It's time for a Homeowners' Bill of Rights
Each year, hundreds of unsuspecting Washingtonian homeowners discover deficiencies with their new home. These problems include (but are not limited to) faulty design, code violations, cracked foundations, moisture problems that lead to toxic molds, substandard workmanship, and structural issues. Many have already suffered great losses: their life's savings, their physical and emotional health, and home value depreciation.

Torched Frisco home was subject of lawsuits
A vacant house in Frisco that burned last weekend in a fire that has been ruled suspicious was the subject of several lawsuits over toxic black mold, and its owners reportedly had plans to demolish it. The fire Saturday night at No. 3 Riva Ridge destroyed the home's second story, where fire officials found that accelerant had been poured around a playroom.

Tempers flare in suburb
Problems with codes enforcement came to light in recent months when an inspection report conducted by an outside agency found some records were not being kept properly, data were incomplete and some employees lacked proper certification. In addition, field inspections indicated serious building-code violations at several homes in the Village Grande at Millers Run development. Those problems are what prompted supervisors to seek a review of department procedures.

Builder denies he back-doored $1 million to Perry
As much as $1 million from controversial Houston homebuilder Bob Perry appears to have flowed into Gov. Rick Perry's re-election campaign last year indirectly through the Republican Governors Association Political Action Committee...In one instance, a $500,000 RGA donation was made to Gov. Perry's campaign one day after the RGA received a like amount of money from Bob Perry.

Keansburg home-improvement contractor sued by the state
A Keansburg-based home-improvement contractor has been sued by New Jersey for allegedly operating without being registered and failing to complete projects after being paid by home owners, state authorities said today. The Shademaster, which does also does business as Renovation Experts, and its owner, Carmine Annunziata, were sued in Superior Court in Monmouth County. The lawsuit says the company violated the state's Consumer Fraud Act.

Help residents harden homes
Floridians need rate relief now, but they also need to be encouraged to make their homes stronger and better able to withstand hurricane winds. That means a true statewide building code, incentives for adding storm shutters and other improvements, and clear reductions in premiums for homeowners' investments...Cutting premiums may provide immediate relief, but one of the long-term answers to the property insurance crisis is to ensure Florida homes are better able to withstand hurricane-force winds.

Family wins mold case
After three years, health problems persist. A family that bought a nearly $375,000 newly constructed home on a one-acre lot near Howell lived there for just 10 months before toxic mold forced them out. A poorly built roof allowed rain to seep into the walls and floors on all three levels of the home.  Last week -- nearly three years after the ordeal began -- Tom and Kimberly Szymczak were awarded a consent judgment of $775,000 against Brighton builder Andrew Tonkovich and his company, A&T Development Inc.

Builder leaves subcontractors unpaid
The company, which has some 90 active building permits in Charlotte County, has apparently been placed in financial limbo after many of its subcontractors -- who claim they haven't been paid for some $1 million in work -- filed liens against the homebuyers.

U.S. FORECLOSURES INCREASE 4 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER
A total of 120,334 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure during November, an increase of 4 percent from the previous month and an increase of 68 percent from November 2005, according to the RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The report also shows a national foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 961 U.S. households, the highest monthly foreclosure rate reported so far this year. Nevada, Colorado and Georgia posted the nation's highest state foreclosure rates during the month, and California, Texas and Florida documented the most new foreclosure filings. Greeley, Colo., Detroit and the Inland Empire area of Southern California documented the highest metropolitan foreclosure rates.

Running Horse Makes Settlement in Court for Homeowners
The developer of Running Horse agreed in court that he'll pay to complete the construction on 6 homes when he sells the subdivision. This agreement only covers a small fraction of the people who bought homes in that subdivision. Many have moved into their homes but that didn't solve their problems. Lot number 20 should have been completed a long time ago. Hien Nguyen bought it in 2004 for more than $190,000. But it was only today that Running Horse finally agreed to pay to complete the construction. Nguyen says, "I am happy, but I wish Running Horse doesn't have to drag us on and on like this, because they are obviously at fault for not having the house built."

LIENS PILING UP, HOUSES UNBUILT
It has been months since some Port Charlotte and North Port homeowners have heard anything from Construction Compliance Inc. of St. Petersburg about their houses. Meanwhile, subcontractors have filed hundreds of thousands of dollars in liens against the builder and its customers. Erik and Kathryn Matthews, for example, are still waiting for their house and have seen the following liens filed against them: Kimal Lumber, $9,801.20; Sunbelt Electric, $5,076.70; Jodfer Land Service, $12,600; H.D. Supply/Cox Lumber, $3,517.09; and Residential Dry Wall Inc., $6,622.00.The total: $37,616.99.

Florida Foreclosure Hotline Counsels 'At-Risk' Homeowners
The Florida Foreclosure Prevention Hotline is teaming up with state and local authorities, local and national lenders, and other groups both public and private to provide Florida residents facing foreclosure with free foreclosure counseling.Currently, Florida ranks second in national foreclosures. One in every 182 Florida homeowners is facing foreclosure...Almost 1 million foreclosures were filed nationwide in 2006, more than a 51-percent increase from the previous year. Two Florida cities rank in the nation's top 10 foreclosures"€”Ft. Lauderdale is second and Miami is fourth.

Johnson Development SLAPP-suit in Texas settled after nearly a 2 year battle with homeowners!
In 24 states, after a surge of SLAPP-suits over several decades, legislatures began to add statutory protections stopping SLAPP-suits before they can severely harm families/consumers. Since developers/builders use these tools to silence most often (Canen & Pring, 1996) they resisted in many states. In Texas the lobby blocked four fairly recent attempts. Where does this leave you? In our case, after nearly 2 years of litigation in a developer friendly court, we ended up settling. We consider it a stale-mate that may have cost the company conservatively attacking us close to half a million dollars (of course it cost us our life savings defending it and eventually our home).

Consumer complaints rise at BBB
The Charlotte-area Better Business Bureau processed 11,389 complaints from consumers last year, a 30 percent increase on the 8,776 in 2005. Top industry complaints for the area were in the following industries: home improvements and remodeling, auto dealers, home builders, furniture and auto repair and service.

High home foreclosures signal Ohio's bigger economic problems
Ohio again leads the nation in home foreclosures, an indicator of how the state's lag in adding jobs is leading people to have trouble paying their bills, economists say. New foreclosure filings in Ohio increased by 1 percent in the third quarter of 2006 from the second quarter, trailing only Michigan and Rhode Island for the largest increase, according to the study of 42.6 million residences with one to four units.