Ahmad, President of Homeowners for Better Building.

 http://www.kens5.com/story/news/local/texas/2014/10/03/local-homeowners-call-on-julian-castro-to-overhaul-hud/16673107/

 

 

 

 
< Prev   Next >

 Texas, First Home Lemon Law Debated in the Nation
Homebuyers Need a Home Lemon Law

Search HOBB.org

Reckless Endangerment
BY: GRETCHEN MORGENSON
and JOSHUA ROSNER

Outsized Ambition, Greed and
Corruption Led to
Economic Armageddon


Amazon
Barnes & Noble

 Feature
Rise and Fall of Predatory Lending and Housing

NY Times: Building Flawed American Dreams 
Read CATO Institute: 
HUD Scandals

Listen to NPR:
Reckless Endangerman
by
Gretchen Morgenson : How 'Reckless' Greed Contributed
to Financial Crisis - Fannie Mae

NPR Special Report
Part I Listen Now
Perry Home - No Warranty 
Part II Listen Now
Texas Favors Builders

Washington Post
The housing bubble, in four chapters
BusinessWeek Special Reports
Bonfire of the Builders
Homebuilders helped fuel the housing crisis
Housing: That Sinking Feeling

Texas Regulates Homebuyers
 
Texas Comptroller Condemns TRCC Builder Protection Agency
TRCC is the punishment phase of homeownership in Texas

Consumer Affairs Builder Complaints

 TRCC Implosion
 TRCC Shut Down
 Sunset Report

IS YOUR STATE NEXT?
As Goes Texas So Goes the Nation
Knowledge and Financial Responsibility are still Optional for Texas Home Builders

OUTSTANDING FOX4 REPORT
TRCC from Bad to Worse
Case of the Crooked House

TRCC AN ARRESTING EXPERIENCE
The Pat and Bob Egert Building & TRCC Experience 

Build it right the first time
An interview with Janet Ahmad

 Give Me Back My Rights Campaign
Model State Arbitration Legislation
Fair Homebuyer Contract Model

Bad Binding Arbitration Experience?
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call 1-210-402-6800

 Texas Homebuilder
Bob Perry Political Contributions

  The Agency Bob Perry Built
 TRCC Connection News
Tort Reform

NPR Interview - Perry's
Political influence movement.
Click to listen 

Pulte Homeowner Survey
Warranty & Mortgage Experience
 Click to participate

 Feature: Mother Jones Magazine
Are you Next?
People Magazine - Jordan Fogal fights back
Because of construction defects Jordan’s Tremont Home is uninhabitable
http://www.tremonthomehorrors.com/
You could be the next victim
Interview with Award Winning Author Jordan Fogal

top of page

© 2024 HomeOwners for Better Building
Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.