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Discuss the costly and harmful effects of Binding Arbitration, our rights and the justice system on consumers.
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Ira Rheingold, Executive Director and General Counsel of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and Janet Ahmad, President of HomeOwners for Better Building will be guests on SpotLight LiveTalk hosted by Denise Richardson and Jim Malmberg.

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Participate: Listen Live – Call in at 718-664-6583 and join in the conversation. Step into the SpotLight each Thursday or hear a replay of the show at your convenience. Set a show reminder at blogtalkradio.com/spotlight

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http://www.givemebackmycredit.com/blog/

Janet Ahmad, President

HomeOwners for Better Building

http://www.hobb.org

210-402-6800

Dark side of the housing boom: Shoddy work; Steps you can take if you find yourself living in a poorly made home.

U.S.A. -"Less than a year after moving into her new 2,100-square-foot house in Lenexa, Kans., Susan Sabin has strung up lemon lights in her front window. The lemons, she says, go perfectly with the home's most prominent features: jammed doors, warped windows, bent pipes and cracked walls. 'The house is essentially splitting in two,' says Sabin...now stories of shifting soil, leaky roofs, damaged stucco and other construction defects abound...the building frenzy also opened the door for unskilled labor, unscrupulous contractors and untested products...Contractor problems rank among the most common consumer complaints, according to the Better Business Bureau...What do you do? A lawsuit is bound to be expensive and messy, if you can even get in front of a jury at all; many builder's contracts nowadays include a binding-arbitration clause that essentially waives your right to a jury trial....Here's how to evaluate the likelihood that you'll be able to get your home repaired at minimal cost, and your plan of action."...
June 21 2007: 6:59 PM EDT

Binding Mandatory Arbitration (BMA) Stories Sought by HomeOwners for Better Building

ATTENTION!

HOBB is in need of Binding Arbitration Stories. 

A report on Arbitration is currently being prepared and we need to hear about your experience.  Even if you decided not to go to arbitration for any reason or have sent your arbitration experience before please send it again, with any updates and additional comments. 

Specifically, we are looking for stories that reflect one or more of the following:

• You were unaware of the mandatory binding arbitration clause until the dispute arose.
• You could not afford the costs of arbitration, and therefore, did not pursue the dispute.

 

• You decided not to pursue a legal dispute against your builder after learning the negative results for homeowners in Arbitration and that builders most often win in Binding Mandatory Arbitration (BMA).

 

• You decided not to pursue BMA because you learned the arbiters’ decision is binding and cannot be appealed.

 

•  The decision rendered by the arbitrator was unconscionable, clearly contrary to the law, and/or went against the general notion of justice.

 

• Your arbitration appeal to the court was denied despite the arbitrator’s unconscionable and/or unfair decision.

 

• Stories that involve the use of mandatory binding arbitration agreements in automobile sale/lease contracts.

Please write a brief account of your situation include your contact information and your address.

This is a very important time in our efforts to rid consumers of forced arbitration in nearly all aspects of our lives, especially builder contracts.  So please let us hear your story.

Thank you for your help,

Janet Ahmad, President

HomeOwners for Better Building

http://www.hobb.org

210-402-6800

Builders Sodomise American Taxpayers for the Second Time in 20 Years Replete with Government Complicity; aka - Builder Bail Out

Can you smell the KY smoking? Is your lower back aching? Can you barely remember what happened to you? Well, let me refresh your memory…

1986 - 1995: $500 billion S&L bailout bill crafted by our elected officials that benefited fraudulent developers and lenders directly costing taxpayers approx. $153 Billion.

Does any of this sound vaguely familiar? It should; its damn near a mirror image of what is happening today with a few caveats. Here is what happened back then…

A bunch of greedy people got together and opened up a slew of S&L’s (Savings and Loans - specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage loans) that were able to take in millions of dollars in government backed (FSLIC ) CD deposits and then take the same deposits (minus their capitol of course) and originate new mortgage loans with the money. Everyone involved got rich.

Then the greedy people got even greedier. The owners of these S&L’s began using the profits to make loans to their friends, relatives, and developers to fund construction projects that should never have been built. This created a building boom with no buyers. Meanwhile, all of this money being generated made it possible for kickbacks to accountants, auditors, representatives and senators on the banking committees.

Then the recession hits and the developers default on the loans causing a collapse of the construction market. Then our government comes to the rescue of the developers and S&L’s (who just got filthy rich) with our taxpayer money to bail them out.

