HomeLatest NewsFeatured HomebuildersHome Buyer ResourcesBinding ArbitrationResource LinksSubmit ComplaintsView ComplaintsTake Action 101!Report Mortgage FraudMortgage Fraud NewsForeclosure NewsConstruction DefectsHome DefectsPhoto GalleryFoundation ProblemsHomeowner Website LinksHOA Reform

HUD FEATURE
1981 - 2015 HUD's
Legacy of Scandals

HOBB-Over 1M visits monthly
Daily Visitors Over 37,000
 Highest Daily 70,723

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

 HOBB News Alerts
and Updates

Click Here to Subscribe

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

Property Rights Denied!
Protecting HOA Members' Rights is NOT The #1 Priority
of Managed Communities
The High Price of Managed Living, Books and Records Hidden
gives appearances of impropriety
Editorial Feature: Part One - Are Homeowners' Rights a Myth? 

Part Two: HOA Bureaucrats Overstep Their Authority

Schertz Foundation Slip Sliding and Cracking Away
Wednesday, 01 February 2012

Schertz homeowners worried houses not safe
Some frustrated homeowners in Schertz say they're fed up with foundation problems, which are causing homes to slide and crack.  Fairhaven homeowner Diana Taylor worries a French drain built by Pulte won't be enough to protect her home. "We've had an engineer come with a report and tell us our home is sliding backwards.  I'm kind of tilting to the left like. They gave us the report and said they'd be back in six months," Diana told us...

Schertz homeowners worried houses not safe

      
                                      Reported by: Lauren Lea

SCHERTZ, Texas - Some frustrated homeowners in Schertz say they're fed up with foundation problems, which are causing homes to slide and crack. 

Fairhaven homeowner Diana Taylor worries a French drain built by Pulte won't be enough to protect her home.

"We've had an engineer come with a report and tell us our home is sliding backwards.  I'm kind of tilting to the left like. They gave us the report and said they'd be back in six months," Diana told us.

Taylor has lived in her home for three years and is on the Fairhaven Homeowners Association board.  She said several of her neighbors have had similar problems.

"We were sitting there in a meeting, and the house was popping. So I thought the cat was throwing something in the air," Diana said about a neighbor's home.  "It wasn't the cat. The house popped, and the foundation cracked while we were there yesterday."

A City of Schertz spokesperson said the city is aware of problems in 13 homes and is trying to mediate with Pulte to get the problems fixed.  The spokesperson said Pulte will be issuing a report about the problems at the next city council meeting.

Through an emailed statement, Pulte said:

"Each homeowner who has contacted Pulte has unique issues with their homes and is handled individually.  As such, our team has personally met with several homeowners and effectively resolved their warranty-related requests in their homes.  There are a handful of homeowners who we continue to work with to resolve their warranty-related issues."


Pulte hired a third-party engineer to obtain soil samples from the neighborhood and study the area. The company also "will continue to service and monitor requests at Fairhaven and will continue to fully investigate issues."

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Schertz-homeowners-worried-houses-not-safe/-d2hcMuVPEqkHVEGUA_XQw.cspx
Comments

toubat

I'll bet the folks who own those homes have a mandatory binding arbitration (MBA) clause hidden in their purchase contract. The MBA means that the homeowner cannot hire a lawyer and sue the builder. Instead, the homeowner will be at the mercy of an arbitration board. And guess who sits on the arbitration board? That's right --- builders, real estate agents, and construction industry lobbyists. Not only will the homeowner lose his or her case, but will also have to pay all of the costs for the arbitration process. In Texas, the deck is always stacked against the homeowner.


 
justmike - 12/8/2011 4:48 PM
SraSpur, I do not really follow your mindless drivel and furthermore am confident in assuming, based on your opinion, grammar and spelling that you do not now, nor never have, owned a home, let alone know what to do when considering purchasing one. Jim, you could not be more wrong about the homes not being built correctly and the builder not being able to fix them. The homes were likely built fine, this is a slab and soil plasticity issue, not construction, and they will all be fixed. Those owners who are not satisfied can then request that the builder buy their homes back, which Pulte would then likely accommodate. If you don't know what you speak of, stay silent, as you only cause more problems in the end.

 
Koranekracing - 12/8/2011 4:26 PM
Maybe they should stop letting all of these housing developments start in the first place. The school district complains about being overcrowded and they build another school and then the housing companies but up all the land around the school and build more houses. So guess what the schools are overcrowded again. These houses are put up on any large parcel of property that the developers can find. They don't do enough research about the land and possible flooding or shifting or businesses in the area that could affect these houses. The Schertz and Cibolo areas used to be nice quiet areas but no more the cities have incorporated so much land to gain tax dollars and let these developments ruin the rural areas in these communities.

 
toubat - 12/8/2011 4:16 PM
I love the wording of the carefully-crafted corporate email that Pulte sent, which states that each homeowner has "unique issues" with their homes and each complaint is handled "individually." This is the old divide-and-conquer strategy that builders have been using for years here in Texas.

