AP Wire: Feds raid headquarters of Concord development firm
CONCORD, Calif."€”Federal agents are reviewing documents seized in a raid of the headquarters of a Northern California-based development company.  A spokesman with the Federal Bureau of Investigation says about 30 federal agents served search warrants at the offices of Discovery Builders and the Albert D. Seeno Construction Co. in Concord Thursday. Spokesman Joseph Schadler said agents were looking for evidence of possible financial crimes. No arrests were made. The two companies are part of a giant development and home-building operation founded by the late Albert Seeno. The Seeno family also holds major stakes in companies that own Peppermill Resort Casino in Reno and a casino resort in Wendover, Nev. An attorney who represents Discovery Builders and other Seeno family enterprises said the companies are cooperating with the FBI.

New homes built in landslide neighborhood
Homeowners affected by a landslide in a Northwest Side neighborhood are asking why their builder is still building new homes in the neighborhood. Homes started sliding down a hill in the Hills of Rivermist subdivision in January when a retaining wall failed. The builder, Centex, has begun constructing several new homes nearby. News 4 WOAI checked with city officials and independent engineers Monday to see if the new construction was safe. News 4 WOAI was told the new homes are on solid ground, but that the builder needs to follow construction standards. "In the end, if they don't, then they won't get a certificate of occupancy," explained District 8 City Councilman Reed Williams. "So, there's still another checkpoint or two obviously."  Councilman Williams also said Centex is scheduled to be finished with an overall evaluation of the Hills of Rivermist problem by the end of February.  News 4 news report

San Antonio Builders Create Temporary Manmade Premium Hillside Views
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Rivermist Trickle Down
Some residents at the Hills of Rivermist say Centex officials aren't addressing the problem as a whole. Many who live in the subdivision, but not right by the collapsed retaining wall, say their homes are falling apart. Elsa Gonzalez says she's noticed many cracks and leaks in the past week and fears what's next. She is not one of the residents who was forced to evacuate as a result of the landslide. Centex officials tell us some movement is expected because of the rain, but that the land is stable and shored up. They also are inspecting all of the homes where families were forced to evacuate. Still, residents like Gonzalez say the only appropriate response by the company would be to buy back their homes. 

See KABB FOX news video report...

Landslide neighborhood homeowners look for support from lawmakers
It was a busy morning Saturday at the post office for some Northwest Side homeowners who say they are desperate for help. Residents of the Hills of Rivermist subdivision have seen their home values plummet since a landslide tore apart a retaining wall three weeks ago.We caught up with some of them at the post office in Helotes. They were mailing out letters, asking for help. The letters are addresses to lawmakers at every level; from San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro all the way up to President Barack Obama. "Hoping, hoping for answers," explained Hills of Rivermist resident Will Ansel. "We haven't heard anything from Centex. It seems like they're hiding from us. It'd be nice to hear what they have to say." Back at the subdivision our cameras caught a rather bizarre sight Saturday. On one side of the street a police officer stands outside a home that's now unsafe to set foot inside because of the landslide. On the other side of the street crews are busy at work on the foundation of a new home. 

View Video News Report: Landslide neighborhood homeowners desperate for help

Cracks beginning to show in more Rivermist homes
by Chris Sadeghi / KENS 5 TV  February 14, 2010 As time drags on at the Rivermist subdivision, residents are growing more and more frustrated. Saturday, dozens of residents began a letter-writing campaign, many saying even if the wall is fixed, the problems created by the shifting soil will remain. Chris Sadeghi has the latest.

View Video report...

No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away
"People like me are beginning to feel like suckers," Mr. Koellmann said. "Why not let it go in default and rent a better place for less?"  After three years of plunging real estate values, after the bailouts of the bankers and the revival of their million-dollar bonuses, after the Obama administration's loan modification plan raised the expectations of many but satisfied only a few, a large group of distressed homeowners is wondering the same thing.  New research suggests that when a home's value falls below 75 percent of the amount owed on the mortgage, the owner starts to think hard about walking away, even if he or she has the money to keep paying.

Pawlenty ushered check on behalf of Texas home builder
Gov. Pawlenty said this morning that the $100,000 check he delivered to the Alabama GOP on Friday night was from Texas homebuilder Bob Perry. If you think the name sounds familiar, it should. Perry is a big-time GOP donor who contributes to the Republican Governors Association and several conservative 527 groups (including the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth organization in 2004). He also gave $500,000 to A Stronger American Minnesota, an independent 527 that worked to get Pawlenty reelected in 2006...one campaign finance watchdog called Perry "an 800 pound gorilla."

