I received the following from Nancy Seats, President of Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD). She has been lobbying both in Kansas and Missouri in favor of protection for homebuyers against the shoddy workmanship and scam lending practices of some homebuilders. Her email shows the depth of opposition to any change.

Nancy has been absolutely key to getting bills submitted to protect homebuyers in both states. Both state legislatures have them bottled up in Committee as the special interests lobby successfully to continue business as usual. NeighborhoodNet has already published a couple of the many letters received from homeowners who have been badly hurt by these unscrupulous builders - the few who tarnish the reputations of all the others.

No matter how much opposition there is from the special interests, citizens can make things happen. Nancy, with the help of many, many concerned citizens willing to write letters and lobby officials, has been able to get legislation enacted. As Nancy points out in this follow-up to her letter printed below:

"I will never give up. I know we have made a difference -- hey we got rid of the fraudulent Certified Master Builder program! I am certain that without HADD there would be no licensing program in JO CO for builders. I will just change my tactics a little bit."

If you too believe something should be done to protect homebuyers, you can send an email to the following address and it will be directed to all the Members of the Kansas House Committee on Business, Commerce, and Labor which is currently blocking this legislation, House Bill 2835, from going forward. [The Kansas Bill is available at this site by typing in 2835 under Full Text of Bills.] Concerned citizens and those already badly hurt by these homebuilders can take it so far, but in the end, it is pressure from the public, through letters and ultimately at the voting booth, that finally makes change happen. Send your email to:

badhome@nbrhd.net

In addition to Committee Members, Nancy Seats and NeighborhoodNet will receive copies. Nothing you send will be published without first getting your explicit approval. Please write if you think something should be done this year.

If you should happen to get a response from a legislator, please feel free to forward that to NeighborhoodNet at phillips@kcnet.com if you feel it merits being published.

Letter From Nancy

"I am pretty upset tonight. I spent the day at the capitol in Jeff City. It seemed to go fairly well until the last Senator I spoke with at 4 PM. He is one that Dan and I thought last year would vote with us. I still think that he probably would, but he spoke in a very blunt, harsh, mean manner and said "Nancy you are wasting your time down here. Senator Rohrbach will never pass the bill out of committee and if you have spent years of your life working on this you are foolish. It isn't going to happen".

I felt like I had been hit by a sledgehammer. I was reeling! All the years I have been fighting for homeowner protection I knew in my heart that the lobbyists and the industry would win because of their influence, but to have a Senator stand there and say it the way he did was horrible. I was VERY sad driving home for three hours thinking about my Grandchildren and what our country has become. So much for Democracy and government Of the people, For the people, and By the people. The people don't count anymore. it is the lobbyists and the industries they represent that count PERIOD, and a Senator told me that."