Talk about sickening Déjà vu. Now fast forward to today…

2008 - $25 billion Builder Bailout under the guise of the “Housing Relief Bill” aka “2008 Foreclosure Prevention Act” passed by our Senate and being considered by our Congress preceded by mortgage fraud and over-development perpetrated by lending institutions and homebuilders pushing subprime garbage facilitated in shaddy backroom dealings.

Residential homebuilders saw the opportunity to make record profits due to the lowering of interest rates and a possible repeat of history. When the builders saw how much money the lenders were making they decided to enter and push their own mortgages; many times forcing homebuyers to use their in-house financing. Then subprime lending was just too profitable to ignore and the big homebuilders began pushing riskier loans to people who were obviously not going to be unable to repay them. All the while, building shoddily constructed new homes at a fevered pace causing the huge overhang of severely overpriced homes (by as much as 60%) in the residential housing market we are currently enjoying.

The flood of foreclosures and complaints of shoddily built homes that were sure to come are all around us driving our home values and wealth down. Yet, homebuilders and lenders have gotten rich as can be attested by the obscene compensation packages of their CEO’s and record profits.

Now, after all of this ill gotten money has been made, the homebuilders wanted to get in line to gorge again at the public trough via the first stimulus package. When they were denied the carry back tax credits that they sought the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) threatened our government officials with, “ceasing all approvals and disbursements of BUILD-PAC contributions to federal congressional candidates and their PACs until further notice.”  As a result of this apparently legal blackmail, our elected officials crafted a second version of the bill that has been stripped of actual aids to the homeowners in order to serve up the public money demanded of them by the home building lobby lest the congress and the senate lose their precious reelection money; somewhat along the lines of legal bribes that assure future blackmail if the intended demands are not met; can you say Bob Perry of Perry Homes?

If this dual “Sodomiseing of the American Taxpayer” (you and me) to further enrich the wealthy has angered you as it has me, I urge you to contact your congressmen and senators and demand their accountability to the American people instead of continuing "corporate welfare" and strike out the tax credits demanded by the homebuilding industry (blackmail money) from the Housing Relief Bill / The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008. And if our elected officials refuse to represent their constituents – let’s vote the sorry b**tards out of office!!

ERIN BROCKOVITCH CONFIRMS CONTAMINATION IN LENNAR HOME & TEXAS SUPREME COURT GRANTS DOUBLE STANDARD DECISION TO ‘BUILDER BOB’ PERRY

Erin Brockovitch has her eye on the homebuilding industry. 

Brockovich will disclose test results of high levels of contamination in the Lennar Homes Westcott community in South Carolina.  Undisclosed source say Brockovich plans on naming KB Home (KBH) a contamination case in conjunction with the Wescott lawsuit as well. Additionally, Lennar (LEN) is the subject of homeowner outrage as community leaders in HuttoTexas(See: Lennar Homeowners Unite in Hutto Texas) hold a meeting next Saturday, May 10 to address loan irregularities as well as major construction defects.  See details.

For those of you who live in other states other than Texas, it is important to pay close attention to what is happening in Texas.  Why should you become more involved and be concerned about Texas?  The reason is Bob Perry of Texas (Perry Homes) and his nationwide campaign money machine is endorsed by the building industry (NAHB) to promote Tort Reforms and Binding Mandatory Arbitration that protect builders to assure new home warranties are unenforceable. 

Case in point; the Texas Supreme Courts decision Friday, in the infamous Bob Perry vs. Robert and Jane Cull case which illustrates how builder political contributions can so profoundly influence, when the court found in favor of Perry.  The Cull's were understandably stunted at learning of the decision. The couple has come to understand under the worst possible circumstance that a new home warranty is not a warranty at all but a deceptive false sense of security, designed to end in vicious litigation, influenced by big money.

This decision sets a double standard. No where has special interest money been more powerful and evident as Texas where builders freely build substandard homes, confident they will not be held accountable.  As I have said before, “As Goes Texas So Goes the Nation.”   

Last week a stunning article by Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle titled “Owners stuck with flawed homes – Families' costs mount, but state, builder give scant help, files show”   The article once again reported the scandals of Bob Perry’s TRCC builder protection agency and how the agency fails homebuyers.  Be sure to read the more than 300 reader responses the first day to the article.

Help us to help you by keeping in touch. Tell your story through HOBB, to your elected officials, and write the press. We would like to hear from you so, please take a few minutes to post your comments on the HOBB Forum.

