Buyers initiative inches on: Homeowners' 'bill of rights' proposed
7/1/2008, Arizona Republic
A group backed by a labor union on Monday filed more than 260,000 signatures with the Arizona Secretary of State's Office to put a homeowners' "bill of rights" initiative before voters in November. The initiative aims to help home buyers deal with construction defects and deceptive sales practices, giving them a legal leg up in fights with home builders. 

Homeowners' Bill of Rights filed with 262,000 signatures
6/30/2008, Arizona Capitol Times
Union officials, rank-and-file members and a Goodyear couple visited the Secretary of State's Office June 30 to mark the turning in of an estimated 262,000 signatures to put the Homeowners' Bill of Rights initiative on the 2008 ballot. The initiative was billed by supporters as a step to empower homeowners who confront builders over poorly built homes and a means to provide more transparency for consumers purchasing new homes. 

Homebuilders to oppose consumer-protection initiative
6/24/2008, Arizona Capitol Times
A ballot initiative supported by labor unions and billed as a measure to protect consumers from shady home deals and shabbily-constructed homes gained a strong opponent June 23 when the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona formed a committee to defeat the proposal. The group of builders, led by Spencer Kamps and Connie Wilhelm, will oppose the Homeowners' Bill of Rights initiative that seeks to mandate 10-year warranties on new homes and to allow owners to select contractors to do home repairs. The measure also would remove state regulations that allow builders to collect attorney fees and expert-witness fees from owners if they successfully defeat consumer lawsuits in court. 

Four homebuilders to pay $4.3M to settle pollution case
6/11/2008, USA Today
WASHINGTON — Four of the nation's largest homebuilders have agreed to pay $4.3 million in fines for failing to control runoff at construction sites in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Centex (CTX) agreed to pay $1.49 million, KB Home (KBH) $1.19 million, Pulte Homes (PHM) $877,000, and MDC Holdings' (MDC) Richmond American Homes $795,000, the government said in a statement. 

Home Warranty Repair Issues
6/9/2008, KRDO.com -- News Channel 13 (ABC)
COLORADO SPRINGS - Jamie Moore has lived in her Pulte home for a little more than two years and is not happy with the builder. In that time, she tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 that she's called Pulte to make several repairs, which, at first the company performed efficiently. But now Moore says it's hard to get the company to even call her back. "I feel like their customer service is because of the market."  

Pulte tries to reassure investors
5/16/2008, The Detroit News
Activists with a two-pronged message for Pulte provided a backdrop to the annual meeting. Led by the AFL-CIO labor group, about 100 protesters took to the streets surrounding The Community House to express their displeasure with what they called shoddy construction and unfair labor conditions in Pulte-built neighborhoods in Arizona and Nevada.