Sep
6 2002 Editorial: Housing debacle warrants scrutiny San Antonio Express-News
The
contractor for the project is Magi Realty. Its subcontractor is
KB
Homes, a major homebuilder that has said it will take care of the problems.
.... But they were supposed to replace aging, dilapidated public housing.
Given the state of things less than a year after their construction, it
won't take long for the new homes to achieve that aging and dilapidated
look.
Aug 30 2002 And
even MORE on KB Homes! SAHA slates hearing on Mirasol Homes By
Ron Wilson San Antonio Express-News Problems at the $50 million single-family-homes
development were detailed Aug. 12 in a San Antonio Express-News story [Fault
found with housing project] that told of houses without back doors
or windows, falling cabinets, broken doors and listing porch beams and
a contaminated landfill that apparently escaped the notice of planners.
Aug
30 2002 KB Homes in the news. Again. Arlington:
Builder sues over explosive Woman says she found old bomb near home;
suit says it was planted By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning
News. "Ms. Lewis, a plaintiff in one of the homeowners' lawsuits, said
that before KB Home filed suit against her, company officials tried to
persuade her to sign an affidavit swearing that she helped plant the bomb
on Jan. 26 and that she has never found any of the practice bombs on her
property or anywhere else in the subdivision. She said company officials
told her that if she signed the affidavit, they would buy her $150,000
house back at about a $30,000 profit."
June 22, 2001 $10
million suit claims damage to homes from mold in Patterson
By MICHAEL MELLO BEE STAFF WRITER PATTERSON -- Eighty-six residents
are suing KBHomes, alleging that shoddy construction left homes
susceptible to water seepage and mold contamination......The lawsuit is
being drafted one year after Heartland Ranch homeowners complained to the
City Council that repairs already had dragged on for two years or more.
NOTE:
Yet another example for the need of a lemon law.
June 7, 2001 KBHomes
Homeowners Take Complaints to Former HUD Secretary, Henry Cisneros. "According
to Seaman, the company is not currently under investigation in relation
to to this group of homeowner's concerns. " See Related Story:
June 1, 2001 Soggy-subdivision
probe digs into approval data By Adolfo Pesquera
Express-News Business Writer KB Home's troubled Northampton
development has become the target of a federal investigation amid allegations
that the developer-homebuilder may have falsified information to obtain
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approval.
June 1, 2001 Soggy-subdivision
probe digs into approval data By Adolfo Pesquera
Express-News Business Writer KB Home's troubled Northampton
development has become the target of a federal investigation amid allegations
that the developer-homebuilder may have falsified information to obtain
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approval.
See Also:
June 1, 2001 Letter to Texas Senator
Phil Gramm from the Veteran's Administration concerning the North
Hampton Subdivision.
June1 2001 Letter from the TNRCC (PDF Format)
concerning the North Hampton Subdivision to Jaent Ahmad, HomeOwners for
Better Building. Page 1, Page
2, Page 3.
May 26, 2001 KBHomes
in the news again. Eyewitness News Wants to Know. You can see the
video clip concerning a KB Honeowner in San Antonio, TX. The owner asked
to invoke a Lemon Law and requested his home to be bought back. KB's
statement said the situation has been resolved. Was the home bought back
or repaired? We will find out. [Requires Real Media.]
May 4, 2001
Added to the KBHomes page: Lago
Vista Subdivision disclosure statement to potential new homeowners.
"You
hereby agree to release Kaufman and Broad from any claims, action, causes
of action, personal injury, death or property losses related to the quality
of drinking water in Lago Vista."
May 1, 2001 San Antonio Lightning: Affordable
Housing At What Price? By Janet Ahmad President HomeOwners for Better
Building. "You agree and acknowledge that Kaufman and Broad is not responsible
or liable for any environmental conditions at Lago Vista that are the result
of the environmental contamination at Kelly AFB, including but not limited
to the polluted groundwater. " ---Lago Vista Disclaimer.
May 1, 2001 San Antonio Lightning: (Satire) Henry
Cisneros Proudly Presents
Canal De Amor.
[Henry Cisneros of KBHomes] Presenting the newest in home development...an
affordable, probably non-toxic, housing community for the San Antonio market!
April 22, 2001 Eroding trust. New home buyers vent frustrations at
builder [KBHOMES]
By Ian McCannThe Dallas Morning News. "One of the
biggest problems, homeowners said, is poor customer service."
