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Ray Koenig March 8 at 9:27pm
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VERY good letter to the editor! The situation in San Antonio is a PERFECT example of the LACK of consumer protection in the homebuilding industry. NO NATIONAL standards. STATE building codes are left to LOCAL governments to enforce.
San Antonio's building department didn't issue a building permit, and doesn't have plans, for a 1,000 ft. long, 30 FT. HIGH retaining wall! How many city inspectors have been at Rivermist since its inception, and how many times? HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS, OF TIMES. And, yet NOT A SINGLE INSPECTOR ON A SINGLE OCCASION checked to see that there was a permit or plans for the retaining wall, or to see that it was being BUILT properly. That's OUTRAGEOUS!
Fortunately no one was killed or injured, but MANY families are suffering needlessly because of Centex's and San Antonio's NEGLIGENCE.
Your situation in San Antonio is NOT unique. Here, Pulte Homes, decided to stop installing hurricane clips on truss connections. We live about 15 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Needless to say, hurricanes are a concern. Beaufort County SC inspectors failed to pick up the problem with the roof truss connections. As a result, more than 2,700 homes had to be reinspected. 668 needed repairs.
Victims of shoddy construction need to make some noise PUBLICLY. If more people wrote letters to the editor, tweeted on twitter.com, posted on Facebook, and started (FREE) blogsites like mine (http://peretired.blogspot.com/) to expose the shoddy construction and the shoddy builders, then maybe things would change.
Builders don't like bad publicity.
Politicians don't like being voted out of office.
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2 comments:
Ray, Thanks for hosting this blog. For readers interested in more on San Antonio’s Hills of Rivermist retaining wall collapse, see http://homeownersoftexas.org/Rivermist.html. This news repository has >50 photos, >50 videos, >30 articles, and official info sources. Now City inspectors are under criminal investigation for taking bribes from homebuilders.
Besides making noise by posting on blogs and sending letters to editors, people should support consumer advocacy organizations like Homeowners of Texas. HOT is a nonprofit lobbying firm working to protect people from corporate abuse in the homebuilding industry by crafting and advocating for legislative reforms. Check us out, follow us on Twitter, and join our Facebook network.
an EXCELLENT site!
now all that's needed is ACTION!
Let's hope that ALL who view your site join the fight against shoddy construction, shoddy builders, and shoddy government inspection.
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