Today topic is Casa’s for CASA and TRCC.
My guest today are Mark Farmer, Clint Jarrett, Andrew Adami, Julie Laughlin, Mac Davis and Jean Gibson.
Casa’s for CASA

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a national organization to help children that have been taken away from their parents for various reasons and turned over to CPS (Child Protective Services). CASA provides volunteers assigned to each child to help and guide them through the court system, to ensure the child’s rights are being protected.

Casa’s for CASA is an event where builders volunteer to build a playhouse to donate to CASA and raffled off with all proceeds going to CASA.

CASA of Parker, County this year has 7 builders that built 6 playhouses and will be on display in Weatherford, Texas from April 12th, through April 26th.

My guests today are the builders that have volunteered their time and money to build the playhouses. These builders build in Parker County, Texas and are listed below.

Adami Custom Homes
Gibson Home Builders
David Carter Custom Homes / CJ Construction
Hubbard Old World Homecrafters
Mark Farmer Homes
Laughlin Home Builders

For more details please go to www.casaofparkercounty.com.

TRCC
Good morning. I want to thank Gibson Home Builders and Jim and Jean Gibson for having me on the show today.
My name is Kelly Davis and I own a local law firm that concentrates on construction and business issues. Having been raised around the construction industry, these issues have naturally interested me. I have been invited on the show today to talk to you a little more about the Texas Residential Construction Commission (also known as the TRCC).
For those of you who don’t know, the TRCC became effective September 1, 2003. While the TRCC has been around for many years, substantial changes were made to this Act that governs the TRCC in 2007 and became effective September 1, 2007.
The TRCC’s primary functions are to:
(1) Register builders and remodelers;
(2) register new home construction and most remodeling projects;
(3) administer a dispute resolution process for post construction building disputes between homeowners and builders or remodelers;
and
(4) develop and implement statewide minimum warranties and performance standards.
So, today we are going to discuss these 4 functions and how it relates to you, the consumer, remodeler, or builder.
Registration
1. Registration of Builders - A builder or remodeler may not construct new homes or engage in remodeling projects that change the living area of the home or that cost more than $10,000 for interior renovations in Texas without first registering with the commission.
2. Registration of Homes - builder or remodeler shall register with the commission all new home construction governed by the Act.
Dispute Resolution
1. The state’s inspection process, formally referred to as the State-sponsored Inspection and Dispute Resolution Process (SIRP for short), allows a homeowner or builder to obtain a neutral, professional review of alleged post-construction defects. The SIRP complaint must be filed and heard before a homeowner initiates legal action on an alleged post-construction defect
2. Process steps
a. Provide 30 day written notice to builder
b. Submit SIRP form and inspection fee
c. Third party inspector is appointed
d. Inspection of complaint occurs
e. Inspector renders a report with findings and recommendations
f. Either party may appeal findings
g. Commission Appeals Panel conducts a review of the third-party inspector’s initial findings and issues its written findings.
h. 45 days after case has been closed Builder is required to send in a 45-day report of the status of the repairs (if any) or other resolutions
3. Outcome
a. After final, unappealable report has been issued, a builder may make a written offer of settlement to the homeowner to repair the construction defect(s).
b. A builder's repeated failure to make an offer to repair based on the recommendation of a third-party inspector or the final and unappealable holding of an appeal panel decision may result in disciplinary action by the commission.
c. Homeowner may accept or if the homeowner considers the builder's offer to be unreasonable, the homeowner shall notify the builder and shall provide, in detail, any reason(s) the homeowner finds the offer to be unreasonable.
d. Not later than the tenth day after the date the builder receives a written response from the homeowner, the builder may make a supplemental written offer of settlement.
e. If a homeowner accepts a builder's offer to repair, the builder, upon completion of the repairs, shall engage, at the builder's expense, the original third-party inspector to re-inspect the repairs and to determine whether the home, as repaired, complies with the applicable statutory warranty and building and performance standards.
f. Builder shall have a reasonable time to address any minor cosmetic deficiencies necessary to fully complete the repairs.
4. So what happens if the parties just don’t agree to a settlement / repair? Inspector can be called as a witness at trial and the report / findings issued by the TRCC will be a rebuttable presumption that the other side must overcome.
Warranties
The commission adopted a set of limited warranties and building and performance standards. The adopted limited warranties include:
• a one-year workmanship and materials warranty;
• a two-year mechanical and delivery system warranty;
• a ten-year structural warranty;
• and a ten-year warranty of habitability.
The performance standards provide objective minimum standards that every home built or remodeled in Texas must meet. In every case, the minimum warranties and standards are more stringent than those required by federal Department of Housing and Urban Development standards. The standards were created with input from consumers, builders/remodelers, suppliers, municipalities, inspectors, warranty companies and the Construction Science Department at Texas A&M University through a publicly open process.
Next time I’m on the air, I will be talking more thoroughly about the Mechanic’s lien process – how to file them and how to fight em.
If you need to contact me, call 972-434-8009 otherwise visit us on the web at www.kmdalegal.com.
See you soon!