Cyrus Dugger

Arbitration & Homeownership

From the Home Contractor vs. Homeowner Blog:

Many of the homeowners who contact us with builder complaints tell us that collecting is difficult. They have trouble finding good lawyers because of this. Homeowners are often prevented from suing because due to arbitration clauses. Of those that get arbitration or court awards, many have trouble collecting it. Arbitration has shown itself to have great potential for bias and abuse, and since it’s a private record, it hides complaints from the public when home buyers try to research builders before buying. Licensing agencies, (in the approximately half of the states that license builders at all), often protect builders more than consumers. Building codes aren’t being consistently enforced either. Many of the homes we hear complaints about have code violations, including serious ones that affect safety. The consumer is told by every state agency, code dept, etc, that they call, “It’s a civil matter! Get a lawyer!” That doesn’t do much good if they can’t collect (keep reading) .

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Posted at 11:30 AM, Dec 04, 2006 in
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