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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Tuesday, 09 May 2006 |
Central Harbor Homes under investigation
Liz Medina and Leigh Ann Zipp did their research. They talked to their friends. And when they finally signed on the dotted line to have their new home built, what had once been a dream began to unravel. Pasco-based Central Harbor Homes started construction at their shady lot in Ridge Manor, but it wasn't long before work on the site came to a halt. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 May 2006 )
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Woman and son forced out by mold |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Tuesday, 09 May 2006 |
Woman's new home doesn't fit usual mold
When Gins Rubdie bought a house in Miami Township in July 2005, she had no idea that she would be searching for a new place to live eight months later.Toxic mold growing behind the walls of her house on Branch Hill-Miamiville Road is forcing Rubdie and her son, Kyle,14, out of their home... "I'm just taking things one day at a time," she said. Rubdie did say that she has contacted a lawyer and plans to file a lawsuit against the previous owner. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 May 2006 )
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Foreclosures continue to climb |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Monday, 08 May 2006 |
Foreclosures Up 72 Percent From Last Year
Georgia, Colorado and Indiana Post Nation's Highest First-Quarter Foreclosure Rates
National foreclosure filings continued to climb in the first three months of 2006, evidence that more U.S. homeowners are struggling to stay current on their monthly mortgage payments..."Foreclosures have now increased in four consecutive quarters and are on track to go above 1.2 million in 2006, which would push the nation's annual foreclosure rate to more than 1 percent of U.S. households." |
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Builder Bob Perry gave AG $50,000 campaign contribution day before... |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Monday, 08 May 2006 |
TRCC Controversy and Scandal Continues
Comptroller Carole Strayhorn says she'd do it again
Strayhorn and Attorney General Abbott lock horns over the failure of TRCC to resolve homeowner's complaint... More: David Van Os - AG Abbott takes care of his buddies. ...Perry gave Abbott $50,000 in one payment on December 15, 2005 alone – when Perry would have to have known that the Comptroller's investigation was underway. (Rep. Swinford requested Abbott's opinion on December 16.)
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 May 2006 )
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Homebuilderds Road To Riches |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Sunday, 07 May 2006 |
MDC execs near top among builders
Larry Mizel and David Mandarich, the top two honchos at Denver-based home-building giant MDC Holdings, (Richmond American) were rewarded last year with pay days that topped $40 million...While MDC was the third- worst performing major publicly traded home-building stock last year, Mizel and Mandarich pocketed the fourth-highest salary and bonuses in 2005 compared with 13 other executives from other U.S. home builders. The duo topped the Rocky Mountain News' list last year, and in the past four years Mizel pulled in $109 million, and his counterpart Madarich pulled in $111 million. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 May 2006 )
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Big Builder Business off 29% |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Sunday, 07 May 2006 |
Big Builder of Luxury Homes Says Business Is Off 29%
Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. on Friday said signed contracts for its homes fell 29 percent in its second quarter and that home deliveries for the year will be 200 lower than expected as the slowing housing market takes hold
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 May 2006 )
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Sunday, 07 May 2006 |
For Whom the Home Tolls
Question: "How can you tell when a home-selling industry insider is lying?" Answer: "His lips are moving." Now, now. I'm not talking about specific agents here (although if you want to hear the one about the agent who tried to sell us a townhouse with a collapsing foundation for a mere half million bucks, let me know). |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 May 2006 )
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David Van Os - AG Abbott takes care of his buddies |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Sunday, 07 May 2006 |
Greg Abbott takes care of his homebuilder buddies
I am mad as hell about our government being run for the benefit of the privileged few at the expense of everybody else. What a neat deal it must especially be to own the Attorney General of Texas. When Greg Abbott ruled this week that Comptroller General Carole Strayhorn had no right to investigate the Texas Residential Construction Commission, it was a grand payback for one of Greg's biggest financial supporters, Texas homebuilding tycoon Bob Perry.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 May 2006 )
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Defects in a new home rose from 52.7 in 2004 to 62.4 in 2005 |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Sunday, 07 May 2006 |
Snagging Problems On The Rise
According to research carried out by Inspector Home, a specialist snagging company that works on behalf of buyers, the average number of defects in a new home rose from 52.7 in 2004 to 62.4 in 2005. |
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Strayhorn said she'd do it again |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 05 May 2006 |
Abbott: Comptroller had no authority to issue building report
State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn had no authority to investigate and release a critical report about the performance of the Texas Residential Construction Commission this year, state Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled Wednesday. Strayhorn's response: She'd do it again, and she all but dared Abbott to try to stop her...She criticized the agency, created in 2003, as acting as a "builder protection agency" with no power to enforce homebuilders to repair construction defects in new houses. |
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State Agency Fleecing Texas Homeowners |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 05 May 2006 |
A collection of South Texas Political gossip
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Wednesday that Carole 4 names, 3 parties had no right to investigate the organization set up to facilitate the fleecing of Texas home owners...State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn had no authority to investigate and release a critical report about the performance of the Texas Residential Construction Commission this year, state Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled Wednesday. Strayhorn's response: She'd do it again, and she all but dared Abbott to try to stop her. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 May 2006 )
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Strayhorn rapped over investigation |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 05 May 2006 |
Attorney general rules she didn't have authority to recommend an agency be closed
"I was asked by a legislator to investigate the Texas Residential Construction Commission. I did it, and if the attorney general wants to take me to court, let's go," she said.Strayhorn said her investigation was prompted by a request from state Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, who wanted to know how the agency's consumer complaint process compared with other states and if legislation that created the commission discouraged good home building.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 May 2006 )
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Thursday, 04 May 2006 |
Home builders see declines in shares
Shares of Hovnanian fell $2.39, or 6.2 percent, to close at $36.39 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of other home builders also suffered. D.R. Horton Inc., the largest home builder, fell 30 cents, or 1 percent, to finish at $29.44 on the NYSE. Pulte Homes Inc. shares dropped 85 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $35.75, while KB Home shares slipped $1.16, or 1.9 percent, to $59.50. |
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TRCC Builder Protection Agency in the News Again |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Wednesday, 03 May 2006 |
AG says comptroller had no authority to issue critical report
"I did it, and if the attorney general wants to take me to court, let's go," she said. "If a legislator requests me to act when it comes to the fiscal matters of this state, I will act. This is a constitutional office and we disagree with the opinion," she said. The review was requested by Rep. Todd Smith of Euless in August 2005. Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, then asked Abbott if Strayhorn had the authority to conduct such a review...The practical effect of the ruling on the construction agency report is negligible. Strayhorn's report was finished and released months ago. She held a news conference the day she put it out. |
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Ryan Homeowners Sound Off |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Thursday, 27 April 2006 |
PlanetFeedback - The Voice of One, The Power of Many
Ryan Homeowners Sound Off
"There is one thing that Ryan Homes/NVR Mortgage/ NVR Inc. is good at, and that's sucking the fun and happiness out of building a new home. At a time when my family should be ecstatic about moving into a brand new house, we are nothing but stressed and depressed about what owning this new house means." |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 June 2006 )
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