Rep. Kuempel fails to serve his constituents

State Representative John Kuempel is more interested in dogs and cats than he is in his own constituents. Homeowners all over Cibolo have been suffering from new homes with foundation failures caused by the shoddy construction practices of major home builders and we sought help from Rep. Kuempel. We asked him to file a bill in the Texas legislature to provide home buyers with the opportunity to have their lemon homes bought back by the builder when they have repeatedly failed to remedy significant problems.

Currently you have a more consumer protection when you buy a toaster than when you buy a home even though it is likely the largest single investment you’ll ever make.

I’ll bet you didn’t know that while you have to have a license to cut hair, operate a nail salon or drive a car, home builders aren’t required to have a license. Soon if Kuempel gets his will dog and cat dealers will be licensed and regulated but not home builders.

Cibolo Mayor Jennifer Hartman, Councilman Steve Liparoto, Guadalupe County Judge Larry Jones and Commissioner Jim Wolverton all supported us and urged Kuempel to file the bill. In the last days before the bill filing deadline he wouldn’t even meet with his constituents; instead he filed HB 1449, a bill to license and regulate dog and cat dealers.

Cibolo City Council passes measures to protect future new home buyers

The Cibolo City Council passed a Surety Bond requirement for builders of new homes at the January 8 meeting that the members of Justice for Cibolo are very happy about. They also passed amendments to several parts of the building code to tighten up requirements so that buyers can be more certain of the quality of the construction of their new homes.

Far too many of us have found that the new homes we purchased just a few years ago were not built to the standard of quality we expected from nationally known companies. Some have had their foundations crack wide open all the way across the house both front to back and side to side. Others have suffered from pipes being pulled apart, walls cracking or ceilings pulling away from the walls among many other less severe problems. The builders have often claimed to have fixed the problem but in reality they’ve only put a bandaid on it as the problems have recurred a year later and then again a year after that.

Unfortunately the warranty the builders provide has so many exclusions as to be worthless and is unenforceable as well. Our Mayor and City Council aren’t satisfied with what they’ve accomplished so far and continue to work to provide future home buyers with other measures to hold unscrupulous builders accountable.

Thank you Mayor Hartman, Councilman Liparoto and the rest of the council and city staff for your efforts to protect Cibolo citizens and future citizens.