Chico homebuilder pleads guilty, faces up to 20 years in prison
A Chico homebuilder faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to federal charges linking him to a mortgage fraud scheme. Tony Symmes, the owner of Aspire Homes, admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of money laundering.

OH NO!  Too Perverse to Fail
HR 5409, the Residential Construction Lending Act. Sponsors: Brad Miller, D-N.C., Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, and Joe Baca, D-CA. NAHB lobbies for govt guarantee of development loans, (i.e. taxpayer guaranteed?). Already, we have a mortgage-interest-tax deduction, the recent home-buyer tax credits, mortgage-modification programs, the $100 billion-plus bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Fed's $1.25 trillion purchases of mortgage-backed securities.  Google: Home Builder Fraud for more...

Can County Get Ventura Heights Out Of Lien Times?
Judge Wolff said the Texas Legislature prevented counties from truly holding developers accountable for shoddy infrastructure, but strongly suggested the commissioner's court find a new solution to the residents' plight, which he considered a matter of public safety... In the case of Ventura Heights, the developer, Obra Homes, failed to build the subdivision's roads in compliance with county specifications,

Neighborhood Wants County To Fix Roads
Ventura Heights homeowners did not have to pay extra for the jagged potholes near the entrance to their subdivision or the separation in the street, or the pavement crumbling away for curbs and sidewalks. "It's been bad for years," said homeowner Tamarand Darling. "It's been bad for years. I've already had to replace my tires several times." ...Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff agreed residents should not have to pay for the street repairs.  Beginning next week, a committee will begin looking at ways to fix the problem and not just in Ventura Heights. A county engineer estimates there are 77 miles of substandard streets put in by developers in many other Bexar County subdivisions.

No map yet to road-fix solution
The distraught homeowners of Ventura Heights, a middle-class subdivision in Northeast Bexar County, found a sympathetic ear Tuesday at Commissioners Court... Commissioners Paul Elizondo... said they were concerned about setting a precedent because so many other neighborhoods have similar problems.  If Bexar County started paying to fix roads in Ventura Heights, it would open a “Pandora's box” throughout the county, where there's 77 miles of streets in similar, though perhaps less drastic, condition, Elizondo said.

Ventura Heights families take to the streets for better pavement
The streets in their neighborhood are so bad, they don't even comply with county standards. Yet homeowners in Ventura Heights are being told if they want their streets fixed, they'll have to pay out of their own pockets.

Don't stick taxpayers with subdivision costs
County officials say this is not an isolated case. County Engineer Renee Green told the Express-News there are more than 60 other developments outside the city limits with streets in disrepair that are not eligible for county maintenance because they never met Bexar specifications.

Bank ombud can’t help with complaints about building The Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) will not be able to help you with complaints against your bank about shoddy construction work when you build a home.  In 2005, complaints about mortgage bonds ranked highest on the list of files opened at the OBS (791 files or 19 percent of the total), Melville says.  So far this year, he says his office has opened 2,493 complaint files, of which 420 (or 17 percent) relate to mortgage bond finance.

CATO Institute: Downsizing The Federal Government - Department of Housing and Urban Development
The Department of Housing and Urban Development engages in a range of housing and community activities that used to be the responsibility of local governments and the private sector. Its public housing subsidies, rental aid, and housing finance activities have proven to be damaging to the economy. The department's poor management and misguided policies have also led to numerous scandals..."[The Department of] Housing and Urban Development has done an enormous amount of harm. My god, if you think of the way in which they have destroyed parts of cities under the rubric of eliminating slums . . . there have been many more dwelling units torn down in the name of public housing than have been built."  - Milton Friedman, Interview, Hoover Institution, February 10, 1999.  Read CATO Institute HUD Scandals,  Who Is Guarding The HUD Guards?      Read more...