New Home Builders NewsBlog.com

1,000 homeowners taking legal action

Sun City, AZ. -"Owners of about 1,000 homes in Sun City Grand, one of Surprise's most affluent retirement communities, are seeking legal action against developer Pulte Homes (PHM) to correct alleged construction defects. The sheer number of participants puts this among the largest such complaints in Arizona history, building experts say...The law firm representing the residents argues that abnormal cracking in walls, floors and ceilings demonstrates a clear pattern of defective construction. It says the repairs could amount to $50,000 to $100,000 per home... Other complaints by residents include: Stucco: About half the homes do not have 'weep screeds.' A weep screed is part of stucco wall construction that allows rainwater to drain out of the walls and prevents mold growth. Acoustics: Noise levels are too high inside some Sun City Grand households, which fall within the noise-impact zone of Luke Air Force Base. Concrete: Foundations are deteriorating because of corrosive salts and desert weathering...Pulte merged with Del Webb Corp., famous for its Sun City brand developments, in 2001.'The homeowners relied on Del Webb and the promises they would use quality-control measures in connection with the construction, and they're terribly disappointed,' said attorney Ken Kasdan.'What they see is Del Webb walking away from responsibility in the community.'... 'The thing is, I want my home fixed, because I came here for retirement and I plan to die here,' he said."...
April 15, 2008

Beware of contractors' background before hiring

Austin,TX.-"Major home renovations can lead to major headaches and expenses. It's a profession that generates tons of complaints... Lopez and his wife hired a contractor to remodel their modest three-bedroom home. That was almost a year ago and the job is far from complete. 'He just disappeared and I can't get a hold of him no more,' added Lopez. 'Construction projects this type of service is always in the top ten kinds of complaints,' said Erin Jones, Better Business Bureau... She says written agreements should always spell out verbal promises made. Contracts should also state when phases of work will be complete and when payment is due... Consumers unhappy with remodeling work can check if the contractor has posted a performance bond with an insurance company. 'If the job is not completed and the consumer is looking for some kind of a refund for monies paid,  they can contact the bonding company directly and work with them in order to get reimbursed, if they see fit,' added Jones."...
05:52 PM CDT on Friday, August 18, 2006

Bait & switch?

Fauquier,VA.-"Years ago, a developer came to Warrenton and told everyone, 'I'm going to put Warrenton on the map.'... When the developer failed and quietly slipped from sight, things returned to normal...At the end of July, Centex Homes (CTX) made news by agreeing to pay the Town of Warrenton $22 million and Fauquier County $1.2 million to offset the impacts of their proposed 298-home Arrington Knolls project. In exchange, Centex would be annexed into the town and get public sewer...But now, claiming that the recent agreement was only 'remotely feasible in a rising market,' Centex wants the town and county to give up the money offered, or allow more homes on the property , so Centex can make its profit projections. Many people here couldn't see how Centex was going to find 300 buyers over the age of 55 to purchase homes starting at $850,000 in the first place, let alone cover their cash offer. How many retirement-aged, empty-nester CEOs would want those big houses? Centex, as 'one of America's largest homebuilders,' should have known what they're doing. Maybe they have, all along...Now, Centex...has come up short, long after leaving the negotiating table. They now figure that the deal would result in a '56 percent decrease in the potential yield of the property.' Perhaps they're equally adept at figuring the value of trust - after it's been lost."
08/09/2006  

Board OKs housing in redevelopment plan

Old Bridge,NJ.-"Borough officials are paving the way to allow 2,000 residential units as part of the waterfront redevelopment plan for the former National Lead site . The residential component was proposed by LNR Property Corp. (LNR)... The Planning Board voted unanimously July 19 to recommend the change in the redevelopment plan, which would now permit 'age-targeted' residential housing as a conditional use...The residential population projected for the site is 5,060, Lehrer said, noting that 318 school-age children are projected...As part of the joint venture, LNR is the master planner for the redevelopment. Market Street will run the cleanup and environmental risk management side of the partnership, assisted by AIG's (AIG) environmental insurance policy...Titanium ore used during manufacturing and refining operations west of the Garden State Parkway will be taken to a disposal site, Miner said, noting that officials are considering a disposal site in Utah. The groundwater is also part of the remediation process, as it has tested positive for sulfuric acid...Dredges in the lagoons were likely caused by the Raritan River, Miner said, and a two-fold remediation process involves removing the hot spots and capping the lagoons using soil or pavement to make streets or parking lots."...
August 3, 2006

Town Reaps Hard Cash for New Houses; Warrenton's $22 Million Deal Signifies High Stakes for Developers

