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Some home builders already struggling in Florida's dismal housing market are facing another headache: The Chinese-made drywall they used is causing unpleasant odors and possibly leading to electric problems in dozens of homes constructed during the housing boom.

Most everybody here rails against the Farm Bill, Corporate welfare etc.. However the one industry that has always enjoyed a tax break is the housing and mortgage industry. Why should home owners (of which I am one) get relief for their mortgage payment, but renters get no relief? Is that not the same as a marriage tax, inheritance tax, basically behavior driven tax relief. I understand that home ownership is a major driver for the economy, and in many people's minds, it brings some ingrained satisfaction that you are accomplishing the American Dream. However, there are many people that should...

...Until now, most of the damage to banks from the housing crisis has come from homeowners defaulting on their mortgages. But amid a dismal spring sales season for new homes, loans to home and condo builders are looking increasingly shaky. Banks have begun to dump them at what will likely be steep discounts, setting the stage for billions of dollars in fresh losses. ..."As long as the housing market is on a downward path, as long as those prices continue to fall, I think there's a risk that the losses could continue to mount on a variety of loans," Federal...

he hunt continues! A couple of weeks ago we discussed the various types of Realtors one is likely to come across. Now it is time for the loan officers to be exposed. Once again, this post is littered with stereotypes and generalizations, but we all know we have run across these folks at some point in our lending careers so don't get all politically correct on me. It would be wise for consumers to figure out which one they are dealing with. The Gangster: Maybe you haven't heard, gangs and street thugs have figured out that mortgage fraud is a...

Excavations reveal ancient Egyptians were master dam builders 2007-12-03 06:47:01 New Delhi, Dec 3 (ANI): Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient dam, dating back to some 4,000 years, in Upper Egypt, proving theories that ancient Egyptians were master dam builders. Discovered by an Egyptian-French archaeological team, which has been working in Luxor since March, the ancient dam was found a few meters away from the Karnak Temple in the city, some 500 km south of Cairo. "The 230-meter long dam was built during the age of the Middle Kingdom (of ancient Egypt) to protect the temple from the...

SACRAMENTO -- The skids seemed greased for one of environmentalists' top priorities this year: legislation forcing the construction industry to reduce pollution, which enjoyed strong support among environment-friendly Democrats. But the measure died suddenly last week when another frequent ally -- labor unions -- weighed in against it. The bill would have required construction firms bidding for certain public contracts to retrofit pollution-spewing diesel equipment. Unions, which spend millions on Democratic campaigns ... said they feared the regulations would make construction work too costly and result in lost jobs. The Democrats, who dominate the Legislature, need labor's help on an...

Stonehenge builders' houses found The village would have housed hundreds of people (Image: National Geographic) Archaeologists say they have found a huge ancient settlement used by the people who built Stonehenge. Excavations at Durrington Walls, near the legendary Salisbury Plain monument, uncovered remains of ancient houses. People seem to have occupied the sites seasonally, using them for ritual feasting and funeral ceremonies. In ancient times, this settlement would have housed hundreds of people, making it the largest Neolithic village ever found in Britain. The dwellings date back to 2,600-2,500 BC, the same period that Stonehenge was built. "In what were...

A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding eminent domain has Realtors and others in the housing industry on alert as advocates for individual property rights. In what has been called a surprise ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, sided with local government at the expense of private property owners in a highly visible case, Kelo v. New London, Conn. While the ruling is based on what is allowed in Connecticut law and doesn't set a federal standard, it has raised important property rights issues because it is viewed as weakening the definition of "public use."...

FRAMINGHAM -- Two Framingham High seniors arrested in January after they were ordered off high school property because they were building a snow fort were found guilty yesterday of trespassing. Jenna Schroeder and Jason Osorio, both 18, now face a maximum of 30 days in jail after the two-day trial in Framingham District Court. The jury of three men and three women deliberated for about three hours before they reached a verdict. Judge Douglas Stoddart will sentence the pair May 16. Although punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail, according to Massachusetts General Law, an offender can also...

Two months after Sacramento County enacted one of the nation's most aggressive affordable housing policies, the Building Industry Association of Superior California filed Monday to scrap the plan, calling it an unfair and unnecessary tax on developers that would drive up housing prices. During the two years county officials spent drafting a plan to provide housing for the poor, building industry officials resisted the plan and tried to loosen its stringent requirements. Affordability plan for low-income residents is called unfair tax that hurts others. The building industry's suit filed in Sacramento Superior Court reiterates those same arguments. "Is it fair...

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Friday it will allow developers to complete construction and other projects even after belated discoveries that the work could endanger protected species. The new rules from the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service restore a Clinton-era initiative known as "no surprises." It will let federal agencies give blanket assurances to home builders, timber and mining companies and other developers that they won't have unforeseen requirements to protect rare species once a project has begun. A federal judge had blocked the rules last June, telling the government it needed to hear more ideas from the...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - A key element of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign plank for new growth in older cities may be on the ropes, potentially leaving California farther behind national efforts to redevelop blighted industrial sites.</p> <p>Environmentalists aim Monday to block a developer bill that would relax standards to build new housing and stores on dormant industrial sites, typically in older neighborhoods. The bill is one of three on the Legislature's agenda Monday and Tuesday regarding an estimated 90,000-100,000 such sites in California.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - Construction crews wielding saws, hammers and nail guns pushed up the most new houses this year in California since 1989 and the most apartments since 1990 - but it still isn't enough to ease the nation's worst housing shortage, experts say.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO – Activists trying to slow suburban sprawl in California see reason for hope in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - even if the guy does drive a Hummer and received $2.5.million in campaign contributions from real estate interests.</p> <p>The Republican has been taking advice from a Los Angeles environmental group and has embraced many ideas of the "smart growth" movement, which favors mass transit, rebuilding cities and slowing development of farmland.</p>

I've been listening all day to a report on KLBJ-AM in Austin, TX that builders for a new Planned Parenthood site in South Austin walked off the job after threats were made by pro-life groups to boycott the builders when considering plans to build new churches. Often as a building is going up, a sign is raised on the property explaining who is doing the building of the site and a phone number on how to reach them. Apparently, a pro-life group contacted the builders and told them they would be blacklisted from building future churches in the area if...

Building contractors in Austin, Texas, have organized a city-wide boycott to prevent construction of a Planned Parenthood clinic that will perform abortions. The builders want to make sure concrete, building materials and workers are not available to erect the $6.2 million facility, planned for a site south of downtown where the project is scheduled to break ground today, the Associated Press reported. "We're going to do everything we can to stop it, slow it down and make it more expensive," said Chris Danze, an Austin concrete contractor, according to the AP. Danze, chairman of the Austin Area Pro-Life Concrete Contractors...

Rock art clue to nomad ancestors of Egyptian pyramid builders Stone age cattle herders left religious imagery which was to re-emerge in Valley of Kings Tim Radford, science editor Saturday April 5, 2003 The Guardian (UK) Rock art etched on cliff walls in the eastern Sahara more than 6,000 years ago could spell out the answer to one of archaeology's great puzzles - where the ancient Egyptians came from. The answer? They were there all the time. The pyramid builders made their first entry in the archaeological record 5,000 years ago. This appearance was so abrupt that it has provoked...