So I recently read an article at azcentral.com titled 'Home buyers, builders split on Prop. 201" and basically the article goes on to talk about how homeowners who bought new homes have no rights or warranties. But lets first take a step back and analyze who is proposing this Prop. and what the expected outcome is. Prop 201 is sponsored by Arizona AFL-CIO, that's right the Unions. But you ask yourself, "I thought that Arizona doesn't have unions"? Well, you are partially right. Arizona is a "Right to work state" and what that means is that an employer can hire and fire as needed and they don't have to bow down to the unions and pay higher wages for those who refuse to give 100% ALL THE TIME. ( Disclaimer: I am not saying people who are members of a union don't give 100%, what I am saying is that to many unions reward workers for sub-standard work, which has lead to a decline in manufacturing, just look at the economic condition of Detroit. Enough said!)
So why is the Arizona AFL-CIO sponsering a propisition that is related to home building? Well, and I say this from personal experience as I built homes for a number of years, the union is trying to use the promise of FALSE HOPES to persuade you the consumers that you have been taken advantage of by the builders and that your home is falling apart as we speak. There for, by changing the laws, if we bought a new home and after ten years (which is the current builder structural warranty) if anything is not to your liking, you can sue the builder for what ever you want. This is silly, just think about it for a minute, if passed builders are going to have to warranty normal wear and tear for ten years. So who is going to pay for that? After all, after ten years, I believe that the homeowner is responsible for replacing the worn carpet, not the builder..
Okay, so back to why is the unions sponsoring this proposition? For years and years, the unions have been protesting every builder and putting those annoying door hangers on your garage door (that in itself is annoying) saying that your home builder used sub-standard contractors and that your home needs immediate repair. What I find funny about that is those same subcontractors that are being protested against are the same contractors that the union members are trying to get a job with. By creating a false fear, unions are hoping that the uninformed consumer won't pay any attention and just blame the easiest person which in this case is the builder.
To sum things up. Homeowners are already protected by the AZ Register of Contractors and if Prop. 201 is passed, unions will destroy Arizona in just the same way that they did in Michigan. Oh by the way, it is ironic that all those residents who lost their jobs in Michigan because the cost of manufacturing made it impossible for Ford, Chrysler and General Motors to compete in a changing economy, are moving to Arizona. But these people are against the unions as they have had to move because the unions destroyed what they had for jobs. If passed, Arizona residents will pay astronomical increases for new homes as labor cost will spike. Do yourself a favor and Vote NO on Nov. 4. One last thing, the Arizona AFL-CIO is also in support for a real estate transfer tax, meaning when you sell your home you will pay a tax to transfer to the new owner, nothing like lossing more equity in a market where most people are already upside down on what they owe.
Okay, to make this arugument clear, he is the actual Prop and key points are highlighted.
http://stoplawsuitabuseaz.com/images/comments.pdf
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GET THE FACTS: http://www.voteyesonprop201.com/
To understand Prop 201 you have to really look beyond the smokescreen and personal animosities (Jill and Terry seem to have a few axes to grind) and look at Arizona's recent past. Perhaps many of us remember the recent housing boom in Arizona, a great time for real estate commissions and an extremely profitable time for builders as well. The great American Dream for all right? Certainly for many homebuilders did what they were asked and quality builders delivered quality homes. I believe that is very often the case. For some builders and subdivisions you literally had to participate in a lottery to be able to sign one of their purchase agreements to buy a home. This was no short lived spike. Arizona has been a top five real estate market for many years. During this peak demand there was also a huge shortage of skilled labor. Builders and their subcontractors were hiring ANYONE with a pulse regardless of skills or training to meet the demand. Because of this demand another thing happened too: huge price increases making a new family home ever less affordable. If you already owned a home 15% a year appreciation is a great thing but, as we have learned, it was a bubble built on the proverbial house of cards. Too many took out loans based on equity that evaporated.
