Debate over home-warranty proposition pits unions against builders
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 (thumbnails, captions below)
With BC-CNS-Home Warranties-Box
By MARIA KONOPKEN
Cronkite News Service
GOODYEAR (Monday, Oct. 6) _ Mary and Terry Landa said they have spent about $20,000 fixing a leaky roof, covering live wiring and sealing vents to keep bugs out of the home they bought two and a half years ago in this fast-growing Phoenix suburb.
They said that’s because their builder didn’t follow through with the repairs. The Landas want their money back, but they aren’t optimistic.
“We want what we paid for,” Mary Landa said. “We want to be safer. We just want to live peacefully in our home.”
Arizona voters will decide this November whether to require builders to provide a 10-year warranty on each new home. Proposition 201, dubbed the Homeowners’ Bill of Rights by proponents, would allow homeowners to choose who repairs defects on their homes and guarantee compensation for repairs not completed.
The proposition also would prohibit sales contracts from requiring alternate means of resolving disputes, such as mediation and arbitration. Prospective homebuyers would be also allowed to sue over repairs. The measure would reduce the notice period for buyers to request repairs from 90 days to 60 days.
The measure has pitted labor unions, which are pushing for the proposition, against homebuilders, which contend there are already adequate laws in place. According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, much of the money for and against Proposition 201 has come from those groups.
The measure was put forward by the Homeowners’ Bill of Rights Committee, consisting primarily of members of Sheet Metal Workers Local 359. A call to the local was returned by Rebekah Friend, executive director of the Arizona AFL-CIO, who said the proposition’s provisions should already be standard practice in the industry.
“This doesn’t do anything more but give homeowners a way to address their issues, contract workers and live in their homes,” Friend said.
Friend said union and non-union workers have complained about being pressured to build homes quickly rather than focus on quality.
The opposition campaign is led by a group calling itself Arizonans Against Lawsuit Abuse. Its chairman, Spencer Kamps, is the vice president of legislative affairs for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona.
Kamps said claims of rushed work and a lack of focus on quality are untrue because builders who did that wouldn’t stay in business. He said the proposition is being pushed by union interests and trial lawyers, would drive up home prices and would unnecessarily prohibit mediation and arbitration to resolve disputes.
“Instead, it will only encourage and promote frivolous lawsuits by lawyers trying to make a buck when homeowners just want to fix a problem,” Kamps said.
Ann Seiden, vice president of Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the proposition wouldn’t help homeowners.
“Instead it is going to harm them in a way that they are not going to have the choices like arbitration and trying to solve the problem without having to go to court to find a solution,” Seiden said.
The proposition wouldn’t help the Landas, the Goodyear homeowners, because it would apply to homes purchased after the change would take effect. But Terry Landa said he hopes his experience shows the importance of protecting homebuyers.
“It has been a struggle for us. Many sleepless nights over problems that should have been dealt with,” Terry Landa said. “We want to protect people from going through what we have had to go through.”
^___=
PHOTOS:
Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download; caption information is in the file under File>File Info.
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-HOME WARRANTIES: Terry Landa shows tile he says was installed improperly in the Goodyear home he and his wife, Mary, bought two and a half years ago. The Landas said they’ve spent about $20,000 fixing a leaky roof, finishing wiring and sealing vents to keep bugs out of the home, and they want the builder to cover the repairs. Arizona voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to require builders to provide a 10-year warranty on each new home. Proposition 201, dubbed the “Homeowner Bill of Rights” by proponents, also would, among other things, allow homeowners to choose who fixes defects in new homes and guarantee fair compensation for repairs not completed. Behind the scenes, the campaign pits trade unions, which are pushing for the change, against home builders. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Maria Konopken)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-HOME WARRANTIES: Terry and Mary Landa say disintegrating stucco is one of the problems with a home they purchased in Goodyear two and a half years ago. Arizona voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to require builders to provide a 10-year warranty on each new home. Proposition 201, dubbed the “Homeowner Bill of Rights” by proponents, also would, among other things, allow homeowners to choose who fixes defects in new homes and guarantee fair compensation for repairs not completed. Behind the scenes, the campaign pits trade unions, which are pushing for the change, against home builders. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Maria Konopken)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-HOME WARRANTIES: Terry and Mary Landa say homes along the foundation that let in bugs are among the problems with a home they purchased in Goodyear two and a half years ago. Arizona voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to require builders to provide a 10-year warranty on each new home. Proposition 201, dubbed the “Homeowner Bill of Rights” by proponents, also would, among other things, allow homeowners to choose who fixes defects in new homes and guarantee fair compensation for repairs not completed. Behind the scenes, the campaign pits trade unions, which are pushing for the change, against home builders. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Maria Konopken)