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HOBB Weekly Updat Message
Sunday, 28 January 2007

A message from Janet Ahmad - A Special Announcement

A message from Janet Ahmad
Special Announcement
HOBB & Other Consumer Groups Form Coalition   
 A coalition of consumer groups called on the Legislature on Tuesday to come to the aid of homeowners paying exorbitant insurance rates and those fighting a losing battle with their builders before a state agency that is supposed to mediate such disputes... "The TRCC is actually little more than a barrier protecting the building industry by preventing homeowners from taking legitimate legal action against incompetent and unscrupulous builders," he said, noting homeowners are forbidden to take legal action until they have completed a dispute resolution process at the agency "that is stacked decisively against the homeowner and in favor of the builder."                         
                     
                          Jeff Brook of TexPIRG and Alex Winslow Texas Watch 
                               give details of legislative issues Read more...
                    
             
                            Bridget Butler tell of dreadful TRCC and home buying experience 
                                                  See: The Bridget Butler Story
                                                                                              
                                                           See More Photos
Together we have and will continue to make a difference!  Help us to help you. 
 Please take a few minutes to post your comments on the H O B B   F o r u m  and write you elected officials.  Your participation is vital.

Thank you,
Janet Ahmad, PresidentHome Owners for Better Building
 **********************************************************************
NEWS UPDATES:

Signs point to mounting problems over builder loan deals
Lender seeks to allay concern
Though Coast Bank officials are downplaying the financial turmoil brought to their business by a floundering Southwest Florida home builder, there are strong indications that the problems will grow in coming weeks. Most of the $110 million in troubled construction loans that Coast has on its books were made to out-of-state investors -- people more likely to walk away from their obligations to the bank. The fear for Coast's future was bolstered late Wednesday when the bank announced that it had hired Sander O'Neill & Partners, a New York-based investment bank, to review the company's options. Read more...

Contractors pleaded guilty
NY contractors admit stealing workers' wages
 Three construction companies and their owners have pleaded guilty to failing to pay more than 400 workers about $6.5 million in wages, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office said Friday. The companies, along with their owners, must pay a total of $9.5 million in fines and restitution. Authorities say the three involved companies are 4-A General Construction Corp., SNA General Construction Corp. and SSN General Construction Corp. All are based in New York City.

Authority inspects KB Homes
SAHA inspects one of its homes on Precious Drive
The San Antonio Housing Authority has come under fire for renting homes some would call "shoddy." The homes at 36th and West Commerce streets have cracking foundations and walls. SAHA is now investigating claims that the homes along Precious Drive are defective. HUD/KB program,  More photos: Repairs
 Read more...


Fraudulent Contractors in Florida
Name change should foil fraudulent contractors
Since July 1, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation has received 791 complaints about unlicensed construction activity. "It's been a problem for years," said Richard Hickok, executive director of the Constructions Trade Quality Board for the city of Jacksonville. Hickok said properly licensed contractors must post bonds so consumers can seek compensation for shoddy work. Read more...

Jail Opponents Protect Drees Homebuilder
Jail opponents hound Drees
A leading opponent of a proposed Kenton County jail near Independence says a protest Saturday will be just the start of a campaign against county Judge-executive Ralph Drees. Independence lawyer Eric Deters said he plans a public-relations battle against Drees Homes, where Drees is chairman of the board of the home-builder. Also next week, "we'll go out to every single market where Drees builds homes - Dallas, Virginia, North Carolina, you name it, wherever Drees builds homes - all the TV media are going to get a press release and a package from me, indicating what he's done as the judge-executive of this community to the group of homeowners," Deters said. Read more...

