Don't let these scams happen to you!
The term mortgage fraud encompasses a grab bag of cons and tricks, perpetrated on victims ranging from average homeowners to novice real estate investors to savvy bankers and the banks they represent. It is, according to FBI Special Agent Ronda Heilig, "one of the fastest-growing white-collar crimes in the United States." ...Mortgage fraud has been around as long as home loans, but recent trends have made it easier -- and far more lucrative -- to game the system. Here's what's driving the crime spree...Avoid Being Scammed

Monday Morning Mold (Mycology) - July 10, 2006

Town takes developer to court
It was supposed to be the premier 55-and-over community in Huntington. But residents at The Greens at Half Hollow say the exclusive development has been plagued by shoddy construction, poor lighting, flooding and other problems...Beleaguered residents in the 1,145-unit development say they have not received a satisfactory response from the developer and eventually asked Huntington Town for help.

Churchville contractor loses license
This is the third time Dull has violated customer contracts since 1996, according to the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Clifton Forge homeowners Ronald Robinson and Karen Porter filed complaints with VDPOR in April after nearly three years of discovering construction shortcuts, including roof leaks, incorrectly installed flashing, and a blocked chimney.

Editorial: Profits before safety
They sided with builders, killed flood bill
Last week, lawmakers had a chance to approve Assembly Bill 3050 by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento. It would have required local governments to share liability with the state for any future development they approve in floodplains. Instead of approving this prudent measure, lawmakers chose to side with big homebuilders, who mounted a fierce and misleading campaign against Jones' bill... Unwilling to sacrifice a dollar of their profits -- the Los Angeles Times recently reported that the CEO of KB Homes made $46 million last year -- builders pulled out the stops in blocking AB 3050. Politicians caved. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his lobbyists were AWOL on the bill, even though they said they supported it. 

Homebuilder's Right-to-Repair Illusion Exposed in Nevada
In Texas where the bill was touted as the first Tort Reform law in the country.  The problem is the law doesn't give an incentive for builders to construct a house right from the beginning but encourages the industry to build them as fast as possible and worry about defects later...Time has proven that the law actually gives a disincentive for builders to make repairs by successfully limiting builder's liability for their mistakes. The law gave builders greater confidence that they could avoid most responsibility by ignoring repairs, which created lengthy legal disputes that homeowners could not afford.  The associated legal expenses drained homebuyers financially, causing most families to give up.
Read more...

More New Homes Contain Life-Threatening Defects
Quality Built's study of new homes and condos in 27 states, constructed by more than 900 different builders, commonly found window flashing problems, improper roofing, missing structural hardware and other defects to be more prevalent in the eastern and southern states... Among all homes, the three most common construction risks discovered in single-family homes were in the building envelope (41 percent), which could lead to moisture intrusion and mold; framing and structural elements (34 percent), which can affect a building's integrity during rough weather conditions or earthquakes; and in the plumbing and electrical systems (8 percent).

Western Homes Top the Nation in Quality Production
20,867 single-family and 11,128 multi-family homes during this survey period. The three predominant construction risks discovered in single-family homes were in Building Envelope (41%), Framing/Structural (34%) and Plumbing/Electrical (8%). In multi-family homes, the top three defects were Life Safety (29%) Framing/Structural (26%) and Building Envelope (23%). The single highest risk problems identified in single-family homes included improper framing around windows and doors, building paper and house wrap installation flaws and missing structural connections. In multi-family homes, the risk problems included building paper and house wrap installation flaws, unprotected penetrations in life safety assemblies and missing fire-rated materials.

Delays dog Del Webb defect cases
...lawsuits filed against Del Webb claims that plumbing, roofing, retaining walls and concrete slabs are defective, with alleged defects costing about $30,000 in repairs per home... When the "Right to Repair" law was passed by the Nevada Legislature in 2003 it was hailed as the key to stopping the tide of construction-defect lawsuits that many said was slowly killing the industry. But three years since that law was passed nothing has changed, many in the construction industry have said. If anything, construction-defect cases haven't decreased since the Right to Repair law was passed. At least one industry insider said that in spite of the Right to Repair law, construction-defect cases continue to be filed and the numbers continue to increase. See related article: Homebuilder's Right-To-Repair Illusion

Developer seeks injunction
David Champoux, an outspoken critic of the homebuilder, had announced plans to demonstrate with signs to dissuade people from buying homes.In previous letters to the editor, he said D.R. Horton should be held liable to residents who paid a premium to live in a golf community now that Old Carolina LLC -- owner of the course -- is replacing nine holes with 199 apartments and 55 single-family houses. Some of the residents who bought homes from D.R. Horton possessed written guarantees that the Buck Island Road course would be in existence through 2010, Champoux said.

Monday Morning Mold (Mycology) - July 3, 2006

Houston Chronicle's Rick Casey - Proposal: A $1 million recusal rule
Take the case of Attorney General Greg Abbott. Last Dec. 15 he received $100,000 in campaign contributions from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry and his wife... Perry and his allies in the homebuilding industry worked hard to obtain the commission as a partial shield against lawsuits... Still, it hardly inspires confidence for the attorney general to accept a hundred grand from an interested party on the eve of entertaining a request to rule on an issue of considerable interest to that party. In addition, five days after sending his request to Abbott, Swinford received his first contribution from Perry, for $2,000. Six weeks later he would receive another $10,000... But the notion that the attorney general can take $100,000 from someone with a direct interest in his ruling is outrageous.  And it's actually worse. Since 2001, Abbott has received $1.1 million from Mr. and Mrs. Perry...

The Watchdog DAVE LIEBER
Lawmaker says area's new homes 'substandard'
State Rep. Marc Veasey is unhappy with 29 newly built shotgun-style homes in part of his district. He is considering filing a bill related to minimum housing standards... The homes look exactly alike. The front exteriors are brick, but olive-green siding covers the backs and sides. One long side of each home has no windows... The yards are mostly dirt and weeds...The builder, Don Livingston, tells The Watchdog that the homes meet the city's minimum standards...He says the lawns are not complete, so it is too early to judge, but he has no plans to lay sod. Livingston says he didn't install windows along one side of the houses "because when you are building the houses, people will steal the windows."

Tightly built homes jeopardize air quality
...unless there is a stronger emphasis on ventilation and an avoidance of building products that release or off-gas toxic chemicals, indoor air quality will continue to erode. And it doesn't matter if you buy a $300,000 home or a $2-million home. Toxic building products are used in every home built in Ontario.

Teamsters Call on Las Vegas Homebuilders to Hire Qualified Workers
The coalition is working to end the epidemic of shoddy home construction that has plagued the Las Vegas market in recent years.  Newly passed Nevada legislation requires homebuilders to resolve all structural defects and code violations reported by consumers within a specified period of time.