Class action waivers hit a wall
the pendulum has begun swinging favorably toward consumers, with courts striking down class action waiver terms as unconscionable and refusing to compel arbitration.  The most recent example came last week in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned the standard class arbitration waiver in a New Cingular Wireless contract as unconscionable under California law and rejected the notion that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts the state law. Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless, No. 06-55964.

Foreclosure's building problem
She didn't have a subprime mortgage. But when Jordan Fogal's house became uninhabitable, the 62-year-old grandmother says foreclosure became her best alternative. Fogal's troubles began when she and her 72-year-old husband, Bob, moved to a new housing development near Houston in 2002. That first night in the new house, the dining room ceiling collapsed. Bob had pulled the plug in the Jacuzzi tub upstairs, and 100 gallons of water came crashing through the ceiling downstairs because the plumbing drains were not connected.

With creditors knocking, Beazer seeks court's help
Atlanta-based Beazer Homes appears to be struggling to avert bankruptcy. Atlanta asking that the court prevent its creditors from calling for immediate repayment of about $1.3 billion in loans. The creditors' move was prompted by Beazer's delay of its quarterly financial report, but the company says creditors are invoking a technicality to trigger a big payday. "The motivation for this effort is clear," states Beazer's complaint against U.S. Bank National Association. "Many of the noteholders, including various hedge funds and other opportunistic investors, have purchased Beazer's bonds at depressed prices in the market and are now improperly seeking to secure a windfall by demanding accelerated repayment in full."

Mortgage meltdown claims new set of victims
Rick Thompson watched from the sidelines this month as his company unraveled. In a matter of weeks, Houston-based Aegis Mortgage, the company he co-founded 14 years ago, went from being a big nationwide mortgage lender to a bankrupt husk, undone by the mortgage meltdown rippling across the markets. Aegis has told many of the 1,200 employees it had at the start of the month, including 300 locally, that their jobs will end by late September.

WHO CHECKS TO SEE IF HOMES ARE FLAWED?
MORE AND MORE, IT'S PRIVATE INSPECTORS A 2002 law lets the builder decide, and the builder doesn't have to inform the potential buyer. Is it a conflict of interest? The private inspectors say no, but the question lingers because the builder is paying the bill. The construction flaws John Norman found in his new Jacksonville home angered him. -- What he found next left him stunned. -- His house made it from start to finish without ever getting a visit from a city inspector. Instead, the homebuilder hired a state-licensed company to inspect the house for compliance with building codes, an arrangement that has been legal in Florida since 2002... In Jacksonville, the Building Inspection Division examines the performance of private inspectors by randomly picking about 7 percent of passed inspections for on-site visits. From September 2005 through last June, it conducted 2,310 on-site reviews and sent deficiency notices after 500 of those reviews, which was almost 22 percent of the visits.

FOX News Poll: Many Concerned About Losing Their HomesA new FOX News poll finds that more than 4 of 10 Americans are concerned they or someone close to them could lose their home in the current economic climate. Even so, sizable majorities say the government should not bail out homeowners who took out mortgage loans they are having trouble paying or the banks that made those loans...Nearly half of Americans (44 percent) are concerned that they or a close friend or relative could lose their home, including 23 percent that say they are "very" concerned and 21 percent "somewhat" concerned. Slightly more (54 percent) say they are not concerned.

Political activist launches Web site to impeach Perry
Curtis noted that Texas does not have the right of recall, so petitioning the Legislature to impeach the governor is the only answer when citizens are unhappy. When asked about the new Impeach Perry Web site, Perry spokesman Robert Black responded by saying: "Free speech is a wonderful thing." Curtis said the two main reasons for seeking Perry's impeachment is his continuing push for the Trans-Texas Corridor toll road from Laredo to Oklahoma despite citizen opposition and his veto of $154 million in funds for junior colleges...his mandate that sixth-grade girls be vaccinated against HPV (a mandate overturned by the Legislature); and the creation of the Residential Construction Commission, which she sees as protection for builders who do shoddy construction. http://www.impeachperry.indytexans.org