It's hard to believe that a real estate professional could be quite so cavalier about the potential hazards faced by any family buying a home in Arizona today be it new construction. Be it used or new the Department of Housing and Urban Development recommends a competent independent inspection service before buying regardless of the seller's statements. (http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/buying/buyhm.cfm) I would ask any of you to look in your yellow pages and seek the advice of impartial third party certified home inspector. Personally I would recommend one from the American Society of Home Inspectors ( http://www.ashi.org ) or the National Association of Home Inspectors (http://www.nahi.org/ ) The choice is yours, just pick one and make a phone call. They will give you an unbiased opinion on any given structure. Ask THEM if they run into problems and how often. It would be nice to believe the system on place to protect consumers works but that is not the case. In fact complaints to the Registrar of Contractors number over 11,000 in a year. IF the ROC worked 365 days a year (and they don't) that would be over thirty investigations a DAY concerning complaints with builders. Complaints spiked over 10% in 2005 alone.
A realtor also knows that ANY seller can be sued because of seller disclosure laws. IF you are aware of a material defect with your home you MUST disclose it at the time of sale. That is also the time to hire an independent inspection to protect yourself.
Back to 201: The homebuilders association and those who have listened solely to their arguments would have you believe many wild-eyed ideas about Prop 201. Let's put the red herring of the union to bed first. I invite you to read Proposition 201: NOWHERE in the proposed law does it use the word "union" Prop 201 would NOT unionize anybody or anything. (nor does it suggest carpet should be replaced) The AZ AFL-CIO is also NOT the major funder of Prop 201 it is the Sheet Metal Workers International Association. Their local office is on Adams street in Phoenix where they have a huge training facility dedicated to quality in the construction industry. Their strong suit is HVAC and they build everything from Intel chip plants to schools and hospitals as your fellow Arizonans. They come from every political stripe and persuasion and work hard just like you and I. They don't work they: don't get paid. Why are they involved? They are experts in the construction industry; insiders if you will and they think what went on during the boom years is wrong and they want the voters of Arizona to have a shot at getting their right back.... They paid to get it ON the ballot and have had very little financing beyond their initial effort. Will the union decide anything? ABSOLUTELY NOT the voters of Arizona will decide this election as they have always done. You might also consider the opponents of 201 as a union too. The Homebuilders Association is a union of builders, suppliers and contractors and if you read their websites and materials you find they have "unionized" for the purposes of political causes among others.
Funding restrictions are not anything the big homebuilders union has to worry about. Flush with record profits from this boom they are throwing money and paid spokespeople at this faster than fat kid at a cake buffet! Look at the street corners, listen to radio, TV and check your mailbox. You are subjected to a barrage of propaganda designed to intensify your dislike of out of state lawyers and lawsuits in general. If you inspect their campaign finance statements they show much of their money for the campaign comes in the form of a "loan" from HBACA, they have had income of over $1 million so far. Their chairman? head lobbyist for the homebuilders Spencer Kamps ( http://www.azsos.gov/cfs/PublicReports/2008/52777EA8-6FEB-429C-9C5A-01C117F46581.pdf ) they also have a "sister" at the buffet Connie Wilhelm of the "Coalition for Affordable Housing" who is she? Executive Director of the Homebuilders Assn of Central Arizona (http://www.azsos.gov/cfs/PublicReports/2008/52777EA8-6FEB-429C-9C5A-01C117F46581.pdf ) they bring an additional $325K to the table. These are hardly disinterested groups but they ARE spending huge funds (just wait its about to rain cash in the last few eeks before the election) to sway YOU into believing you should not RESTORE your rights.
Yes, RESTORE your rights. You see it was these same folks that deregulated Arizona's homebuilding industry in 2002 with a catchy phrased bill called "right to repair" In exchange for your rights they created this "perfect ROC system thousands of Arizonans are drowning in. Did you know the Former head of the Registrar of Contractors Israel Torres is working FOR Proposition 201? He fought hard as Registrar but knows the system needs improvements.
Prop 201 seeks to level the playing field between individual homeowners and corporate builders by modifying existing law as follows:
1.Provides a 10 year warranty for all new homes. Many problems do not manifest until after the expiration of the 8 year warranty under existing law.
2.Requires the builder to agree to any repairs within 60 days of receiving a claim. Current law provides for 90 days, which results in an unnecessary delay in securing repairs.
3.Allows the homeowner to provide notice of his or her claim in simple English. Builders often argue that current law requires the retention of construction experts to make a claim, which is an unnecessary expense.
