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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL Caution to future homeowner hopefuls Know your builder Dear Readers: My office receives quite a few calls concerning new-home com plaints. To illustrate an extreme case, two of my clients have kindly autho rized me to tell their story to educate all of you. My clients decided the}' wanted to build their “dream home” for retire ment. They contracted with a distant relative of theirs from Atlanta who styled herself a general contrac tor. They did not check ref erences or run background checks. Mistake number one. A construction contract was signed and a construc tion loan secured. Believing that their home would be completed in a reasonable amount of time, they sold their existing home and moved into a temporary apartment, moving their excess personal affects and furniture into storage. Mistake number two. Believing that their rela tive/builder was honest and industrious, they signed off on requisition draws from the construction loan with out checking on progress, without visiting the work site, and without making sure that everything was proceeding on schedule. Mistake number three. Unbeknownst to them, they were signing off on requisitions for work not completed and materials not delivered to their job site. By the time they came to hire me, checks had been bounced, subcontractors went unpaid, schedules had been broken, revised, and broken again. Their spacious home was TOYS From page $A might force our manufactur ers to realize that Americans want quality goods to buy, and Americans to have the jobs of supplying them. Not to mention the dangers of bringing these items into our homes. For birthdays, Christmases, et al, I have decided to pur chase U. S. Savings Bonds as gifts, and either give the children books or scout out handmade toys at places like the Mossy Creek Festival. I have, actually, already put this plan into action for my two-year old great-grandson. Children are overwhelmed with the tons of toys they have now, mostly plastic. It would also be an oppor tunity to teach a lesson to our children about supporting this SYSTEM From page 4A about - although, he led the attack on Bill Clinton. Hypocrisy is no stranger to Newt. Gov. Sonny Perdue’s shady tax deals and his pathetic role in the sale of Oaky Woods and his land purchases are shameful. But he has publicly stated that as our governo he can do what he wants Now that is arrogance. Will Republican, state-wide tax reform mainly benefit our wealthiest citizens like we see in abolishing property taxes. That would be a rip off and cripple our schools whose funding would be fro zen forever. A mansion and a mobile home untaxed is not fairness. WARNER ROBINS SUPPLY I WE RENT I Trenchers-generators ■ naif guns-compressors log splitters |aPl»rf -tillers IhOHLI * mofeJ PEKHY WARNER ROBINS f 612 BALL ST 2758 WATSON BIVD. I 987-2334 953-4199 o 1 mm WA a half fa u i 1 t , uninhab ita b 1 e empty shell and the loan was exhaust- 1 ed. The bank Jim Rockefeller The ‘Law’ man stopped all construction, threatening them with default. They were strug gling to pay bills while living in a cramped apart ment. I advised them to at least get the building com pletely closed in, so they could try to pass inspection and move in - even if that meant unfinished rooms and no landscaping. We notified the builder that she was in breach of contract and offered her an opportunity to remedy the problems. We couldn’t just unilaterally declare the contract broken. A couple of weeks later, after the deadline passed, the builder had the audac ity to call me and say that my clients could not bring anyone else in to fix this mess! As you might imag ine, I just laughed. After spending approxi mately $50,000 out-of pocket and refinancing their construction loan, my clients’ “dream home” miraculously passed inspec tion. We filed an arbitra tion claim against the builder, winning an award of $345,013.50, for a home that should have cost about $250,000 to be built. Unfortunately, the award is probably uncollectible because in the middle of the project the builder failed to country and the people in this country who need low-paying jobs to survive in this global economy. We were bam boozled by Walmart and the other big box stores, includ ing Sears and other major retailers, into believing that all these goods would forever be cheaper and of higher quality. Neither concept was true, nor is it true that the lower costs are being passed on to American consumers. Don’t depend on our gov ernment to do anything about this. Our politicians will make a lot of noise about “regulat ing” the quality of imports, etc., but it’s the manufactur ers and politicians who are making money off this decep tion. Nothing will change until the public quits spending it’s money on dangerous, low quality merchandise. If I were a Bill Gates, Warren Progressive taxation based on ability to pay is the fairest system - not sales taxes that Subscribe so you don’t have to letch j^^LDAWQ 18ISSBCS (13 Maine stum, 6 eU setum) Print $49 or online $29 www.OnUdawgiilustrated.com 700-248-8053 WM Ifw; - O IJ : || Get. Ready for IjllltKi Season WefSenrit&Most Makes & Models of ZStreet Bikes, Birrßikes & ATVS Factory Trained Technicians Saturday Service by Appointment Only Hours: Won - Frj 9am-6pm Sat 9am - 3pm ' **ll6 PEACHTREE PKWY"“3 Behind the Big Peachun Byron „ pay her insurance premi ums. After my clients and I started poking around into the builder’s background, we found that out that she is a disbarred and disgraced former attorney, stripped of her right to practice law for stealing from clients about 10 years ago. She was convicted of theft in Atlanta and is currently on probation. She has been scheming, defrauding, and conning even her friends and family out of tens of thousands of dollars. In short, she is a menace and needs to be stopped. We are trying to have her arrested for theft. Sadly, she does not really have any assets that my cli ents can use to satisfy their award. My heart goes out to my clients; I told them to wait to finish paying me until they can bring some financial sanity to their lives. Let their tale be a cautionary one to