Special Interest Money - Texas in Sad Shape
Texas faces obvious problems that the 80th Lege should fix. It probably won't
On the frigid day in Texas that Rick Perry was sworn in for the term that will make him our longest-serving governor, one in five Texas children did not have health insurance...Tom Craddick won his third term as House speaker after fighting back an insurgent challenge to his leadership fueled in part by growing disgust over the undue influence of rich campaign contributors, whose largesse has been rewarded with limits on lawsuits and protections for homebuilders. The flow of money continues to course unchecked through Texas politics...Most recently, in the 2005-2006 election cycle, Leininger gave more than $5 million to Texas candidates. He’s not the only one. Republican home builder Bob Perry—the biggest political donor in the state and nation—gave $6.7 million to Texas candidates and political action committees, according to campaign watchdog Texans for Public Justice. Read more...

KB Stock Probe Scandal Continues
Regulators to probe KB Home in stock matter
KB Home, which last year ousted chief executive Bruce Karatz over how he granted himself and other executives lucrative stock options, today said that federal regulators have opened a formal investigation into the matter. The Los Angeles-based home builder, in a brief government filing, said that the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a probe into the process KB Home used to grant stock options. "The company has cooperated with the SEC regarding this matter and intends to continue to do so," KB Home said in the filing. Shares of KB Home sank a $1.31, a 2.51% drop, to $50.81 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Read more...

KB Stock Options Scandal Continues
AP Wire: SEC Investigating KB Home Stock Options
Homebuilder KB Home said Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a formal investigation into its stock option granting practices. In a regulatory filing, the company said it was cooperating with the SEC probe. Last August, KB Home, which is headquartered in Los Angeles, received an informal inquiry from the SEC relating to its option practices. Read more...

Mortgage Fraud Perfected 
Convicted con artist shows how system flaws could allow him to steal your home
A one-time millionaire with a house on a golf course, Barber was sentenced in October to 12 years in prison for masterminding the largest mortgage fraud ever prosecuted in Missouri, and most other states too, the FBI says. He pleaded guilty to a five-year scam that involved nearly 300 properties in Kansas City, Mo., and victimized more than 80 people. Nationally, mortgage fraud has spread in the past few years, with losses totaling around $1 billion last year, the FBI says. The real estate boom, along with looser lending standards, built an ideal breeding ground for smooth-talking con artists like Barber. Read more...

Home Builder Killed
Home builder found shot dead

“Tony” Ippolito was an active member of the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia and formerly served on its board of directors, according to Earl McLeod, the executive director. The body of Anthony Francis Ippolito, 65, of Laurel Branch Way was found facedown under shrubbery near the edge of the parking lot of Lexington Partners Inc. about 8:51 a.m., the release said. Read more...

Beazer tries to cheat
Building Delays
Brante Sampey just moved his family into a brand new Beazer home right before the New Year. He says, "When walking through, we realized many things missing like a tray ceiling that we paid for and the entire bath was pieced together and it's incomplete." Brante's master bathroom had no shower door, temporary sinks and counter tops. He says he was told at closing it would be installed with-in a few days, but that got delayed.  Read more...

Houston - $40 M Mortgage Fraud
Eight indicted in mortgage cases
Eight Houston-area individuals, from real estate agents to loan officers, have been indicted in connection with alleged mortgage fraud that entangled 300 homes worth more than $40 million, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Mortgage fraud has become so prevalent in the Houston area that the FBI's Houston division has formed a unit dedicated solely to fighting mortgage fraud. Texas ranks seventh in the nation for loans that involved fraud, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, and Houston ranks third in serious early loan defaults. Read more...

Consumer Coalition - Homebuyer Protection & Homeowners Insurance
Dallas Morning News - Coalition: Insurance relief hasn't come 
 A coalition of consumer groups called on the Legislature on Tuesday to come to the aid of homeowners paying exorbitant insurance rates and those fighting a losing battle with their builders before a state agency that is supposed to mediate such disputes... "The TRCC is actually little more than a barrier protecting the building industry by preventing homeowners from taking legitimate legal action against incompetent and unscrupulous builders," he said, noting homeowners are forbidden to take legal action until they have completed a dispute resolution process at the agency "that is stacked decisively against the homeowner and in favor of the builder." Read more

 
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