Organizing your community to bring public attention to builder’s bad deeds and seeking assistance from local, state and federal elected officials has proven to be more effective and much quicker for thousands of families. You do have choices and alternatives. Janet Ahmad
January 21, 1979 “….for too many Americans, the dream home has turned into a nightmare. You know as well as I do that as families move into their own little Garden of Eden, more and more are finding the apple full of worms. As a result, some homebuyers believe they are being bilked for thousands of dollars, and they are expressing not only anguish but outrage. Shoddy building practices can be concealed from many purchasers who cannot be expected to have the technical expertise to evaluate the structural soundness of a home or the quality of electrical, plumbing, or air conditioning systems…The patience of the American consumer is rapidly running out. …Consumers are demanding more protection from the government, not LESS. The consumer movement is no longer made up of small bands of activists with no troops standing behind them; the consumer movement is now part of our culture – it embraces every one of us. And it will not be denied over an issue so fundamental as decent housing…
Legislative Work
Monday, 02 January 2006
Public Citizen Letter from a Coalition of Homeowners Organizations Urging Opposition to H.R. 2366, the Small Business Liability Reform Act. United States Senate, Washington, D.C. Bill failed.
TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING HB 3404Representative Jessica Farrar Relating to the regulation of and claims against residential home builders. CONTACT: If you can attend or wish to testify -
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Express News: TRCC faces reform Builders commision could face reforms Authored by state Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, House Bill 3404 contains provisions that, if passed, would give homeowners some relief in the state-administered dispute resolution process that critics charge is dominated by the construction industry... "One big concern of mine is that consumer rights are diminished in the current statute," Farrar said. "It is ridiculous that this statute actually regulates consumers (on behalf of) the home building industry."
Byron Harris WFAA News8 Homebuilder Reform Consumers want homebuilder reforms "The TRCC was not created to help the consumers," consumer advocate John Cobarruvias said. "It was created for the builders; it was created by the builders." ...State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, has filed a bill that would erase the fee the commission charges consumers to enter complaint resolution, increase builders' registration fees to $500 and require all builders to participate in the Texas Star Builder process to improve quality... There are now more than 18,000 builders registered to construct homes in Texas. The TRCC has denied just eight applications. Video:Byron Harris reports
Texas State Affairs Hearing - TRCC Flawed State Affairs House Committee to regulate homebuilders Broadcasts of Live Coverage State Affairshearing on HB3404 –4/18/05 Advance to 4:52. Of the 502 complaints officially filed with TRCC over the past 15 months – 206 filed for SIRP the dispute esolution however, only 137 were eligible. 365 could not use TRCC if they wanted to. Based on these figures clearly, TRCC is a $2.5 Million state agency that selectively serves a very small portion of the home buying public stuck with defective homes.
State Affair Hearing - Written Testimony Statements and Letters... from those that could not attend the House State Affairs Public Hearing Monday April 18, 2005.
Lawyer Scott Sullan supports Amend. 34, which would lift limits on builders' liability Christine Tatum DenverPost Staff Writer Sunday, September 26, 2004 "Greedy," "rabid" and "scum-sucker" are among the nicest words they use to describe Sullan, perhaps the lawyer most despised by the state's building industry. He is the man hundreds of Colorado home and business owners called last year alone when roofs collapsed, basements flooded or foundations cracked, and they couldn't get the companies responsible for the work to fix them… Sullan's legal brawls are spilling from the courtroom onto the Nov. 2 Colorado ballot. Voters will be asked to decide the fate of proposed Amendment 34. That measure would lift some limits on the money property owners can collect in lawsuits against builders. It would also prohibit state lawmakers from capping some damage awards - a power they wielded last year over Sullan's protests with the passage of the bitterly contested House Bill 1161.
MASSACHUSETT CONSIDERING A HOME LEMON LAW! ( Public )
Saturday, 05 May 2001
Lemon law sought for home buyers By Walter V. Robinson and Michael Rezendes, Globe Staff, 5/5/2001. "In a proposal that could lead to a national precedent, the state's top consumer official said yesterday that new home buyers should have the same protections the Massachusetts ''lemon'' law provides for new car buyers, who can get their money back if serious flaws go unrepaired." READ MORE
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