4.Requires repairs to be performed by competent, licensed contractors. Builders argue that current law entitles the same careless contractor that created the defect to make the repair.
5.Provides fair compensation for the homeowners’ losses from legitimate construction defects. Builders often hide provisions in sales contacts that result in a waiver of rights during the purchase of homes.
6.Enables the Registrar of Contractors to resolve more claims between builders and homeowners.
7.Requires builders to disclose to relationships with financial institutions, title insurance companies and homeowners insurance offer through the builder that may create conflicts of interest. There should be no hidden kickbacks at the expense of homebuyers.
8.Prohibits tacking additional fees for warranties created by law onto the purchase price of the home. Builders should stand behind the homes they sell.
9.Requires upgrades in models to be clearly disclosed or to be included in the price of a home.
10.Permits a prospective buyer to cancel a contract within 100 days and receive a fair refund of any deposit.
11.Requires the seller to refrain from completing a false mortgage financing application.
12Prohibits any attempted waiver of rights created by the statute.
13.Entitles the homeowner to rescission of the purchase agreement or to receive other damages, attorneys’ fees and expert costs if the builder does not act in good faith in complying with its right to repair statute.
14.Prop 201 does not prohibit homeowners and builders from negotiating a resolution of the claim.
15.Prop 201 does not force claims to be litigated.
16.Prop 201 does not encourage lawsuit abuse. Rules by the Arizona Supreme Court prohibit the filing of frivolous lawsuits.
GET THE FACTS: http://www.voteyesonprop201.com/
MY realtor friends are telling me credit is SO tight right now only those people who DON'T need a loan can get one..... If we really have to go back to 20% down (that's $60,000 on a $300,000 house) don't we WANT the home to last more than ten years?? A thirty year mortgage and a 2 year warranty? How many exclusions?? My parents house lasted a LOT longer.... shouldn't yours? BTW Mortgage rates just SPIKED again! MAke sure what you buy LASTS!!
Wow. Well, we now know you have a REAL issue with Unions. But your take on the initiative is uniformed. I hope the people who look to both of you for facts take the time to read the language and the literature on Prop 201. I would hope that responsible realtors would want tp protect home owners. This is about a working family's largest investment and consumer protections. www.voteyesonprop201.com
We are for protecting home owners and making it afforable for people to buy and live in Arizona. You are right that this is the largest investment for most people and we would like to see these homeowners keep their money. The state of Arizona already requires home builders to cover structural issues for 10 years and workmanship issues on remaining parts of a home for 2 years. If the union was out for the protection of homeowners, then why are they asking their members to vote no on Prop 100, which protects the homeowners from double taxation? Please refer to their website for their endorsements. Get all the facts before you decide, but Prop 201 is a smke screen that will eventually cost homeowners more in the long run. http://www.stoplawsuitabuseaz.com/
I agree with what you said and also you will not have to purchase a home in order to be able to sue....
Great proposition.
And if you look at the definition of sellers, I think attorneys will be able to drag agents into this. Also, what happens if you make an improvement to the home? Does the homeowner now have to offer a 10-year guarantee? It's a dangerous proposition in that it is poorly written and misleading. Another concern is that a contractor can't have a claim in the last 10 years to make a repair!!! If someone has had one complaint in 10 years - resolved it - and has a stellar record otherwise, they can't be hired??? What a nightmare.
What is sad is this proposition no where states the current laws that are in place, it leads one to believe there is currently no state statute (which I used to get a repair on my own home handled by the builder) and no protection. I also think the homeowner will be harmed when they need a repair and have to wait much longer to get it resolved because it's tied up in court.
These propositions hardly ever bring about positive change because its an agenda, a push FOR something to happen which usually means someone wants it to benefit them and its not the consumer. This prop also opens up the opportunity for thousands of costly and pointless law suits by people who dont know any better. If you want to vote for a prop which will push people into the frame of mind of finding scape goats, go for it. But the law is fine for people who arent just uninformed. The job of new law isnt to open up people for punishment or restitution, its to set boundries for people to make effective decisions. Lawyer are going to have a blast suing every contractor they can when termites eat your house or some other malady of your home which isnt the problem of the builder.