The  Cheetum Mark of Distinction

Home Builder Hall of Shame

Robert Tidwell is affiliated with Robert Tidwell Construction Company, aka JM Building & Investments operating in Kaufman, Texas .  Robert Tidwell is currently affiliated with two companies that have been approved by the Texas Residential Construction Commission.  

Outstanding Judgment: September 5, 2002 – Brian and Lisa Partington vs. Texas Custom Home Builders, Inc. and Robert Tidwell.  IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that Brian and Lisa Partington, Plaintiffs, have and recover judgment against Texas Custom Home Builder, Inc. and Robert H. Tidwell… SIXTY ONE THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR DOLLARS AND EIGHTY-NINE CENTS ($61,334.89).  

                                            
                                              Brian and Lisa stand in front of what 
                                                            was suposed to be their Dream Home
The Partington family story –  In 2001 Brian Partington, after doctors confirmed remission of Lisa’s 5-year bout, with breast cancer, her husband, Brian, wanted to give her and his family their new dream home on 3 acres of land they owned.  Midway through construction the builder, Robert Tidwell walked off the job, never finishing their home.  The bank that handled the interim financing foreclosed on their home and land, then sold it to another family leaving the Partington family both emotionally and financially devastated. 
 

Brian, a Dallas firefighter, who also holds down a 2nd job, works about 80 hours per week; yet, has managed to deal with the destruction and keep a roof over the head of Lisa and their 3 children.  Lisa can’t work due to her compromised immune system and continuous treatments.  However, on February 14, she visited with legislators and with unbelievable strength and courage told her story despite the side effects of chemo therapy. Her concluding remarks were; “I know I probably won’t ever live to see my “dream home” but I question why this builder has been approved by TRCC to build in Texas .  If I can just help keep one other family from going through what we have endured, my trip and story have not been in vain,” said Lisa. 
 

On Tuesday, March 15, Lisa again entered the hospital to undergo major surgery.  “Lisa has recurring cancer and probably won’t live to see her dream home build,” said Brian.

Lisa Partington passed away on July 27, 2007

Home Builder Hall of Shame

Sponsored by Cheetum Custom Homes
Jo Hayman

Anyone with $125, a social security number and absolutely no knowledge of how to construct a house is eligible to be a builder in Texas .  People need a license to catch a fish and drive a car but not to be a builder in Texas and I can vouch for that.

You see I am now an official registered builder in The Great State of Texas , doing business as “Cheetum Custom Homes.   
 

My degree in physical therapy certainly does not qualify me to build homes however; building qualifications are irrelevant in Texas .  
 

In fact, in Texas a builder can change their name more often than they change their underwear. It was a low down unethical builder that inspired me to expose the ease of becoming a builder in Texas and to bestow the distinguished Hall of Shame award to any deserving builder like Robert Tidwell 
 

Send us your nominations for the Cheetum Mark of Distinction Hall of Shame Award. 

Ft Worth Star-Telegram - Jo Hayman and Cheetum Custom Homes
Home-building law has more than a few cracks
...Jo Hayman...  She formed her company, Cheetum Custom Homes, to prove a point.  She won't build a single house. Instead, the physical therapist wants to show how easy it is to get into the home-building business in Texas.  All anyone has to do to build a home is pay a $125 fee and register with a new state agency, the Texas Residential Construction Commission, or TRCC. "It's absurd," says the Plano woman, now the Dallas-Fort Worth representative for HomeOwners for Better Building. "Almost anybody in this state can be a builder today, and there's no way to stop you unless you are a convicted felon."   ... And under regulations set by TRCC's nine commissioners, most of whom have ties to the home-building industry, items that aren't covered after the first year include roofs, siding, windows, bricks, tile, carpet, flooring, doors, trim, drywall, plaster and stucco.   Read more...

HOBB Press Release
Building Qualifications are Irrelevant in Texas
HOBB  Board Member Registers as “Cheetum Custom Homes.”  Proving that anyone can become a Home Builder in Texas