10 Things Your Contractor Won't Tell You
When you hire a general contractor to come build an addition onto your house, you probably assume you're getting someone who has spent years learning his craft, giving him the proper credentials to saw a hole in the side of your den. In reality you could be getting a madman with a toolbox who answers to no one. That's because only 27 states have any licensing requirements, according to R.L. Bryson's "Contracting in All 50 States" "€” and where requirements do exist, they vary widely. In California, one of the stricter states, budding contractors must only prove their financial solvency and pass a written exam (sample test question: "Where would the drain and sewer for a residential building be located?").

Bill designed to better protect homeowners
Some state lawmakers want a new law in Colorado that they say would guard homebuyers from construction defects and fraudulent contracts. State Representative Jack Pommer (D-Boulder) says consumers need better protection of their legal rights.  "All of those rights are waived, the minute the homebuyer signs that (purchasing) contract," said Pommer.

Is There Justice for Homeowners in Fannin County?
The Assistant DA produced a list of "crimes and bad acts" of which the Egerts allegedly were guilty. One of these "crimes or bad acts" was that "... the Defendants threatened to and did falsely report the Complainants to the Texas Residential Construction Commission...." --the agency that the Attorney General's Office recommended the Egerts contact. Without being allowed to produce evidence such as business letters, which showed the professional manner in which they attempted  to communicate with Fines and Leggett and would have countered much of Leggett's testimony in court, the Egerts were subsequently found guilty of telephone harassment...Fines testified under oath that he had indeed taken "at least up to $41,000" of their money. He could not be accurate concerning the amount, he said during the trial, because he kept "no books or records" of any kind.

Tighter Lending Rules to Cut New-Home Demand
The trouble in the mortgage market could spread beyond the subprime sector with tighter lending standards cutting demand for new homes by as much as 15% and further squeezing home-builder profits, according to an analyst following the industry... A big issue facing residential home builders is the oversupply of homes on the market after the speculative bubble. More home buyers are walking away from contracts, pushing builders' cancellation rates well above historical norms.

Officials warn: Unlicensed contractors risky business
"Home owners are exposed to a lot of risk if they chose to go with an unlicensed contractor," Steele said. "They don't have any liability insurance, don't pay workers compensation and if there's no permit in the first place, there is no where we can go to help the home owner seek recourse if they get shoddy work. A home owner should look at a license as a guarantee that the work will be held to a set of standards. If you have a reputable contractor, you can check out there references and know what they should expect.

Lawmakers to take closer look at agency that should protect homeowners
On Monday the state Legislature will take another look at a state agency that was supposed to protect homeowners against shoddy home builders. But in the two years that the Texas Residential Construction Commission has been around, critics say it's done nothing but help big builders. Dorina Corrente has planted herself deep into a swampy quagmire of red tape. Or blue tape that plasters her Sugar Land home. "Look at the mold, look at the damage," she said. She said poor drainage and bad construction have sent her new home to rot. The lawn is always wet. The foundation, crumbling. The blue tape marks what she says is wrong "€” what she says her home builder, DR Horton, won't fix.

Prices approved by appraisers didn't hold up over time
People who bought a home in Southern Chase with an FHA loan arranged by Beazer Mortgage paid higher prices on average than other buyers in the subdivision...The contrast was sharpest with the prices of 28 homes bought with loans insured by the Veterans Administration. The price of homes bought with Beazer FHA loans averaged 6 percent higher per square foot than the VA homes, adjusting for the year of sale. In 2006, Cabarrus County assigned a lower tax value than the original sales price to two-thirds of the 229 homes purchased with Beazer FHA loans. The county assigned lower values to only a quarter of the 177 homes purchased with other kinds of loans.

Consumer made two tactical mistakes
Perry Homes is one of Texas' best-known homebuilding companies. Owner Bob Perry of Houston is a philanthropist who donates millions to charities. He donates millions to Texas politicians, too. In fact, he is among the largest political contributors in the country...Many of the recipients are state legislators who now face decisions on a slew of bills recently filed that would toughen the Texas Residential Construction Commission's enforcement powers. The TRCC, created in 2003, is supposed to help homeowners and builders resolve construction-related disputes through a state-mandated process. Critics say the commission is biased in favor of builders. Builders say the commission was designed to resolve disputes with homeowners and avoid costly lawsuits.

