Builder's $8 million tops GOP donor list
Perry has given $2 million to Americans for Honesty on Issues, a new group that is buying television ads aimed at helping Republicans facing tight House races in Iowa, Colorado, Indiana, Arizona, North Carolina, Kentucky and New Mexico, according to the group's latest report to the Federal Election Commission... Earlier this election cycle, Perry contributed $5 million to the Economic Freedom Fund, which targeted Democratic congressional candidates in competitive races in Georgia, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia.

Home builder fined for York County activity
The state Department of Environmental Protection accused Maryland-based Altieri Homes of mismanaging erosion control and of causing sediment pollution in local waterways. Altieri has routinely violated environmental rules over the last three years, according to the DEP.

NPR - Texas Homebuilder Perry's Money and Political Influence
Since 2000, no one in Texas has contributed more money to political campaigns than Homebuilder Bob Perry, and have average nearly $4M in contributions in a given election cycle to Texas candidates. Perry's main interest has been Tort Reform to limit liability for the homebuilding industry. In Texas he led a campaign to actually regulate the home buying public. To create an agency here in Texas that hinders homebuyers from getting warranty work done.  So, a warranty is no longer enforceable in the state of Texas . That is coming to the rest of the country.  So I believe…that if the wealthy Texas based homebuilders are able to limit liability in Texas that they are also influencing the political arena in other states to do the same thing. Click to listen

Anger over new homes
THEY say home is where the heart is - but a fed up group of residents today claimed buying new property on an Ipswich estate has left them wishing they had never bothered.  All 16 homeowners in Cranberry Square, Ravenswood, have levelled an angry blast at Bellway, criticising the developer for failing to deliver the dream home they say they were promised. They have also accused the property giant of poor customer service and shoddy workmanship, which has seen one problem fixed but another created in the process.

State License Will Soon Be Required for Builders/Contractors
The Oklahoma Contractor's Licensing Task Force made a major decision Wednesday that will impact the way new homes and businesses are built. They voted unanimously to adopt a statewide licensing program, meaning all contractors and builders in the state will soon have to be licensed before they can work..."It will protect the homeowner from anybody that decides he's going to be a builder and take off with your money.  (A license) will be able to get rid of that situation," says Stubbs.

Contractor, Couple Reach Accord
In August, Brooks' license was suspended for 60 days by the board to address complaints concerning workmanship, financial mismanagement and not honoring a warranty...The complaint first came to the board in June, along with a complaint from John Van Meter, Brook's next-door neighbor. That complaint was dismissed, but the Todds have said three other families have also complained about the builder, but haven't filed official complaints with the county yet.

State-sought home fixes rarely made
Good news: In about nine of 10 investigations, Texas officials have told builders to make repairs. Bad news: Two years into the program, most builders haven't made the fixes... The informal survey seems to echo the sentiment of a statewide review of 102 homeowners. Of those, 88 said the builder didn't make the repairs suggested by the commission, according to a state comptroller's office report released this year. Some of those included cases still being reviewed, commission officials said...Guy Combs, a homeowner in Alpine in West Texas, said arbitration backfired for him. He lined up about 20 expert witnesses and provided several inspection reports to support his claims that builder negligence led to damaged stucco, a leaking roof and mold. The arbitrator ruled against him, in part because, she said, he contributed to the damages. She ordered him to pay the builder $68,000 for legal fees, which he negotiated to $50,000.

Agency set to put complaints online
Texas officials plan to air problems with bad builders in public to shame them into mending their ways – and their crooked floorboards...A San Antonio builder filed a lawsuit earlier this month against a homeowner for posting complaints on the Web site of HomeOwners for Better Building, a consumer group. The lawsuit alleges that owner Jay Hirata owes Sitterle Corp. $500,000 in damages for "misrepresentations of fact" that hurt the company's reputation. "Does this action ... send a message of fear to every new homebuyer that they, too, could be subjected to the wrath of a builder if they file a complaint?" said Janet Ahmad, president of HomeOwners for Better Building.

Builder settles dispute with S.A. homeowners
The Sitterle Corp. and homeowners Jay and Joy Hirata had been at odds for two years over the Hirata's home in Emerald Forest, an upscale gated community on the North Side, where homes range from the $300,000s to the $400,000s...In August, Jay Hirata posted complaints about Sitterle on the discussion board of a San Antonio-based consumer advocacy group's Web site, Home Owners for Better Building. Sitterle fired back with a libel lawsuit. Although not unheard of, lawsuits by builders against their clients are unusual... The Hiratas' suit against Sitterle went to trial in late September and was in the closing argument phase when the settlement was reached. See posted complaint.  Related articles: Express News Report... Sitterle Homes makes the List of Bizarre legal cases. Press Release: Closing arguments... See exclusive photos of Hirata house and courtroom.

KB Home Delays 3Q Filing
Home builder KB Home said Tuesday it won't make a deadline for filing its third-quarter financial report because it needs more time to finish a review of its history of granting stock options, after a committee uncovered evidence of improper accounting for the options.

Mortgage Suit Says "Trust Us' Led to Fleecing
Using these connections, according to a recent lawsuit, the two women and another relative in Indianapolis perpetrated one of the largest mortgage frauds in American history, victimizing dozens of local residents and, according to sources with knowledge of the accusations, at least $40 million in fraudulent loans "€” perhaps even twice that amount.

National Freedom of Speech Week
"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech..." With these simple words, America's Founding Fathers sought to create a land in which citizens could speak and write without fear of reprisal.

Heber City man charged with fraud and racketeering
A convicted swindler with a 30-year criminal history has been charged with fraud and racketeering for not building log homes paid for by customers in Utah and other states.Phony contractors are a perennial national problem, preying on victims of natural disasters and homeowners looking to fix up their houses, say a host of organizations including the National Association of Home Builders and state attorneys general.

Protect yourself against threat of mortgage theft
First, on Sept. 20, the state House of Representatives passed a package of bills that made mortgage fraud a felony in Michigan and freed up funding for the attorney general to pursue mortgage crimes. The legislation now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

Homeowners complain builders did shoddy work
Pinal County resident Etta Estes wrote "I hate my Beazer. Ask me why" on her truck. Citing her opinion of her Beazer Homes USA house isn't limited to her vehicle - it's also displayed on her Beazer-built home, her son's car and her 3-year-old's Big Wheel. In Gilbert's Trilogy at Power Ranch, two homeowners, Craig Chernoff and Jim Daniels, handed out pamphlets and made signs that stated, "Awareness - Residents of Trilogy," which Chernoff held on neighborhood streets to inform people about the issues they had with Shea Homes.