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1

Originally Posted By: rbracklow
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Wow, this is unreal - whatever happened to work ethics??


It is stuff like this that makes ashamed to be a part of the Construction Industry!!


HOMEOWNERS FOR BETTER BUILDING

Email: president@hobb.org - Website: www.hobb.org


? MEDIA ADVISORY ?



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Janet Ahmad (210) 494-6404

March 7, 2005 Jo Hayman (972) 943-1942



HOBB Board Member Registers as ?Cheetum Custom Homes?

Proving that anyone can become a Home Builder in Texas



Dallas Texas ? Jo Hayman, board member and Dallas/Fort Worth representative of HomeOwners for Better Building (HOBB), exposed the ease of becoming a builder in Texas when she registered as a builder doing business as ?Cheetum Custom Homes.? When asked what it took to be a builder in Texas, Hayman responded, ?$125, a social security number and absolutely no knowledge of how to construct a house.?



Nearly a year ago, Hayman, outraged at the idea that a new agency, TRCC, regulates home buyers rather than home builders, decided to expose the hypocrisy of it all. ?My degree in physical therapy certainly does not qualify me to build homes however, building qualifications are irrelevant in Texas,? said Hayman.



Jo Hayman, Chief Operating Officer of ?Cheetum Custom Homes?



In 2001, HOBB attempted to get a Home Lemon Law passed. The homebuilding industry went into overdrive and contributed over $9 million during the next two years, of which Bob Perry alone contributed nearly $8M between 2001 and 2003. In 2003 the legislature passed a bill authored by the homebuilding industry, HB730 that created the Texas Residential Construction Commission, which cleared both the House and Senate with little public or media attention.



? What did consumers get with the passage of the new law,? asked Hayman? ?It appears that homebuyers got the short end of the stick because they asked for a Home Lemon Law. Home buyers are now regulated by a new state agency run by the homebuilding industry. People still need a license to catch a fish and drive a car but not to be a builder in Texas,? said Hayman. ?I can vouch for that.?



?The powerful building industry didn?t help its image by their disingenuousness, which has given the impression of impropriety and reflects poorly on many respected builders in Texas,? concluded Hayman.

###





Janet Ahmad, President

HomeOwners for Better Building

San Antonio, Texas

http://www.hobb.org

210-402-6800

--
The highest compliment my clients can give me, is the referral of their Friends, Family and Business Associates!

NorCal NACHI Chapter Founder and Chairman.

2

Originally Posted By: pdacey
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Anyone can register as a home builder with the TRCC. All it takes is $$ and a pen to fill out the forms.


But if you want to be a third party inspector for the TRCC, you need an engineer's degree to do structural inspections and the ICC combination certification do the other systems.

The TRCC is one of the biggest shams ever to hit the buiding industry.

--
Slainte!

Patrick Dacey
swi@satx.rr.com
TREC # 6636
www.southwestinspections.com

3

Originally Posted By: escanlan
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Quote:
b) Exceptions and Exclusions from Builder?s Responsibilities.
(1) The builder is not responsible for repair, loss or damage to a component or that part of a component of a home caused by or made worse by any of the following:
(A) Work performed or material supplied incident to construction, modification or repair to the home performed by anyone other than the builder or persons providing work or material at the direction of the builder.
(I) Change in the underground water table that exerts pressure on, seeps, or leaks under the home, sidewalk, driveway, foundation or other structure or causes subsidence or sinkholes.


Here is a good example of a paragraph a builder can technically use as a loop hole. If you perform any maintenance on your home and use better materials or methods and it causes further issues the builder is not liable. The chances are the builder will use minimal specifications building the home based on the materials used. For example lighter weight shingles and minimal roofing supports. After a hailstorm you put on a heavier 40 year shingle, add a couple tons of weight to the roof and notice some sagging or bowing or other issues. And what about item "I". If a builder properly performs soil sampling and testing they should identify this for proper engineering of the foundations.