anyone looking to build their own home. Do your homework on your builder and make sure that you hire some one reputable, bonded, and with assets. Above all, run as far away as you can from distant builder-relatives! Local attorney Jim Rockefeller owns the Rockefeller Law Center and is a former Houston Co. Chief Assistant District Attorney, and a former Miami Prosecutor. E-mail confidential legal questions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter. com. Visit www.rockefelle.r lawcenter.com for Frequently Asked Questions and Jim’s blog, The Rockefeller Report. Buffett, Donald Trump, or some other multi-millionaire, I’d be investing in American workers and supplying our country with light bulbs, Christmas ornaments, watch es, TVs, etc., instead of wor rying about countries such as Mexico who have never been interested in building up their own countries without con ning the rest of the world by enslaving their own people in extremely low-paying and dangerous environments just so the few “elite” can live the good life in their mansions. And Americans should be more concerned about buy ing products that will pro vide their fellow citizens with employment than having to pay a few more cents for something. I would rather do without a few luxuries and know that I was helping my friends in this country. Carmen Lyons, Perry hurt the poor the most. Frank W. Gadbois, Warner Robins WmfagSEzt? ... Wr £ © |ppy[ iIUG HEAD& / *j / r?- j© t Sales * Service *Parts • Accessories nvno\. ga 478-956-4777 OPINION Do you know your desired outcome? Many people with whom I interact don’t know why they do what they do! Now that may seem incredible to you. Yet we are all guilty of this at times! Sometimes my wife will ask me, “Dennis, why did you do that?” Usually, I’m able to answer with something that seems plausible. Occasionally, however, the real answer is, * Dennis Hooper Leaders Building Leaders I spent no time in advance of my action, thinking about the possible outcome. I did what I did without consider ing options, without really thinking about the effects of my behavior. I work with leaders on improving the impact they have on those over whom they have authority. I empha size that what we intend is not always the effect that actually occurs. We initiate the action, but we usually don’t know the actual long term impact. We blindly believe that what we intended actually occurred. That’s true maybe half the time. About half the time, though, something we hadn’t even considered is the outcome. And unless we ask, we’ll continue on blindly unaware of what happened. (I strongly encourage leaders to become very comfortable inviting feedback!) Of course, thinking about our desired outcome doesn’t guarantee it will occur. We are not in control of all the environmental elements that That’s my mortgage bank. Finding the right mortgage banker is just as important Hf© as finding the right home. At Fairfield Financial, get the convenience of using online services and the confidence of working with trustee;! local professionals. You can apply online, communicate by phone, and meet face to face with a knowledgeable loan officer. You will feel much more comfortable discussing your finances, your future, and your personal preferences with someone you can depend on. FAIRFIELD FINANCIAL A Subtidiaiy of Security Bank www.MyFairfieldMortgage.com We do the work. You take the credit. "Of course, thinking about our desired outcome doesn't guarantee It will occur." affect our results. However, we increase the probabil ity of making happen what we desire if we have a dear image of what that is. Lei me provide an exam ple. In old Jerusalem, there was a gate at the northeast wall of the city. Just outside that gate was a pool known as Bethsaida. Allegedly, when an angel stirred the waters, the first person in the pool would be healed. Gathered around the pool were many blind, lame, and paralyzed individuals. One in particular had been brought there each day for thirty eight years! Can you imag ine? After all that time, can you understand if perhaps he’d lost hope? Jesus, on his way to a reli gious festival, passed the pool and asked the disabled man, “Do you want to get well?” The man could have answered, “Of course!” Or he could have sarcastically replied, “Why else do you think I’d be lying here?” Instead, he explained, “Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying “I don’t know.” Huh? I’m inside my body, totally in control of my behav iors, and I don’t know why I did what I did? Yep, I confess. Assessing Your Leadership Skills -SBS/person “jily.T I mjimjn w * f * SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2007 ♦ to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Jesus simply asked a ver sion of “What is your desired outcome?” The man respond ed instead with a long expla nation for why he’d been unsuccessful for most of his life! Leaders, don’t allow yourselves to be seduced into a similar outlook! Opportunities come your way every day! If you don’t have a clear picture of your desired outcome, you’ll miss more chances at success than you’ll ever realize. Fortunately, Jesus is more forgiving than most of the situations you’ll face. Despite the man’s failure to clearly state his desired outcome, Jesus satisfied his need. (Read beyond the first verses in the book of John, chapter 5, and you’ll see that both the disabled man and Jesus were criticized for what hap pened! Isn’t that just the way it is? Whatever good you do, you’ll always have critics!) Your power to focus your limited energies is greatly enhanced when you clearly know what you desire and why! Practice until it is natu ral to think, “What is my desired outcome in this situ ation?” Dennis is a local certi fied leadership develop ment coach, helping middle Georgia leaders build organi zations of excellence. Contact him at 478-988-0237 or dhooper2@juno.com. F. Dennis Hooper Certified Leadership Development Coach Building leaders and organizations of excellence (478) 988-0237 Perry 1208 Washington Street (478) 722-7165 Warner Robins 11 OB S Houston lake Road (478) 953-7400 849 Warren Dr. (Hwy 96) (478) 722-7183 dhooper2@juno.com f Ail loam subject to credit approval 5A 51253 52553