Fauquier County, VA. -"In the frenzy to build subdivisions in Northern Virginia's exurbs, one of the nation's largest housing developers has offered to write the small Fauquier County town of Warrenton a $22 million check, an unprecedented cash donation, according to Virginia real estate specialists. In exchange, Centex Homes (CTX) of Dallas would get permission from county and town leaders to build a subdivision just outside Warrenton with nearly 300 luxury homes for seniors, starting at $850,000...George B. Fitch, the mayor of Warrenton, which sits about 40 miles west of the District, hailed the tentative agreement as a major victory for the town and for other communities seeking to have some control over the rapid pace of development...Centex's contribution would amount to nearly $74,000 per unit, more than double what Fauquier County usually receives from a developer. But development specialists say the unusually large promise of cash highlights a disturbing trend in Virginia's booming housing market. Developers eager to plant new homes in exurban locales are building roads, establishing parks and offering money - all in an effort to appease increasingly resistant communities. The result, the specialists say, is more expensive homes...The Warrenton deal and agreements like it amount to bribes, said John McIlwain, senior resident fellow for housing at the Urban Land Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit research and education organization for the development industry. 'Facilitating the process is a nice way of saying it,' McIlwain said. 'Centex saved themselves two or three years of controversial negotiations trying to get approval, and that's worth a lot of money in itself.'"....
Sunday, July 16, 2006

Sun City Summerlin residents feeling squeeze of maintaining golf courses

Las Vegas,NV. -"It sounded like a good idea at the time: Three golf courses anchoring a master-planned retirement community. Seventeen years later, Sun City Summerlin residents are feeling the financial weight of supporting 54 holes in a city overwhelmed with courses. And there seems to be little they can do to remedy the problem. The association board members recently voted to shelve the idea of pursuing lowering the age restriction for primary residents to 50...The community would face an uphill legal battle in trying to lower the age limit. Age-restricted communities for persons 55-years-and-older were established with amendments to the Fair Housing Act in 1988. The Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 maintained that 80 percent of its occupied residences must contain at least one occupant who is 55 or older...According to a Del Webb Corp. (PHM) spokeswoman, its communities do not have primary residents younger than 55. However, according to local real estate agent Darlene Rogers, new units are being occupied by primary residents as young as 50 in newer age-restricted Del Webb developments, such as Sun City Anthem and Solera at Anthem in Henderson; Sun City Aliante in North Las Vegas; and Solera at Stallion Mountain. Resales, however, are restricted to primary residents of 55 and older. Del Webb Corp. developed Sun City Summerlin in 1989, but is no longer involved with the day-to-day operations following final build-out in 2000...Other options discussed is changing one of the courses into a new housing development or developing a park. Conversion to homes would face opposition - and probably lawsuits - from residents who bought homes on a golf course."...
Monday, June 26, 2006

No help for RV park relocation; Unlike mobile home dwellers, displaced residents are on their own

Las Vegas,NV. -"Although intended to be only a temporary roost, the Boulder Lakes RV Park has been a permanent home to hundreds of residents for years. That will come to an abrupt end next month, when the park's residents will be forced to vacate to make way for homes built to be permanent - for others. To many Boulder Lakes residents, the way in which they are being forced to move is as distressing...Mobile home park closures have become a common story in the Las Vegas Valley in recent years, as rising property values prompted many park owners to opt for more lucrative uses for their land. Over the past four years, more than 4,000 spaces in valley mobile home parks have been replaced by strip malls, subdivisions and casinos, leaving residents scrambling to find a new location among dwindling choices...But because state law treats RV parks and mobile home parks differently, residents at Boulder Lakes, which has more than 400 RV spaces, have been given less time to find a new place to live and will receive no money for relocation expenses. 'The sad thing about this is that a lot of the park's residents are elderly and have been there many years,' said Joe McKnight...'They are living off Social Security.'...When home builder DR Horton (DHI) bought the 50-acre site on Boulder Highway north of Henderson in May for $3.3 million, the company gave the park's residents until the end of July to leave - at their own expense - to make way for a housing development. Residents cried foul, arguing that they should be treated the same as those who live in mobile home parks. The law, however, is not on their side...'I feel like I have been deserted,' said one elderly man, an 11-year resident who did not want to give his name. Neighbors said the man does not have the money to move and they worry about what will happen to him. Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams, who earlier this year proposed that the county impose an 18-month moratorium on mobile home park redevelopment, said what's happening to Boulder Lakes' residents underlines the need to change the law. (Her proposal was not adopted,"...
June 23, 2006

Strip Tease

Las Vegas,NV. -"WE HEAR ... that all is not peaceful and idyllic at Del Webb's (PHM) Sun City in Summerlin. The Social Security crowd is still drift-racing its golf carts around the streets, but not on the golf courses, and therein might lie a Hatfield-McCoy feud. The courses are manicured to perfection, but that is understandable because it is known that fewer and fewer Sun City residents are buying golf equity memberships. So in order to keep the courses in the 'green,' Sun City is considering lowering its community-restricted residents' age from 55 to 50. This makes mucho sense to Strip Tease, because before the Gray Panthers know it, 'they'll have paved paradise and put up a parking lot.'"...
Monday, June 19, 2006