[url]?304.3. Limited Warranties.
(a) Warranty periods. The minimum warranty periods for residential construction and residential improvements are:
(1) one year for workmanship and materials;
(2) two years for plumbing, electrical, heating, and air-conditioning delivery systems;
(3) ten years for major structural components of the home; and
(4) ten years for the warranty of habitability.[/url]

The above limited warranty paragraph is in itself one of the most scary aspects of this law!! Prior to this if a homeowner had a problem 15 years down the road and they can prove it was a design, building or other flaw by the builder they could still go after the builder. Now they are limited to 10 years for anything! I don't know about the rest of you but I have a thirty year mortgage. Am I being told here that, in essence, my home is a disposable after 10 years???

There is one more major piece of legislation at the Federal level that further aggravates and limits homeowners. If a large builder is cutting corners in Texas then more than likely they are doing it everywhere!! Have you read the new law regarding class action lawsuits?? Class action lawsuits are now brought to the Federal court levels and no longer to a state or local court level. This was done to prevent the consumer from shopping around from state to state, local jurisdiction to local jurisdiction, to find a court system that is not biased towards business'. Another set of ropes with which to tie the consumers hands!

So what's the answer? Don't know, you tell me! I think we should turn Nick loose on the political arena and get him elected to a high office. ![icon_twisted.gif](upload://xjO326gspdTNE5QS3UTl0a0Rtvy.gif) Of course people such as Nick never make it to high offices as they do not have any interest in accepting graft payments!

Manny (Emmanuel) Scanlan
4

Originally Posted By: mboyett
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.




Provide Texas homeowners and the residential construction industry an opportunity to resolve differences through a neutral dispute resolution process and ongoing education.


The Commission:
The Commission is comprised of nine members appointed by the Governor: four registered builders, three members of the general public, one engineer who practices in the area of residential construction and one either architect or inspector who practices in the area of residential construction. The Commission members serve six-year staggered terms.

Commission Responsibilities:
Register homes and homebuilders;
Oversee the state-sponsored inspection and dispute resolution process;
Prepare and adopt limited warranties and building and performance standards;
Oversee three task force groups;
Provide a voluntary certification of arbitrators; and
Provide for the filing of arbitration awards.

So, the TRCC is not mandated to police the builders and ensure a quality product, they are charged with providing a buffer between the builders and the consumer to assist with mediation and possible arbitration. Sounds good to me. The part about "building and performance standards" does confuse me some as there is little further discussion about how that will be accomplished.

Bottom line, I'm going to withhold my judgment until I see some hard facts one way or the other regarding the TRCC. Since I'm in Austin I think I will try to make one of the upcoming committee meetings and will report what I hear there.

--
Mike Boyett
Capital City Inspections
Austin, Tx
www.capcityinspections.com

5

Originally Posted By: escanlan
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Hello Michael,


No offense taken as I regularly play the devil's advocate. Get beat up a lot for it too!

I agree with you about being a good thing to police the builders. It is long overdue and will, no doubt, help shake up the mix and get rid of the fly-by-nights. I just don't understand the wording and intentions behind some of the verbiage. I am sure there was consultation with builder organizations before they wrote these and the process was open to all others for comment.

The whole process will be interpreted differently depending on who and their situation. Homeowners taking advantage of it and faring well will have good comments and others will have bad. Should we write legislation that favors the homeowner? Absolutely!!! Big business always has the money and wherewithal to take anyone on and win whether they are right or wrong. If a home builder uses good building practices they have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Unfortunately even some of the big builders should be put out of business.

Only time will tell how well the new laws will work. I've already seen that some builders already don't appear concerned about the new law. Every chance I get as I pass by a new development going up I stop in and take a look at houses being built. Not only do I learn but I get a chance to see what builders use what practices. That helps later when inspecting one of their homes. Just a week or so ago I stopped in one development and looked at a set of horror stories waiting to happen!! this builder had two post tension foundations ready for pouring and the cables were not properly placed. The poor homeowner may not see the results for years down the road, possibly after the 10 year warranty.

We'll see!

Manny (Emmanuel) Scanlan