Don't Cry For Justice
Securities attorney Jonathan Kord Lagemann starts off today's Forbes.com Investor Team discussion with a harsh accusation against the securities industry. His clients are not investing, he says, because they know that if they need to go to arbitration they stand virtually no chance of recovering any of their losses, even if there's fraud or mismanagement involved... Seventy-one percent of customers in arbitration reported that they weren't satisfied with the outcome, and 65% believed the process was unfair. Fifty percent think they'd have gotten a different result if they had gone to court rather than arbitration, and of those who had taken separate cases to court rather than to arbitration, 76% said arbitrations were either very or somewhat unfair.

Home Builders Fearful Of Arizona ' Lemon Law ' For Buyers
Proposition 201, a so-called "lemon law" for home buyers... Supporters say the initiative protects buyers from sloppy construction and gives them recourse to remedy defects. The proposal, introduced and supported by unions and some community advocacy groups, provides "much-needed protection for people who buy new homes," said Linda Brown , executive director of the Arizona Advocacy Network Foundation, a supporter. "There ' s been very little oversight or checks for the home building industry because it ' s been the economic engine for the state...It ' s been the Wild West for them." Prop 201

Both District 34 candidates received money from Perry-supported political action committees
Bob Perry is the biggest campaign contributor in the country. And he's used to getting his way. Perry spend over $15 million to elect Republicans and millions more on lobbyists to protect his financial interests. Connie Scott took over $9,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the organization that Perry helped build with his own money. What does he want in return? The fact is, Connie Scott and her husband, Mike, have been scratching Bob Perry's back for years. Mike serves on the Statewide Committee of TLR, Perry's organization that gave money to his wife in the first place.9 Mike, working with TLR, and Connie, working with Bay Area Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, helped pass a law that stripped homebuyers of their rights

Henry Cisneros: Fannie and Freddie won't need Treasury's help
Henry Cisneros, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary under President Bill Clinton, flat-out tells our viewers the taxpayer should not– and will not– be on the hook for propping up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants with major government connections. See FOX News  interview: Henry Cisneros…we have not only the strongest homeownership but the Best Quality of housing in the world.

Houston Homebuilder Bob Perry Continues Reign as King of Dirty Politics
Defending his title as "King of Dirty Politics," Houston homebuilder Bob Perry just bankrolled a racist ad attacking Democratic candidate Joel Redmond, who is battling Republican Ken Legler for an open House seat representing the Pasadena area..."Bob Perry previously has disavowed responsibility for the trash he buys," said Texans for Public Justice Director Craig McDonald. "It's time Bob Perry took personal responsibility for the hate-mongering, gay-bashing, and race-bating he sponsors."

Building Flawed American Dreams
As the Clinton administration's top housing official in the mid-1990s, Mr. Cisneros loosened mortgage restrictions so first-time buyers could qualify for loans they could never get before. Then, capitalizing on a housing expansion he helped unleash, he joined the boards of a major builder and the largest mortgage lender in the nation, Countrywide Financial "€” two companies that rode the housing boom, drawing criticism along the way for abusive business practices...The causes of the housing implosion are many: lax regulation, financial innovation gone awry, excessive debt, raw greed. The players are also varied: bankers, borrowers, developers, politicians and bureaucrats...For the three years he was a director at KB Home, Mr. Cisneros received at least $70,000 in pay and more than $100,000 worth of stock. He also received $1.14 million in directors' fees and stock grants during the six years he was a director at Countrywide. He made more than $5 million from Countrywide stock options, money he says he plowed into his company.  See relates article:Henry Cisneros on the hot seat  Related Times Topics: Gretchen Morgenson

New York Times: Examining the Financial Crisis
Reporter Gretchen Morgenson discusses an upcoming New York Times series of articles examining the causes of the current financial crisis.  See Video by Gretchen Morgenson

How the Credit Crisis Unfolded
The extent of the credit crisis that unfolded from the morning of Sept. 17 to the afternoon of Sept. 18. was unseen to the public but spooked policy makers into action. Read more...