Is There Justice for Homeowners in Fannin County?
The Assistant DA produced a list of "crimes and bad acts" of which the Egerts allegedly were guilty. One of these "crimes or bad acts" was that "... the Defendants threatened to and did falsely report the Complainants to the Texas Residential Construction Commission...." --the agency that the Attorney General's Office recommended the Egerts contact. Without being allowed to produce evidence such as business letters, which showed the professional manner in which they attempted  to communicate with Fines and Leggett and would have countered much of Leggett's testimony in court, the Egerts were subsequently found guilty of telephone harassment...Fines testified under oath that he had indeed taken "at least up to $41,000" of their money. He could not be accurate concerning the amount, he said during the trial, because he kept "no books or records" of any kind.

Lennar sued over toxic levels
A development firm building 1,600 new homes at the old Hunters Point Naval Shipyard has allowed clouds of toxic construction dust to escape from the site, exposing neighbors and schoolchildren to potentially harmful, airborne asbestos, two company executives say. Lennar Corp., which is Mayor Gavin Newsom's choice to take over the environmental cleanup of the entire former San Francisco naval base as part of a plan to build a new 49ers football stadium, imposed a "code of silence" last year to prevent workers from reporting violations of state and city clean-air rules, contended Gary McIntyre, Lennar's project manager, and Clementine Clarke, the company's community liaison.

Texas House State Affairs Hearing on Home Lemon Law, First in Nation to be Considered
Monday, March 19, 2007 the House State Affairs will hear testimony on 12 bills.  One is the Home Lemon Law, which would give an incentive to build a home right the first time or be forced to buy a house back if the builder failed to make repairs.  The committee will consider how to solve the chronic problem of substandard building in Texas . One bill if passed would abolish the troubled Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC).  Other bills  would beef up registration requirements for builders to demonstrate knowledge and financial responsibility and give enforcement powers to the TRCC.

Dust in the Wind - Simi Valley still looking for answers about Runkle Canyon radiation
Most impressively, these newly minted, mostly Republican activists convinced the city to take a fresh look at the Runkle Canyon EIR that they say ignores the obvious: the adjacent Rocketdyne facility may have polluted the place with radiation. The residents contend that more comprehensive tests of the soil must be done before construction commences. Home building giants KB Homes and Lennar plan to construct hundreds of homes about one-and-a-half miles away from the infamously polluted Santa Susana Field Laboratory, commonly known as Rocketdyne, site of the worst nuclear meltdown in American history. Beginning in the late 1940s, the lab conducted over 30,000 rocket engine tests and developed experimental nuclear reactors, one of which partially melted down in 1959 releasing hundreds of times more radiation than Three Mile Island did in 1979. Rocketdyne's legacy has been grave chemical and radiological contamination.

See New Community Website Developed to protest KB Home and Lennar
Home building giants KB Homes and Lennar plan to construct hundreds of homes about one-and-a-half miles away from the infamously polluted Santa Susana Field Laboratory, commonly known as Rocketdyne, site of the worst nuclear meltdown in American history. Beginning in the late 1940s, the lab conducted over 30,000 rocket engine tests and developed experimental nuclear reactors, one of which partially melted down in 1959 releasing hundreds of times more radiation than Three Mile Island did in 1979. Rocketdyne's legacy has been grave chemical and radiological contamination. StopRunkledyne.com

Building on Toxic Soil?
What happens when a big developer wants to build hundreds of homes within the shadow of Rocketdyne? When the radiation readings in the soil are high and the developer and City of Simi Valley discount them in their drive to build a new neighborhood in Runkle Canyon, controversy happens. Runkle Canyon has repeatedly tested high for the leukemia-causing radionuclide strontium-90 (Sr-90), which residents contend came from Rocketdyne. In 1999, a lab hired by a former developer sampled Runkle's dirt and found that it averaged six times the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "preliminary remediation goal" for Sr-90, a level that is presumed safe for residential development and nearly 46 times above the typical EPA background level for strontium-90 in the area.

Unlicensed Contractors Targeted In Escondido Sting
Over two dozen unlicensed operators were arrested in Escondido this week as result of a statewide undercover sting targeting illegal home construction, officials said. During operation "California Blitz" the 28 operators were invited to a home and bid over $500 on various phony construction projects, ranging from painting and tile work to landscaping, exterior lighting and masonry. The contractors were taken into custody and given notice to appear before a Superior Court judge to answer to misdemeanor charges of contracting without a license, as well as illegal advertising in some cases. They face a maximum of six months in jail or a $1,000 fine for the first offense. A second offense means a mandatory 90-day jail sentence.