Mansfield couple's fight with powerful homebuilder back in court
...it was like starting all over again... The Culls are a retirement-age couple who say Perry Homes built a defective house with a broken foundation and cracked walls, but won't fix it. The Mansfield couple took their case to arbitration and won an $800,000 award "€” but Perry refused to pay, saying the couple had waived their legal rights to arbitrate. Years of appeals followed. Lower court judges ruled in the Culls' favor, directing Perry to pay. The builder appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, whose members have all received campaign contributions from Perry, the state's most prolific political giver. After reviewing the case more than a year, the Supreme Court wiped out the award and sent the case back to district court...Jane Cull said she fears the fight could sap not just their savings but also their energy. "Bob Perry doesn't have to watch the money clock," she said. "He has pockets deeper than the ocean."

San Antonio builders must check all retaining walls built in past three years
An interesting status report was posted online tonight by San Antonio officials who are examining the retaining wall collapse at the Hills of Rivermist. Officials met with local builders, who were told they must review all retaining walls built over the past three years that are more than four feet tall. The builders must make sure an engineer designed each wall and that the structure was built correctly. And the builders must pull permits for each wall by March 31. The builders raised several concerns about the city's permitting requirements, some of which were discussed in our story about the city's lack of oversight of retaining walls.

Bexar commissioners look to learn lessons from Hills of Rivermist collapse
by KENS 5 staff Residents remain on edge in the Hills of Rivermist subdivision as measures continue to shore up the collapsed retaining wall there. Bexar County Commissioners are taking steps to avoid a similiar situation elsewhere. They'll hear a report Tuesday about the state of retaining walls on property in unincorporated ares of Bexar County. Meantime, developer Centex has hired a private firm to investigate exactly what happened at Rivermist. It should take about six weeks for that report

Express-News Letter to the Editor: Needed wake-up call
Recently I participated in a hearing at the state Capitol in regards to mandatory binding arbitration. Filled with arbiters, trial lawyers, consumer groups and consumers, the hearings led to a tell-all of experiences with the homebuilding industry. As a victim of a homebuilder in Houston, I participated in earlier hearings asking our elected officials to enact laws protecting unsuspecting potential homebuyers if their homes are deemed defective, and making homebuilders responsible for all costs.  Aside from the abolishment of the Texas Residential Construction Commission, nothing changed and pleas remain unanswered. The San Antonio subdivision in which houses are literally sliding down a hill sends a wake-up call to legislators.  If you do nothing to hold the homebuilding industry accountable for mistakes, the next case could be catastrophic.  Marcia Kushner, Houston

Chance of rain sparks additional landslide evacuations
More residents of the Hills of Rivermist subdivision on the city's Northwest Wide were evacuated Wednesday. Police walked up and down Treewell Glen to issue the voluntary evacuation notice. Police say houses on that street located at the top of a hill behind the retaining wall are in danger of moving if significant rainfall moves in. This latest evacuation includes about 20 houses.The people who live in the neighborhood continues to want answers to the longer range problem.Karen Maxwell, who lives in the Hills of Rivermist, told us, "A lot of the homeowners feel they want Centex to buy back their homes because they feel like the value of their house has gone down so quickly and it's not any fault of theirs." Meanwhile, some of Rivermist homeowners testified Wednesday in Austin before a House committee that is looking to make changes in how disputes like this are handled. Charles Cervantes told the House Committee on Civil and Jurisprudence in Austin he's stuck because his home near the landslide is worthless. He urged lawmakers on Wednesday to make changes protecting new home buyers who are often forced to sign contracts agreeing to binding arbitration. The committee hopes to have recommendations for lawmakers to consider by the end of the year.  WOAI 4 News Report....

Rivermist residents to take complaints to state capitol
Residents in the Rivermist subdivision are now taking their gripes to the state capitol. The group will testify on the Forced Binding Arbitration law, which they say denies justice for homeowners. Residents also held a meeting Tuesday night to discuss establishing a united front. Previous meetings offered few answers with Pulte offering to meet with homeowners individually, but homeowners at the meeting believe forming a community voice will be more beneficial. "There are things we can do as whole community if we act as one person." said homeowner Gil Morales, "We are pushing unity, first of all." The meeting was so well attended, many homeowners were forced to listen from the hallway. Morales said many actions will be taken as a group although no definite plans for lawsuits or other legal action were confirmed.
See KENS TV News Report...