WFAA CH 8 News Dallas: KBHomes Homeowners take their complaints to the
Frisco City council. The Proposed Texas Home Lemon Law is mentioned. You
can view the news on April 16 and April 17at:
April 17, 2001 K&B in the news again in Dallas: Homeowners
Speak Out Against Builder FRISCO ó Dozens of angry homeowners
in Frisco are calling for the city to take action against their builder,
KB Home. ... Meanwhile, a homebuyerís lemon law is being considered by
state lawmakers in Austin.
April 17, 2001 Quote of the day: "Any time we get a
complaint or work order from a home we address it in a timely fashion,"
said David Christian, with K-B Home." Homeowners
Accuse Builder of Shoddy Work Reporter: Brett
Shipp
April 07, 2001 Kaufman and Broad (KBhomes) homeowners shut down
an open house in San Antonio using the only tool available to them. Picketing.
This
is called the Texas 2 by 4.
Feb 12, 2001 Added to the Kaufman Page: Prospective Homebuyers,
Protesters Mix At Grand Opening Kaufman
& Broad Subdivision Scene Of Homeowner Protest (KSAT-TV San Antonio,
TX
"Along with prospective buyers for the newly built houses in the city's
South Side, protesters arrived to air dissatisfactions with their own Kaufman
& Broad homes located elsewhere in the city. Homeowners from the Northhampton
subdivision in the city's Northeast Side have filed complaints with
the builder, alleging shoddy workmanship. "
Feb 10, 2001 Added a link to the Link Pageto
the
Federal
Trade Commision complaint form. Take 5 minutes of your time and submit
a complaint about your builder. This will help in the long run.
Jan 18, 2001: Posted to the the Kaufman and Broad (KB Homes) page:
"Los
Angeles-based Kaufman and Broad announced Wednesday it is changing its
name to KB Homes.
We think itís great that our company has established
such trust and familiarity with our customers that they recognize
us by this shorter, friendlier name," company Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Bruce Karatz said recently. "The name KB Home is a warm way
to reflect what we offer." Warmly reflect on the Kaufman
Page.
Jan 12, 2001: Posted to the Mold and
Kaufman
& Broad Page: Mold
Forces Families Out Of Homes. Families Demand Answers From Home Builders
The Flanigans were among a group of about a dozen residents of a Kaufman
& Broad housing tract in Dixon who picketed a company sales office
Sunday on Christine Drive in Vacaville. They all expressed deep concerns
about moisture penetration on the foundations of their Dixon homes that
has led, they say, to family illnesses and damage to their $200,000-plus
structures.
Dec 22, 2000 Posted
AnotherNorth
Hampton Subdivision draft buyout!. See Kaufman
and Broad looks at buying out homeowners for background information.
"K
& B will purchase your home for your original purchase price and the
value of the improvements listed below....."
Oct 29, 2000
North Hampton Subdivision pickets.
See Kaufman
and Broad looks at buying out homeowners for background information.
Oct 26, 2000
American
Homebuyers Protection Act. Sponsor: Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. Prohibits
a person engaged in the construction of new homes from: (1) requiring a
home purchaser to enter into a mandatory arbitration agreement as a condition
precedent to entering into a purchase contract; and (2) offering a home
purchaser a contract which includes a mandatory arbitration agreement unless
such agreement is a separate agreement.
Oct 26, 2000
Added to Builders in the NewsAC
placement fuels hot fight [San Antonio, TX] By David Anthony
Richelieu Express-News Staff Writer. The City Council is expected to resolve
a dispute today over whether the stacking of air conditioning units over
electric hot water heaters should be allowed to continue in new homes and
apartments.
"....the city has a moral obligation to change a potentially dangerous
practice, adding that it was only a matter of time before a water heater
short circuit would trigger a larger fire and put people's lives at risk."
Press Release HomeOwners for Better Building.
Oct 18, 2000 Added to Builders in the News
Federal Trade Commission, June 1991: KAUFMAN
AND BROAD HOME CORPORATION AGREES TO SETTLE FTC CHARGES BY PAYING A $595,000
CIVIL PENALTY "The Federal Trade Commission announced today that Kaufman
and Broad Home Corporation (K&BHC) of Los Angeles, a homebuilder, has
agreed to settle charges that it violated a 1979 FTC order by failing to
make warranty repairs in a timely manner."