 Thank you,
Janet Ahmad, President
Home Owners for Better Building

Live Oak residents upset with homes' problems

San Antonio, TX. -" Unhappy that his 11/2-year-old Live Oak home has wall cracks wide enough to stick a hand through, Ronald Jech recently took an unconventional path in the hope of getting his house repaired...Jech aired his complaint online with a Web site, www.RylandTrouble.com, which features dozens of photos of his house, along with an inspection report.  The site has gotten more than 10,000 hits in the few weeks since it went live. And Jech and a handful of neighbors, who also are having problems with homes built by Ryland Homes (RYL) in the Bridlewood Park subdivision, for four weekends have staged a protest of sorts, picketing from the beds of their pickups...One of their signs reads, 'Warning. Talk to Homeowners Before You Buy.'... Jech, who is about to retire from the Army after more than 29 years, said he and others resorted to the unconventional tactics only after several months of e-mails, phone calls and letters to Ryland Homes did not result in repairs to the homes...Jech this week said he would have loved for the builder to fix his home last year, when he started complaining, but now is worried that the foundation has shifted so much that the home is beyond repair. He would prefer that Ryland buy back his home. Jech and a neighbor on his street have posted 'open house' signs in their yards and plastered photos of the damage in their front windows. 'They keep telling us, ''It's normal. It's normal,'"' Phung Luong said of the cracks in the house she shares with her mother and grandparents...Todd Ferguson, who lives on the bottom street of the hillside neighborhood with his wife, has video of rainwater washing over a retaining wall like a waterfall into his backyard and one of his neighbor's yards. Ferguson said he didn't want to complain to TRCC because he didn't think the state's dispute resolution system would help. The Fergusons and other owners signed binding arbitration agreements when they purchased homes, which means they cannot sue. And it's hard to find attorneys willing to take a homeowner through arbitration, Ferguson said. 'The builder has control in the legal system and at the TRCC,' Ferguson said. 'They know what to do there...'... The neighborhood association recently sent Ferguson a letter threatening to sue him if he doesn't remove the small sign. So far, he's left it in place...When they protested their tax appraisal at the Bexar Appraisal District last week, they were given maps that show their house is in a floodplain. They do not have flood insurance... 'Every night before you close your eyes, you see this big crack,' she said, pointing to the ceiling. Cosmetic repairs, which have been tried by the builder, have not worked. The cracks always return."...
06/08/07
    

Homebuilder Bob Perry's Supreme Court hearing LIVE on the internet!

If you cannot join HADD at the Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court will webcast the Bob Perry Supreme Court hearing on March 20, Tuesday at 9:00AM.

Bob Perry of Perry Homes will be one of the first hearings webcast on the internet by the Texas Supreme Court, on Tuesday March 20. The case Perry Homes vs The Culls will start at approximately 9:00. It is currently second on the list to be heard. This case is by far one a case study in the abuse of arbitration in new home contracts. It is fitting to see it being broadcast to millions on the internet.

In short: The Dallas Morning News has an absolutely great story on Bob and Jane Cull who purchased a their new "dream" home from Bob Perry Homes for $250,000 in 1996. They filed suit for a faulty foundation in 2000. In December of 2002 an arbitrator awarded the Culls over $750,000 for severe foundation failure including $250,000 for repurchase of the home. After losing in arbitration, losing their challenge of the arbitration in district court, and losing in the appeals court, Bob Perry has now looked to the Texas Supreme Court for assistance, and he will get it on Monday and it will be available for viewing live on the internet.

You can read the entire arbitration award here.

According to the Supreme Court press release:

In a joint project, the Supreme Court of Texas and St. Mary’s University School of Law will begin live Internet video streaming of the Court’s oral arguments March 20.
...
Internet broadcast of oral arguments will be available through either the Court’s Web site – or St. Mary’s law school site. The video arguments will be available in archives at the law school Web site.

Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings http://www.hadd.com

Ryland Leaks

Orlando, FL. -"On June 1st a Class Action Lawsuit Against Ryland Homes (RYL) in Florida was certified by an arbitrator. An arbitrator has certified a class action against national homebuilder Ryland Homes, including approximately 6,000 homes Ryland built across Florida since January 2000, for plaintiffs who claim serious leakage issues during summer storms. Estimates to fix the leaks are expensive and Ryland's efforts to address the leakage problems are unsatisfactory, the plaintiffs say. The plaintiffs allege houses Ryland built won't keep water out during rainstorms, although often there is no apparent source for the leaks...More than 70 owners of Ryland-built homes are listed as parties to the case and also say they represent 'all others similarly situated.'...More than 100 homeowners complained to Ryland through mid-2004 about leaks during summer storms. During the 2004 hurricane season, the problem reached epic proportions...Ryland - which has acknowledged having more complaints than any other builder in the Orlando area...The plaintiffs in the arbitration asked Ryland to fix the leaks in their houses in the fall of 2004. When Ryland refused, they hired Frank Rapprich, an Orlando lawyer...'Why should anyone want to buy a home from someone who will not fix major problems?' 'Why should anyone want to buy a home in the first place from a builders having large numbers of problems, even IF those problems were taken care of?'"
Thursday, June 29, 2006 

