Hundreds of residents dissatisfied with home builders
It is quite likely the biggest investment you'll ever make, but it shouldn't cost you everything. Hundreds of Tennessee home buyers are filing complaints about mold and water leaking into their brand new homes. The problems are eating away at their investments and making their families sick. When you buy a brand new home you don't expect it to leak.

Mandatory Arbitration Clauses Reduce Consumer Rights
When American consumers sign contracts "€” for credit cards, bank loans, mortgages or telephone service "€” language in the fine print often waives their right to employ the full extent of the law should the company violate the contract...The fine print of many contracts says consumers "waive the right to go to court" to resolve any disputes about a product or service. They are instead committed to binding arbitration... Claybrook says the system is flawed. "The process completely favors the corporation," she said. "The corporation does repeat business with the arbitration company and if the company routinely finds in favor of consumers or gives large awards to consumers, they don't get used again."

Stop Use of Binding Mandatory Arbitration Clauses
At a press conference, the groups released a 10-point platform for action, which includes the unveiling of two educational Web sites, a call for state and federal legislation, and a campaign to encourage consumers to avoid doing business with companies that use BMA clauses.  Give Me Back My Rights - www.givemebackmyrights.org Call Before You Buy -  www.callbeforeyoubuy.com 
See List of Participating Organizations and Press Release

Fine Print May Waive Legal Rights
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses Reduce Consumer Rights
"If you did a public survey, you would find that 99 percent of consumers are totally surprised that there's small print in there that doesn't allow them to go to court," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization.

Homebuilding Industry Warranty Spending is Extremely Low
New homebuilder warranty claims are low, while homebuyer complaints are at an all-time high? 
When buying an airplane, helicopter, a car, a washer or dryer, computer, printer, desk or even an office chair, the percentage of dollars spent by the manufactures on customer warranty issues is greater than that spent by the homebuilding industry on defectively built new home warranty claims.  The percentage of earnings spent by a builder on warranty issues of a new home is as little as 0.3% while Gateway reported 6.2% and Lexmark International, a manufacturer of printers spent 9.7%.  Read the entire series: Warranty Week Six Part Series    

Disgruntled home owner turns to Better Business Bureau
Houston River Oaks Examiner - Jordan Fogal
Since she and her husband purchased a $360,000 town home in Montrose's Hyde Park Crescent community at 1515 Hyde Park Drive, Fogal has been battling with Stature Construction, Inc. to fix repairs she contends are due to substandard construction... Fogal has also turned her energies to consumer advocacy, and has been assisting other distraught homebuyers, consulting with anxious Realtors afraid of being sued for selling faulty buildings, and lobbying state legislators to change housing laws. On Monday, Fogal joined a group of unhappy home owners at the state capitol to lobby lawmakers to make builders more accountable by making proof of expertise and financial responsibility mandatory.

Amend HB730 – The Texas Residential Construction Commission Act

Homeowners storm Capitol
Janet Ahmad, president of HomeOwners for Better Building, said TRCC's Texas Star Builder Program is the main point of contention. The program allows builders to qualify as "star builders," demonstrating knowledge, experience and history of financial responsibility, Ahmad said. She said this must be made mandatory for builders instead of optional, as it is under the current system.

The Agency that Bob Perry Built
For nearly a decade, homebuilders had steadily eroded consumer rights in Texas: Buyers who moved into brand-new houses and found cracked foundations and leaky roofs had little recourse. Some couldn't file a lawsuit even if they wanted. They had signed housing contracts that forced them to resolve complaints through binding arbitration hearings notorious for favoring builders... Homebuilders are some of the state's heftiest contributors to political campaigns. Their interests so dominate the TRCC that the new agency is little more than a tool to help the industry win disputes against consumers...Since 2001, the industry has donated more than $8.9 million to candidates, parties, and political action committees, according to an analysis by the campaign watchdog group Campaigns for People. That includes $744,562 to Gov. Rick Perry...

Washington Post
Woman's life is looking up now that her abode isn't making her sick
By JEFF TURRENTINE
 The ordeal, she claimed, had left her with debilitating symptoms known collectively as multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome, or MCS. Currently, the medical community classifies MCS as a "syndrome of unknown origin," like Gulf War syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome. By now, Lively-Diebold is used to cynicism about her condition. It's one of the reasons she wanted to find "the type of architect who would listen to your input, not just tell you what you need to have."