 
jim229 - 12/8/2011 4:00 PM
There is another subdivision that went through similar problems. Valley Forge. I lived there as a child and the first 5 years was great. Then the foundations starting shifting and cracking and as a result the houses did to. Not all of them mind you. I feel for these home owners because the cause of the problem is in fact they weren't built correctly to begin with. No the owners are upside down in their mortgages and will have a major fight on their hands to get these repaired to a safe level. There is no way to correct the problems short of tearing it down and starting from scratch. Be glad this company didn't use Pear and Beam foundations because if they had it would have been much worse.

 
bm187 - 12/8/2011 3:35 PM
No problem. Adam Smith's invisible hand will patch that crack up and level the house in a matter of days.

 
Sra Spur20 - 12/8/2011 10:53 AM
First of all I would never purchase a home that has a "Homewoners Association". I don't want some one telling me how to maintain my proptery. Second I would carefully do a throughly investagation of the area where the home is built.If it's down hill it will flood. If I see foundation problems most defiantly will not purchase the home in that area. So good luck people.

 
fedUpToo - 12/8/2011 9:18 AM
Sounds like Northampton part II, just with a different builder. I always get a good laugh for these carefully worded corporate students from the legal department. Notice the words "warranty-related" issues. And who decides what's a warranty related issue...the builder. The homeowners are S.O.L (suckers out of luck).



 
< Prev   Next >

 Texas, First Home Lemon Law Debated in the Nation
Homebuyers Need a Home Lemon Law

Search HOBB.org

 Beware of HOA Payment Plan! 

HOA Foreclosures Big Business 
ON THE COMMONS with Shu Bartholomew
Dr. Evan McKenzie HOA Governments

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

ATTENTION TAXPAYERS:
 
Pulte-Centex $900 Million Grant
Bad Guys at Countrywide Profit on Mortgage Toxins

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

Arbitration Fairness Now!
Sen Feingold, Rep Johnson
Introduce Consumer Justice
 
Senate Passes Franken
Binding Arbitration Amendment
  
   
Public Citizen Report 
Home Court Advantage
 

 (See photos) & Latest News

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
 Arbitration Hearing,
Video of Homeowners
Testimony Advance to 1:55

Arbitration Bill Passes Senate
Four years to fight to get in court is not a day in Court, Jamie Leigh Jones 

 


Legislative
Watch
TEXAS ABOLISHES BUILDERS
PROTECTION AGENCY TRCC
 


Texas Regulates Homebuyers
 
Texas Comptroller Condemns TRCC Builder Protection Agency
TRCC is the punishment phase of homeownership in Texas

HOBB Update Messages

Consumer Affairs Builder Complaints

 TRCC Implosion
 TRCC Shut Down
 Sunset Report

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

Perry's Gifts Keep on Talking
Sun Never Sets On Politicians Taking Homebuilder Money

TRCC AN ARRESTING EXPERIENCE
The Pat and Bob Egert Building & TRCC Experience 

Homebuilder's Right-To-Repair Illusion

Builders Looking for Federal Handouts

How Texas Home Building Industry shaped the TRCC to regulate buyers 

SpotLight
LiveTalk Internet

Build it right the first time
An interview with Janet Ahmad

HUD's Broken System
From HUD's Deregulation to Disgrace
Did HUD Secretary Cisneros
 Mastermind Predatory Lending?

Take Action
Ban Binding Mandatory Arbitration

Send a message urging your Congressman to support all legislation banning this unfair practice

Voting Texas Style
What Lawmaker is Voting for you?

Most Read

 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

NCPIRG
Homebuyers' Bill of Rights
Tips for a Better Built Home and to Protect Your Investment

Drum Major Institute
for Public Policy

Tort Deform
Report Your Arbitration Experience

Homebuilding Texas Style
And the walls came
tumblin' down

 Texas Homebuilder
Bob Perry Political Contributions

  The Agency Bob Perry Built
 TRCC Connection News
Tort Reform

NPR Interview - Perry's
Political influence movement.
Click to listen 

Texas Homebuyers
Fight for Rights

TRCC Abolish or Fix
or Pass Home Lemon Law
or
Homebuyers Bill of Rights

POLICYHOLDERS OF AMERICA POLL
82% would not vote back in office any legislator, regardless of party, that is soft on bad homebuilders?

REWARD
MOST WANTED

ARIZONA REGISTRAR OF CONTRACTORS
Have you seen any of these individuals

Pulte Homeowner Survey
Warranty & Mortgage Experience
 Click to participate

Tort Reform Feature
Texas Monthly
 Hurt? Injured? Need a Lawyer? Too Bad!

Special Money Report
Big Money and Shoddy Construction:Texas Home Buyers Left Out in the Cold
Read More
Read Report: Big Money…
Home Builder Money Source of Influence

Letters to the Editor
Write your letters to the Editor

Homeowner Websites

top of page

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