Robert & Jane Cull Written Testimony Before The Texas House Subcommittee on TRCC
We followed the rules of the warranty, patiently notifying Perry in writing with each of our issues.  We trusted them.  We actually believed that they would do the right thing because we had been raised with those values...It is time for the legislature to act.  And that action has to be driven by the absolute reality that homeowners with limited knowledge and resources need protection from homebuilders, not the other way around.  Birthing the TRCC did nothing but give homebuilders a "gatekeeper" to control access and flow of complaints and otherwise frustrate Texas citizens into either withdrawing or never even trying to tackle the maze.  You need to come down hard and swiftly in order to minimize the possibility that other homeowners have to suffer the same fate that we have suffered.

Homeowners denounce Bob Perry-created housing agency
A succession of homeowner horror stories today at a House subcommittee considering legislation to abolish the state agency created at the behest of Houston homebuilder Bob Perry. Critics say the agency is designed to frustrate homeowners who have defective houses. They say the Texas Residential Construction Commmission is an expensive, time-consuming hurdle homeowners must jump before taking their disputes to arbitration or the courts.

DR HORTON HOMES BAD FOR TEXAS, BAD FOR  THE COUNTRY
They are ignoring all warranty request from me and my neigbors...In August of 2008 we discovered mold growing above the cabinets in the kitchen. In order for mold to have grown to that extent, the leak had to have existed for some time...We could not get our warranty work started until after almost a year of being in our home...  State of Texas: 79% of DR Horton home complaints were found to have construction defects.  Read more...

The Journal of Light Construction (JLCOnline) Forum: Bob Perry Money, TRCC, Cull Case, Texas Supreme Court
Did any of you catch the news clip this morning on NPR radio regarding Bob Perry Homes? Chronicled how BP built a home for the Cull's and after just 6 weeks of living in the house foundation started to heave from the expansive soils.
Read and post comments.

A message from Janet Ahmad: Like never before your participation is so important; Hearings & Lobby Days

Critics: Texas Agency Favors Builders Over Buyers
Imagine hundreds of executives from BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil rallying on the steps of the Capitol in Washington to save the Environmental Protection Agency. That may be hard to picture, but recently in Texas, 1,000 homebuilders rallied at the state Capitol in an effort to save the agency that theoretically regulates them. Texas homebuilders are big fans of the job the Texas Residential Construction Commission has done since its inception five years ago. But after a backlash from homebuyers, who say the process is stacked in the builders' favor, state lawmakers are now considering whether to abolish it.  Out of 181 legislators, there are only six who don't take money from the Texas Association of Builders. So when the homebuilders come to Austin to lobby, the most powerful politicians in the state pay their respects. .."We're happy, you bet," says Ron Connally, a homebuilder and developer out of Amarillo who is also president of the Texas Association of Builders. "Court actions are way, way down because TRCC has taken care of a lot of those problems."  We heard from one reformer say that Texas is the worst state in the nation when it comes to protecting buyers of new homes.. Most investigators consider these states better than Texas because at least they don't give buyer an Illusion a regulatory agency

Did Builder's Clout Trap Couple In Dream Home?
Bob and Jane Cull bought the home of their dreams in Texas. It was built by one of the most powerful and politically connected homebuilders in the country "€” and it was defective. Thus began a 13-year odyssey that would teach them some unhappy lessons about money, power and influence....Seventy-six-year-old Bob Perry is one of Texas' most successful homebuilders. For the last two decades, he has used his $600 million fortune to fund the Republican revolution, both in Texas and nationally. He helped put George W. Bush into the White House. He was the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth's largest contributor. In Texas, if you hold a position of legislative, judicial or executive power, a Bob Perry donation is almost certainly in your campaign account. After he lost in arbitration to the Culls, the builder began appealing the award through the state courts. Perry's appeals were rejected at each stop until he got to the Texas Supreme Court. And there, he got satisfaction.

NPR to spotlight political moneyman Bob Perry
The battle has come to symbolize the disadvantage that an average homeowner faces in going up against a builder with deep pockets -- especially one as politically well-connected as Bob Perry. The Houston homebuilder is Gov. Rick Perry's (no relation) biggest campaign donor, and the governor was instrumental in creating the state agency that Perry wanted. The homebuilder has contributed money to much of the Legislature and to every member of the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor last year -- overturning the arbitration award and a string of court rulings and directing the Culls to start all over. Bob Perry spokesman Anthony Holm says the homebuilder is defending his legal rights.

The Watchdog: When it comes to the Texas Residential Construction Commission, follow the money
As always, you can follow the money behind efforts to promote the builder-friendly Texas Residential Construction Commission. As always, most of the money leads back to the largest individual donor in recent state history. Usually, such a big elephant would remain unmentioned in a legislative hearing, but on Monday,Rep. Chente Quintanilla, D-El Paso, brought it up "€” obliquely. He berated the construction commission: "It never became consumer-friendly." Then, after asking why, he mentioned "some builder who should not be named" and a "report about donations." Referring to the lawmakers' overturning of the sunset staff report, he said: "All of a sudden, it changed overnight. Was the tail wagging the dog? Were they able to control what the commission was supposed to do?"

Homeowners troubled by builder liens
"We moved in January, and about two weeks later, we got our first claim to lien," Renee Hoffman said. The lien was for work that Wilshire Homes should have paid for during construction.  The Hoffmans said the company told them it was an isolated incident. "They said all debt on the house was paid for, all vendors were paid," James Hoffman said.

Troubles build up for housing contractors
Another indicator of how the builder woes are rippling though the housing market is the number of complaints received by the Texas Residential Construction Commission, the agency that regulates home builders.  Duane Waddill, the TRCC's executive director, said consumer complaints related to builders abandoning work sites or other financial issues like earnest money refunds made up 19 percent of the agency's complaints in the last fiscal quarter, up from 14 percent in the previous three months.  "There's clearly a major increase in the complaints we're getting related to builders no longer in business," he said.

National Public Radio (NPR) takes a look at Politics and Homebuilding Texas Style
A  Two Part NPR Report - "Weekend Edition" with Scott Simon. A system that for Texas homeowners with defective home has gone awry.  See date and times...

Who supports the Texas Residential Construction Commission
The staff of the Sunset Commission after a 6-month indepth investigation recommended abolishing the TRCC. A list of those in support of this recommendation and those who were against abolishing was published in the report issued by the staff. Here is the list of those who are for abolishing the Commission... then the list in support of abolishing the TRCC:

Homebuilder who backs TRCC donated thousands to lawmakers deciding agency's fate
The fate of the Texas Residential Construction Commission, an agency designed to regulate and handle complaints against homebuilders, lies in the hands of lawmakers who received thousands of dollars from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, one of the agency's top supporters.  The Legislature's Sunset Commission staff – which reviews state agencies and recommends how to beef them up – determined last year that the agency is so toothless and such a hindrance to aggrieved homeowners that it should be abolished. Since 2000, Perry, whose corporate attorney helped create the commission six years ago, has donated $388,000 to 10 of the 11 members of the Business and Industry Committee, state records show."Maybe the tail was wagging the dog," said Rep. Chente Quintanilla, D-El Paso, the only member of the House committee who has never received a donation from Perry.

Business & Industry Hearing - Rep. McClendon Sunset Bill 2295 
Executive Director Duane Waddill misrepresents facts. Consumers tell the true story of TRCC failures.
View Hearing video: 03-23-09: 3:46 p.m. - 9:49 p.m.