Homebuilders and Real Estate Agents, an Odd Relationship | Mark ...

For decades, the homebuilding industry has sought and secured legislation that restricts and limits a homebuyer?s right to sue their homebuilder. In Texas, when the builder builds a shoddy product, homeowners must navigate a minefield of time sensitive barriers when bringing suit against the builder of a poorly constructed home.

Builder?s Contracts and State Law combine to discourage homeowners from pursuing their builder. These same forces also discourage attorneys from representing the homeowner. There is simply little money, if any, that can be realized even when the homeowner?s attorney prevails.

It Texas, there is little motivation for homebuilders to build the house properly. For examples, look at some of the builders who have built entire neighborhoods on highly expansive clay soils, only to have foundation after foundation fail miserably.

This is where I just don?t understand the relationship between the building industry and the local and state real estate sales organizations.

First of all, the sales contracts (aka: Earnest Money Contracts) that the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) have approved for new and pre-owned homes have had input from decades of efforts by and from real estate brokers and attorneys.
In my opinion, and the opinion of others in the real estate community, these contracts are more well-balanced and fair to the homebuyer and seller than Contracts offered by homebuilders.

For years, real estate agents have ignored the value of the TREC Contracts and simply utilized the Contract that the homebuilder supplies. Is a ?Buyers Agent? representing the best needs of their home-buying client, when they don?t raise the issue of using the TREC Contract?

Additionally, sales agents for homebuilders aren?t required to be licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission, and are not subject to the same penalties and fines for false and misleading statements, as are licensed real estate agents.

Fast forward to a year or two or five or ten years after these houses are constructed. Many houses are experiencing foundation problems, framing issues, and water penetration/mold issues that have gone uncorrected by the builder or the builder?s choice of a 3rd party Warranty Company.

These same real estate agents, many who were involved in the purchase of the houses when they were new, are being put in the position of telling their clients that the house they helped them purchase is now worth much less due to the myriad of problems and significant defects that the homebuilder left them with.

The real estate agent on the street is not being properly represented by their state and local trade organizations, when year after year these organizations sit by passively and allow the homebuilders to lobby for laws that protect the builder from shoddy construction practices.

Texas real estate agents need to demand from their trade organizations and associations that they lobby for legislation that causes homebuilders to consistently build a structurally sound house, one that lasts for years and years.

There are too many hard working real estate agents in Texas that are being caused to sell houses that will self-destruct in as little as 1-5 years because of a lack of meaningful oversight and punitive measures that allow builders to keep doin? bizness as usual.

Mark has contributed to successful Texas legislation, and is an expert witness in construction defects litigation. In his spare time, he is a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot and an inventor and patent holder. You may contact him at mark@abuyersinspector.com or visit his Web site Five Star Home Inspections. If you are contemplating building a home, contact him BEFORE you choose a Homebuilder.

Source: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/markeberwine/2012/09/homebuilders-and-real-estate-agents-an-odd-relationship/

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