Countrywide to Set Aside $8.4 Billion in Loan Aid
Countrywide Financial has agreed to the largest program ever to modify home loans, as part of a settlement with officials in 11 states, just days after the federal government adopted a giant financial rescue package without any relief for distressed homeowners...The terms of the settlement do not address Angelo R. Mozilo, the former chief executive of Countrywide Financial, or David E. Sambol, the company's former president. The states had included both as defendants. Mr. Brown said he would pursue litigation against both men. Neither could be reached for comment.

KLRU TV (DucuBloggers) - Special Report Texas Two-Step
Texas is not considered a swing state in the presidential election, but a few months ago, I found some poll data on state-level races that seemed awfully close for what would usually be solid Republican areas. Since I'm originally from California, it was a big surprise for me to learn that the Texas Democrats only need 5 seats to win control of the house of representatives in a typically red state...In Hutto, Round Rock, and Taylor, I found people with conservative values - some who told me they would never sway from the Republican Party line, and others who had grown frustrated with existing problems in housing, education or the economy, who were determined to vote Democratic this time around.  View Report

"Governor Handout' Trashes the Bailout
As the planet struggles to comprehend"€”and contain"€”the global meltdown of credit markets, Texans face the added burden of trying to understand their governor's bewildering position on the crisis... With the $700 billion bailout hanging in the balance in Washington on October 1, the Texas governor who heads the Republican Governors Association issued a joint statement with the head of the Democratic Governors Association urging Congress to "leave partisanship at the door and pass an economic recovery package." When local media reported this endorsement, however, Governor Rick Perry issued a statement that said, "In a free market economy, government should not be in the business of using taxpayer dollars to bail out corporate America." Hitting a rare populist stride, Governor Perry added, "We're certainly not interested in Washington bailing out a bunch of irresponsible mortgage brokers in an industry that has too often been run on greed."....Trumpeting what he called the "crowning jewel" of the Texas Enterprise Fund at a 2004 press conference, Governor Perry awarded $20 million in taxpayer money to Countrywide Financial to create 7,500 Texas jobs over six years...  Read Texans for Public Justice full report

Supreme Court ruling goes against large homebuilders
Nevada homeowners don't have to be the original purchasers of their domiciles to be protected under the state's construction defect laws.  Supporters are hailing a Nevada Supreme Court ruling in the state's largest construction defect case as reaffirming the rights of buyers of resale homes to sue for construction defects that went undetected by the original owners. The state high court denied the writ of builder Del Webb and subcontractor Anse requesting the removal of more than 700 Sun City Summerlin homeowners from the massive lawsuit.

When homeownership joy turns into homeownership hardship
For many, living the American dream means owning a home, but what happens when the home you buy is suddenly worth half of what you paid? That's what some consumers in a Lennar homes subdivision say has happened to them. They are complaining of faulty home foundations that are shifting their homes and causing all sorts of problems.

3 Are Accused of Collecting $1 Million From Buyers for Houses That Were Never Constructed
They promised to deliver brick-front colonials in a sparkling new subdivision in Upper Marlboro, homes on as much as an acre of land for as little as $370,000. Instead, the home builders and the mortgage broker pocketed payments from 11 buyers and left them empty-handed, Glenn F. Ivey, state's attorney for Prince George's County, said yesterday. The builders and broker are accused of collecting about $1 million for homes that were never built in what was to be the Kings Grant subdivision. "We felt these defendants were trying to steal the American Dream," Ivey said as he announced charges against the three. "And we want to get the message out that we will prosecute."

Texas houses - Story of three little pigs and the big bad wolf named Ike!
"Texas Building Codes are non-existent or have been significantly weakened by the powerful building industry lobby.  Builders are not licensed and for the most part the workforce is untrained to build homes properly. Judging from the devastation of hurricane Ike, clearly the codes were not adequately enforced," says Janet Ahmad.