Texas State Representative Ruth Jones McClendon has filed an outstanding bill -“ HB1686; It is a major overhaul of the TRCC.

Texas State Representative Ruth Jones McClendon has filed an outstanding bill -€“ HB1686.

It is a major overhaul of the TRCC. 
In brief, it would:

• effectively ban the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in contracts for homes or home repairs
• require all builders to be registered with TRCC and to carry insurance
• regulate home improvement contractors for any repairs costing more than $2,500
• the TRCC complaint process would be free for homeowners
• a state-sponsored inspection would be free for homeowners
• create a private cause of action against any builder who violated a TRCC rule
• create a fund to pay homeowners with claims when the builder couldn't pay; TRCC would recoup this money from the builder's insurer
• regulate a person (salesperson) who negotiates a sales contract on behalf of a builder
• add many new actions to the list of things builders could be disciplined for such as      misrepresentation, abandoning or willfully failing to perform on a contract, disregarding plans or specifications or engage in fraud, and much more...

 

Here's a link to the bill: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/billtext/pdf/HB01686I.pdf

Please take a few minutes to write a note to thank Representative McClendon at, ruth.mcclendon@house.state.tx.us
Now it'€™s up to us to support the bill and the wisdom of our elected officials.

 

Janet Ahmad, President

HomeOwners for Better Building

http://www.hobb.org

210-402-6800

Agency has many ties to builders

Fort Worth,TX. -"Consumer groups see the Texas Residential Construction Commission as a puppet of the Texas Association of Builders...But thousands of pages of documents released over the past several months show the keen interest of builders' groups in the agency's workings...Six of the commission's nine members are members of builders' associations, and the agency has in some instances adopted the precise wording of rules suggested by the TAB...The association played a key role in writing the 2003 bill that created the agency. The Web site for Bush & Motes, an Arlington law firm with many home-builder clients, touts the firm's involvement in 'drafting and passing' the law that created the TRCC...But there is a web of connections between the construction industry and the key players in the bill's passage. Ritter, whose family owns a lumber company, is director of the Texas Construction Industry Council. He has received thousands of dollars in political donations from the TAB, as well as a lobbyist who represents Texas United Independent Developers LLC. Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, is an investor in and owner of a wooden-pallet manufacturing company. Top contributors to Fraser include Bob Perry, founder of Houston's Perry Homes and a major Republican contributor, and Dick Weekley, co-founder of David Weekley Homes, who are involved with the Texans for Lawsuit Reform political action committee, which seeks to limit liability lawsuits. (The law requires homeowners to take their complaints to the TRCC before they can file a lawsuit.) In 2003, the year the bill passed, the National Association of Home Builders named Ritter and Fraser two of its eight 'state officials of the year' for their work in the TRCC legislation...The governor appoints all the members, who must be approved by the Senate. Six of the nine commissioners now are members of builders groups. At least two, John Krugh and Glenda Mariott, are connected to companies that contributed to Gov. Rick Perry's political campaigns...On several occasions, the TRCC adopted verbatim suggestions for rules by TAB representatives...Janet Ahmad, president of Homeowners for Better Building, said the commission rebuffed every one of her group's suggestions...Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, introduced a bill last year that would have made the TRCC free to homeowners, required continuing education for builders and allowed the commission to take action against builders who abandoned jobs. It died in committee. 'It's the fox guarding the henhouse,' Farrar said...Consumer groups also get irritated when they read letters like this one from Toy Wood, chief executive of the Greater Houston Homebuilder Association, which appeared in the August issue of Home Builder Magazine and was reprinted by the Houston Chronicle: 'And although our reasons for creating the TRCC and the various associated processes were very worthy, we were creating another bureaucracy. While we maintain control of the commission, we must be just as vigilant with the TRCC as we are with any other agency or commission.'"...
Posted on Mon, Jun. 19, 2006