Carrie Lavargna: Arbitration has no jury and no appeal
I recently shopped for a new car. The dealer and I agreed upon the model, extras, color and price, and I signed a one-page purchase order. When I arrived to pick up the car with payment in hand, the business manager informed me that I had to consent to resolve any disputes with the dealer through binding arbitration. This automotive equivalent of a pre-nuptial agreement asked that I waive my right to a trial in state court and accept as final the decision of an arbitrator. Being rather peeved that this provision was thrown at me at the last moment and thinking that arbitration is ill suited for consumer transactions, I walked out.  In arbitration, the case is heard by one arbitrator or sometimes a panel of three. Some arbitrators are chosen because they are familiar with particular industries. The person or panel acts as both judge and jury in hearing the dispute. The decision is called an award that is final and binding. There is no appeal. Once you sign a document with a binding arbitration provision, you have no other remedy.

Immigrants send less cash home as construction slows
Construction has slowed because it has gotten harder for home buyers to get credit in the wake of the meltdown in the subprime mortgage market. Illegal immigrants, in particular, are bearing the brunt of that slowdown, losing their jobs painting, laying tile and building roofs for new homes, economists said. And with less cash in their pockets, some immigrants such as Rodriguez "€” who is working on his legal status "€” are cutting back on the amount they send to relatives in Latin America. That, in turn, has contributed to the first year-over-year monthly declines in remittances to Mexico in 12 years, according to Banco de Mexico. The percentage of Mexican migrants sending money home fell to 64 percent in the first half of 2007, down from 71 percent last year, according to a study released Aug. 8 by the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund.

WATCHDOG'S BITE, RANGE INCREASE
Next month will see some significant changes in the powers of the Texas Residential Construction Commission -- and that could mean good news for consumers.  Starting Sept. 1, the TRCC will have extensive powers to fine home builders and remodelers up to $10,000 per infraction for 26 prohibited practices, up from 12.  Even with the extension of powers, at least one consumer group says the new law does not go far enough. Since its inception, the TRCC has faced complaints from consumer groups that its dispute-resolution process is too lengthy, costly and bureaucratic, and that the commission is "pro-builder."  "The homeowner is the one regulated," said Janet Ahmed, president of HomeOwners for Better Building, based in San Antonio. "They have to prove that something was wrong."

Countrywide taps $11.5 billion credit line
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. analyst Paul Miller said today that if liquidity remains scarce for more than three months, Countrywide could be forced to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors. If it can't get money to continue funding loans, Countrywide might be forced to sell its assets at a deep discount, putting "tremendous pressure on its book value and stock price," Miller wrote in a report on the lender. Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Kenneth Bruce drew similar conclusions in a report issued yesterday. Countrywide has acknowledged such concerns itself in previous reports to investors.

More bad news for Beazer
The Atlanta homebuilder issued the latest in a steady trickle of bad news Wednesday evening, conceding for the first time the existence of "certain evidence" that its mortgage operation violated federal lending rules.The company also said "negative publicity" about its conduct is scaring away potential homebuyers, suppliers and even some employees -- and that it is increasingly difficult for Beazer to hire qualified replacements...The company's problems began with a Charlotte Observer series charting problems with the company's aggressive sales tactics.

Beazer: Mistakes possible in filings
The Atlanta homebuilder blamed its former chief accounting officer, saying he may have "caused" the wrong numbers to be reported. The disclosure may deepen concern about Beazer's financial health. The company already faces a federal criminal investigation of its mortgage practices, and a formal inquiry on unspecified issues by the Securities and Exchange Commission... Michael Rand, the former chief accounting officer, was fired in June after the company said its internal investigation found he had attempted to destroy documents in violation of corporate policies.

Tell Your Senators and Representative to Cosponsor the Arbitration Fairness Act
With the recent introduction of the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 by Senator Russ Feingold and Congressman Hank Johnson, I am asking that all of our members contact Congress urging them to support the bill.  My hope is that you will join me as hundreds of thousands families across this country like  HOBB Rep. Scott Kimbell, of Jefferson, Georgia in the fight to ban Binding Mandatory Arbitration so other Americans are not blindsided by fine print.  Please write to your Senators and Representative and tell them to cosponsor the legislation. Tell Your Senators and Representative to Cosponsor the Arbitration Fairness Act