Home Building & Remodeling Information

This page helps you follow Clark Howard's advice, "save more; spend less; and avoid rip-offs." Please send other helpful links to Info@HomeownersOfTexas.org .

General Consumer Information

• Angie’s List – Consumer reviews of homebuilders, contractors & service providers 
• Better Business Bureau (512-445-2911) – Find acredited businesses, file complaints, search resource list 
• Consumer Reports Magazine Online  – