Democrats May Shelve Mandatory Arbitration
Democratic Party control of both Congress and the White House, a University of Illinois labor law expert thinks the arbitration clause could become a thing of the past. Michael LeRoy predicts a bill sponsored by Democrats that would bar companies from imposing arbitration will likely be approved early next year when Democrats take over the White House and add to their majorities in Congress...Arbitration would remain an option to settle disputes, but would be voluntary rather than mandatory under the proposed Arbitration Fairness Act, sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga.

Home builder sent to jail for fraud
The president of Cobalt Homes, Brian Brady, is in the Salt Lake County Jail serving a 90 day sentence for defrauding homeowners and subcontractors...Brady pleaded guilty to four third-degree felony counts of communications fraud.

Mirasol Housing Project Haunts S.A. Family
It's a housing project that's been the enter of controversy for years.  The giggest complaints: Sloddy work and mold at Mirasol Homew.  After 2 years - one local mother of three is re-gaining access to her Mirasol home in West San Antonio.  But as Karen Martinex shows us - There is nothing sweet about this homecoming. FOX News Reports: Play Video 1/19/08...

SAHA Residents Worried About Losing Savings
Some residents in the troubled west-side subdivision of Mirasol Homes are struggling to purchase their own homes, including one woman who said she'd either like her money back or be able to secure a home loan. Patricia Cabrera said she's paid about $20,000 into the San Antonio Housing Authority's capital accumulation account for the past five years and is a part of the housing authority's lease purchase program.

Mold and Shoddy Work Keeps Mirasol Homeowner Away
A mother of three says she had to leave her home because of mold and shoddy work. Then she was forced to move her family from the hotel the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) put them up in. Now, she finds out her home she's still paying for is still not fixed. And some furniture in a storage unit is ruined.

US home construction sinks to new record low
Construction of new homes plunged last month to the lowest level on records going back nearly 50 years as U.S. builders slashed production while Wall Street nosedived. Embattled homebuilders, who enjoyed a five-year boom, are now building new homes and apartments at a record-low pace, according to government data released Wednesday. New building permits, a barometer of future activity, also plummeted to the lowest pace on record... The results were the lowest on government records dating back to January 1959...And on Wall Street on Wednesday, shares in homebuilders took another beating as investors reacted to the government data. Shares of Lennar, D.R. Horton, Centex, KB Home and Beazer all tumbled 10 percent or more.

Businesspeople sue KB Home subsidiary
A group of local businesspeople is suing a subsidiary of KB Home for $60 million, claiming the homebuilder reneged on promises to install streets, sewer and utility connections needed for a commercial development in Henderson. Integrated Financial Associates, a mortgage brokerage firm in Las Vegas, is suing KB Home Nevada Inc. The mortgage firm alleges it made a loan to a developer based on promises from KB Home Nevada that infrastructure would be built for an 83-acre development in the Inspirada Town Center, an area designated for commercial development in southern Henderson.

Residents irked by developer's requests
Requested changes to a housing development in Vacaville aren't sitting well with residents already living in the neighborhood. As a response to the declining housing market, developer D.R. Horton asked that the Planning Commission allow it to add a less expensive model to the Southtown development next to more expensive houses already built and sold...The commission did not reach a decision before press time, however, numerous homeowners spoke out against the proposal. "There are a lot of differences between the homes," explained Dan Johnson, a homeowner in the Southtown development. "It changes the character and the flavor of the neighborhood." ...D.R. Horton has already built Carrington and Barrington models, larger houses that price at more than half a million dollars. The Chelsea model, smaller and less expensive would sit next to the larger homes.

WNCT Part 2: Inspector Investigation at 11:00 p.m.
In Part 2 of our I-Team Investigation we explain what home inspectors can and can’t do when it comes to guaranteeing your home and what everyone needs to know about the process. Shon Wicker was hired to re-inspect the Hinrichs’ home a year after they moved in. He says, “There’s no doubt that the problems were pre-existing prior to the sale, the short time they owned the property was simply not enough time for that damage to have occurred. It was there and it was covered up.”

Inspector Investigation at 6:00 p.m.
Alice Gray’s home on B. Stokes Road was built in 2000; she and her husband bought it in 2006. She says, “This was our dream house.” Alice says two weeks after they closed that dream turned into a nightmare: “I was cleaning in here and noticed a water stain, in no time, a week or two later, the base board started separating from the wall during this time…the o-s-b board, everything, just disintegrated to the ground, just dust.”...The Grays moved out 7 months after moving in. They hired a professional engineer to inspect the house in June 2007. The Grays provided us a copy of a letter the engineer sent them it says “the flashing of the roof and wall was not installed according to state requirements...causing an excess buildup of water and infiltration into the wall.”

KB Home Sundance Family 
Residents of a new suburban community are fuming over their builder’s decision to add smaller, lower-priced homes to their neighborhood now that the economy has taken a turn for the worse. Homeowners in KB Home’s Sundance Trails and Sundance Ridge communities, located off Potranco Road outside Loop 1604, say the cheaper homes will bring down their property values and ruin the aesthetics of the neighborhood. 
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DisposableKBhome.com  
This home builder seems to specialize in shoddy, building with zero accountability. In spite of its bad reputation, KB home continues to suck consumers into their web of deception and they continue to build inferior homes at the expense of the consumer.KB Home has been fined more than once for admittedly ignoring Federal consent order with the FTC. Our story is one of thousands.
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Residents miffed at builder’s plans
Residents of a new suburban community are fuming over their builder’s decision to add smaller, lower-priced homes to their neighborhood now that the economy has taken a turn for the worse. Homeowners in KB Home’s Sundance Trails and Sundance Ridge communities, located off Potranco Road outside Loop 1604, say the cheaper homes will bring down their property values and ruin the aesthetics of the neighborhood.

Kenric Ward: Homewreckers Cisneros & Martinez
Touting his Cuban heritage, Martinez continues to hype homeownership for lower-income minorities. By 2007, Hispanic homeownership hits an all-time high of 50 percent. The Federal Reserve reports that roughly half of these mortgages are higher-cost or subprime loans to buyers with impaired credit. So there you have it: The guy who was in on the ground floor of this country’s housing collapse comes calling with a half-billion of your tax dollars to save the day. Thanks a lot, Mel. Unfortunately, this is a bipartisan scheme.

A Town Drowns in Debt as Home Values Plunge
Because of plunging home values, almost 90 percent of homeowners here owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth, according to figures released Monday. That is the highest percentage in the country. The average homeowner in Mountain House is “underwater,” as it is known, by $122,000. A visit to the area over the last couple of days shows how the nationwide housing crisis is contributing to a broad slowdown of the American economy, as families who feel burdened by high mortgages are pulling back on their spending.