Lennar Profits Fall 73 Percent As Demand for Homes Softens
One by one, some of the nation's largest home-builders have seen quarterly earnings get crushed by the slump in the housing market. Lennar Corp. became the latest victim Tuesday, with a 73 percent plunge in first-quarter earnings and predictions that it is going to fall short of 2007 earnings goals. Since the start of February, home-builders KB Homes, Hovanian Enterprises Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. all reported falling profits. Stuart Miller, Lennar's president and chief executive, said a lack of demand for the winter-spring buying season, new problems with subprime lenders and higher-than-desired land costs hurt profits.  Related article

Scams can abound in construction
"Common problems in our area," says Charles Lee, President of the Pearl River County Home Builders Assoc, "are foundation problems, electrical problems, and poorly braced roofs. Just pray for no snow in this county." Another problem is lack of smoke alarms or old smoke alarms. These problems are typical of housing built by individuals with no license and insurance who use poor quality materials in order to make a huge profit.

Residents Blaming Homebuilder for Flakey Driveways
We're talking maybe at least 100 homes with the same driveway cement problems. There are two things in common, they're all flaking apart in the same way, and all of them are Richmond American homes. The landscaping is nice, the views are nice and the neighborhood is safe, but the driveways in Stansbury Park are problematic. It leaves you wondering what's wrong? John Bishop, a resident of Stansbury Park, said, "They said it was our fault because we had salt on our tires when we drove up the driveway."

Dream homes not so sweet
On Sept. 25, Meritage offered to make all repairs to the homes recommended by DPIS and approved by the state, Hays said. Those repairs consisted of removing the shingles and roofing felt, refastening the roof decking, then replacing the felt and shingles...But the Alvarez and Mayes families, citing other structural issues, say they want Meritage to buy their homes from them. They also are seeking monetary damages for what they say is "loss of enjoyment of life," according to the lawsuit. "This includes Meritage Homes' refusal to take responsibility for its role in the creation and filing of falsified inspection reports or applications with the state," Dupuy said Thursday in a written statement. "The homebuyers, in this case, who were tricked into buying homes that were not windstorm compliant, have pleaded with Meritage Homes for a fair resolution. Their pleas fell on deaf corporate ears."

Officials pushing for building code
City officials held a press conference Tuesday morning to discuss a bill in the Iowa legislature that could implement a building code in Clinton by next year. If passed, House File 590 would enact and require enforcement of the state building code in each city with a population of more than 15,000 that does not have its own local building code. The bill would apply to building permits issued on or after July 1, 2008. The bill was introduced on Feb. 14 and sponsored by Rep. Polly Bukta, D-Clinton, and Rep. Geri Huser, D-Altoona.

Bob Perry Needs a Hug
Perhaps nowhere was Perry's Texas clout more apparent than in the 2003 creation of the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC). An offshoot of the tort reform movement,.. In practice the TRCC became a captive agency to the industry it was supposed to regulate, and the law forced consumers to go through a lengthy complaint process only to find that at the end, the TRCC had no power to compel builders to do anything. This outcome was, of course, entirely favorable to the homebuilding industry, and in fact, it turned out that the person who'd written most of the bill that had created the commission was Perry Homes' corporate counsel John Krugh, who was later appointed by Governor Perry to the newly created TRCC...Many people came to believe that, in effect, Bob Perry had been given his own state agency. Says Janet Ahmad, of Homeowners for Better Building, a watchdog group and consistent Perry critic: "Perry was the kingpin and the brains behind the TRCC. He was always behind the scenes."

Homebuyers May Get Lemon Law Protection
Imagine getting your dream home built just to find months down the line that it was coming apart. That's what happened to the Crump family, but without a law in place to protect homeowners, they said they're stuck with a faulty house. State lawmakers are pushing a bill similar to the automobile lemon law that would protect homeowners. Houston Democrat Senfronia Thompson filed House Bill 2721, which would require builders to fix problems in a new home or buy it back.

Consumer Groups, Citizens, Present Dramatic Testimony at State Affairs Committee Hearings on Homeowners Rights
In hearings that lasted from four in the afternoon until nearly four in the morning, the House State Affairs Committee heard testimony Monday and early Tuesday from a large number of aggrieved citizens and several consumer advocacy groups on how to reform the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) and the Home Lemon Law.

Homebuyers Beware
Washington state legislators are thinking about passing a "homeowners' bill of rights" to protect prospective homebuyers from builders who build lemon houses. That's a good thing, isn't it?... Here's what Washington state Sen. Brian Weinstein says: "Homebuyers in our state have little or no rights. If the home is defective, if there are structural problems, water damage, anything like that, they have no rights." ... can help builder Sam with this one, since there's not much to figure out. Just build houses right. All you have to do is make sure houses conform to the building code, which is a minimum standard. Anybody with the designation "Master Builder" ought to be able to do this with no problem.