Several homes in Williamson County have defects. Builder is making repairs, but homeowners say that's not enough
Residents of the Legends of Hutto subdivision say some of their homes have cracks in the walls and other issues. Some of the families have had the problems fixed, but others are still waiting.Residents of the Legends of Hutto subdivision say some of their homes have cracks in the walls and other issues. Some of the families have had the problems fixed, but others are still waiting..."First they said it was the foundation, second defective trusses, and now it's only cosmetic," said Bourke's girlfriend, Conny Thibodeaux. Bourke's neighbor Eva Marie Cole and her sons stayed in a hotel for a week while repairs were made to their home. She said she had to hound the company to pay for the hotel upfront...Homeowners are "entitled to a home that's going to last," Ahmad said. "Believe me, this happens every day. The homeowners have to fight for everything they can get."

Washington Legislature: Buyer-rights battle builds
Weinstein, a sometimes-abrasive Mercer Island lawyer who specialized in asbestos litigation, is in a bitter public clash with the powerful home-building industry. And what a few weeks ago looked like go-nowhere, campaign-fodder legislation – a "Homeowner's Bill of Rights" – now looks like it actually has a chance of passing. More than half the state Senate, including Majority Leader Lisa Brown, has signed onto Weinstein's proposal to require transferable warranties of up to 10 years on new homes. Builders would be liable for all costs of repairing a defect.

Frustrated home buyers find spot to vent online
The Montville Township mortgage broker had been waging a one-man campaign against his home builder, Drees Homes of Fort Mitchell, Ky., on the Internet since early this year. He criticized the builder's workmanship in the Ridgewood Falls subdivision and Drees' follow-up on complaints. After two years of dealing with Drees, he decided to make his complaints public with the Web site www.DontDoDrees.com. The message helped Hixenbaugh reach a settlement with Drees Homes. He said he planned to take his Web site down this week.

Seguin representative wants to limit cities' zoning restrictions
A state lawmaker has filed legislation challenging Austin's ordinance outlawing new homes that loom over older ones in central neighborhoods. Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, said he developed the bill at the behest of Austin builders to get city officials talking about how the ordinance might be changed to better protect homeowners and landowners...Kuempel's proposed legislation, which would apply statewide, would restrict cities so they could enforce only one of three zoning limits: the percentage of a lot that may be occupied, the amount of impervious cover allowed on a lot or the floor-to-area ratio.

Progress on Curbing Mandatory Arbitration in Texas
As predicted this year is shaping up to be one of the best in many years, for the restoration of consumer protection rights. The filing of a bill (HB1686) by Representative Ruth Jones McClendon of Texas last week has to rank as one of the most exciting news events thus far.The McClendon bill would effectively ban the use of binding mandatory arbitration (BMA) agreements in contracts for new homes as well as home repairs.

KVUE Defenders Look at Liens in Austin
An eye opening look at what can happen to the title on your home - if you're not paying attention. Could you have liens on your property that you don't know about? The builder of a popular Northwest Austin subdivision admits he owes tens of thousands of dollars in liens, that blanket his entire subdivision of about 80 homes. And several homeowners tell KVUE that's just the beginning of their concerns.  See Defenders Report

Why? Question About Arbitration
After enduring the three day insidious arbitration process and three years of torment, my husband and I received our "Award of the Arbitrator" from the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"). (It takes thirty days for the arbitrator to make a ruling. Those days are referred to as post study. We were billed $1687.00 dollars, for her painstaking post study, for an already made-up mind.)...We are staring at this piece of paper issued because we were fraudulently induced to purchase a substandard, defective, $360,000 dollar, uninhabitable house. This award says: for our attempt to exercise our seventh amendment rights and for going before a judge for a hearing, on fraud becasue of fraud we are to pay the builders, Tremont/Stature, $14,597.50. We are to pay them because WE breached the contract.

