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
Home Buyer Resources
New Home Buyers Guide
Message to Homebuilders
Home Warranties
Links
HUD's Broken System
Homeowners Websites
Defective Products
Success Stories
Monday Morning Mold
Foreclosure Info
Contracts & Arbitration
Home Warranty FAQ
Inspections
Developers Clear Cut
Home Lemon Law - Archived News
JD Powers Results
TRCC in the News
Home Owner Complaints
Builder Complaints
Home Builder Complaints
Complaints
Register Your Builder Complaint
New Home Complaints
Blackstone Vs. Pulte
Pulte Nightmare Home
Pultegeist Nightmare
PulteNightmareHome
Inspections What Inspections?
New Home Inspections
KB Home Class Action

 HOBB News Alerts
and Updates

Click Here to Subscribe

Support HOBB - Become a Sustaining Member
Who's Online
We have 1 guest online
ABC Special Report
Investigation: New Home Heartbreak
Trump - NAHB Homebuilders Shoddy Construction and Forced Arbitration

 

Outrageous! Buy a New Home - Don’t Sue and Shut Up
Homebuilders will stop at nothing – Now Buyers must agree not to Speak
Beware of New Builder Clause – Homebuilder requires that homebuyer sign clauses forcing buyers to give up their constitutional rights.  It’s a decision between constitutional rights and the American Dream. 

SEE: KB Warranty Conditions - Sign A Shut Up Agreement or No Repairs
PLUS: It's Your Choice, Homebuilder Contracts - Hold Harmless  

IS YOUR STATE NEXT?
As Goes Texas So Goes the Nation 
TEXAS REGULATES HOMEBUYERS!
NEW HOMEBUYER LEGISLATION MAY BE COMING TO YOUR STATE SOON
!
How Texas Home Building Industry shaped the Texas Residential Construction
Commission (TRCC) and regulates new homebuyers

Mold and Home Lemon Law
Wednesday, 22 June 2005
Breaking the mold
One by one they stepped to the podium to tell stories of dreams shattered. Young and old, they had the same story to tell - and many fought back tears as they spoke.
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Saturday, June 30, 2001
Ty Meighan

Breaking the mold

AUSTIN - One by one they stepped to the podium to tell stories of dreams shattered. Young and old, they had the same story to tell - and many fought back tears as they spoke.
   They were homeowners from around the state, but many had been forced from their homes and into hotels or rent houses. Some had lived in their new homes just a few weeks, while others left homes they lived in for more than 30 years.
   In every case, a water problem caused mold to develop and families had to move because they were getting sick. Dozens of homeowners testified at a recent hearing in Austin held by the Texas Department of Insurance. The hearing was prompted by a proposal from some insurance companies to exclude mold coverage from homeowner policies.
   Most Texas homeowner policies currently include coverage for mold damage if it is caused by a covered loss such as a roof or plumbing leak.
   But insurers say the rising number of mold-related claims is driving up their costs and will lead to higher premiums for all homeowners. They want the Texas Department of Insurance to eliminate mold coverage from the standard policy. Homeowners who want mold coverage would have to pay extra. The problem for the insurance industry is that mold is usually the cause of an accident, such as a water leak, and protection against such misfortunes is why consumers have insurance.
   Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor said he needs more information and will hold hearings in Corpus Christi and Houston in the coming months. ''We need to increase our knowledge of what is happening,'' Montemayor said.
   What's happening is that mold problems are more widespread than some people expected - and this issue isn't just affecting the insurance industry.
   Many homeowners attribute their mold problems to homebuilders for faulty construction, air conditioning and plumbing leaks, careless building practices and defective materials. They want homebuilders held accountable for shoddy work.
   ''The real cause of (the mold) is a lack of regulation of the homebuilding industry,'' said Janet Ahmad, president of San Antonio-based Home Owners for Better Building.
   The homebuilding industry will be under increased scrutiny in upcoming months - and there are signs that state lawmakers will get more involved in this issue.
   State Rep. Gene Seaman, R-Corpus Christi, has requested that House Speaker Pete Laney name an interim study and that Montemayor create a task force to examine insurance coverage of mold.
   Also, representatives for the Home Owners for Better Building plan to meet with acting Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff to discuss interim committee hearings on mold, construction defects and a home lemon law.
   Home lemon law failed
   Lawmakers missed an opportunity to pass a home lemon law last session. Supporters say such a law would be similar to the automobile lemon law and would hold homebuilders accountable for shoddy practices. Increased attention on mold problems may provide fuel to the home lemon law efforts because lawmakers listen when their constituents' health is affected.
   ''Insurance companies shouldn't penalize families who are victims,'' Austin resident Dawn Richardson wrote in a June 25 letter to state lawmakers. ''They need to go after the problem: builders utilizing sloppy building practices and materials that predispose a home to mold problems.''
   Richardson said she was forced to move her family from their new home after just six weeks. Mold had developed from an air conditioner leak, which caused water to seep between walls and under floors.
   One thing is clear about this issue: more research is needed on the effects of mold and the reasons for the increasing number of complaints statewide. There's no question that people are getting sick.
   It's encouraging to see state lawmakers and other officials getting more involved in this issue. It is their duty to identify the problems and then take steps to remedy the situation.
   Ty Meighan is chief of the Scripps Howard Austin Bureau and can be reached at 512-334-6640 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 
< 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

Consumer Affairs Builder Complaints

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

Homebuilding Texas Style
And the walls came
tumblin' down

Discovery Home Channel
Holmes on Homes

Pulte Homeowner Survey
Warranty & Mortgage Experience
 Click to participate

Warranty?  What 25-Year-Warranty?
Warranty Scams that fool the public 25 years, 50, 100 or even a “Lifetime Warranty,” what’s the difference?

PROFITABLE DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS
 
Read More...

top of page

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