Consumer Advocates Applaud Representative Todd Smith for filing House Bill 2008
House Bill 2008, authored by Representative Todd Smith (R-Bedford), would greatly assist homeowners by enacting critical and necessary reforms to the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), according to consumer groups.  A major complaint against the TRCC is that homeowners are required to go through its inspection and dispute resolution process before they can pursue legal action against an unscrupulous or incompetent builder. "In the four years that the TRCC has been operating, it has often been a hindrance rather than a help to Texas homeowners," said Jeff Brooks, advocate for the Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG). "House Bill 2008 would go a long way towards transforming the TRCC into an agency which can best serve the needs of ordinary Texas citizens."

Major Problems Spur Complaints From Delaware Homeowner
Imagine buying a brand new home only to discover water seeping through the walls. A new homeowner in Delaware says he has that problem right now. From a leaky door to a leaky basement and possibly mold problems, Todd Bell is fed up and angry. He said there are cracks outside his new Camden home that allow water to seep under his floors and down his walls. Todd said he has called the developer about 60 times since moving in to fix the problems. Bell and his family have lived in the new home for about a year and two months, and he said the problems have been ongoing from the start... Officials with the Attorney General's Office say issues like Bell's are often a civil matter between homeowners and developers.

Couple site moldy home, fraud in suit vs. developer
Alexander Kaplan and his wife, Denise, are suing DiVosta Homes and VillageWalk of Bonita Springs Homeowners Association over numerous problems associated with a four-bedroom home on Scrub Jay Lane that they closed on in April 2006, but have never lived in due to the problems...Attorneys Christopher Burrows and Scott Grant, who represent DiVosta, referred calls to Beth Cocchiarella, a spokeswoman for DiVosta's parent company Pulte Homes... A 2003 report by New York-based Insurance Information Institute estimated that more than 10,000 mold-related injury lawsuits were pending nationwide that year, a 300 percent increase since 1999.

Unmarried women a growing force in housing market
While married couples are still 60 percent of homebuyers, their market share has dwindled from 70 percent 12 years ago. Meanwhile, statistics from the National Association of Realtors show unmarried women like Braziel, a consultant for employment services giant Manpower Inc., accounted for 22 percent of sales last year, up from 14 percent in 1995. Single men, on the other hand, accounted for just 9 percent of home sales in 2006 -- unchanged from the mid-'90s, the Realtors association says.

Builders, Developers Could Pay Hefty Fines For Not Following New Erosion Rules
April showers bring May flowers, but rain throughout the year brings the potential for tainted waterways. Without protective measures, rainwater can flow through a construction site and carry dirt and other debris into storm drains. The muddied water then can enter rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and wildlife habitats. "The amount of sediment that comes off a typical construction site, uncontrolled, can end up impairing the quality of water bodies - whether it's a stream or something as big as the Mississippi River

Contractors May Be Unlicensed, Despite What Ads Show
While looking through the classified section recently, Robert Brennan found an electrician to do some work on his new home. After receiving an estimate, Brennan looked up the contractor's license, only to find that he was not qualified for a state contractor's license and was advertising with his city of Bakersfield business license. Brennan used the state contractor's license board website to look up the license number and found that it did not exist. Brennan found 19 advertisements for people who did not have proper state contractor's licenses--some were canceled, expired or did not exist.

State sues mortgage companies in homeowners scam
Three Chicago businesses promised to rescue more than a dozen struggling homeowners since 2003, then scammed them out of tens of thousands of dollars in home equity, state Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.  The firms--Eyes Have Not Seen Inc.; Creative Financial Solutions; and Mutual Trust Funding, formerly known as Greater Investment Solutions--lured victims by offering to help make mortgage payments, according to the suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The companies then ran a scam that involved persuading the homeowners to put their homes in someone else's name, the lawsuit alleges.

Lawyer's client list grows in Coast case
A Sarasota attorney is representing at least 100 clients who are ready to take on Coast Bank and the developer who left them saddled with mortgages on unfinished homes. Tannenbaum said he is planning a class action against CCI and the entities that packaged the real estate investment deals - including Seashore Resorts and American Mortgage Link.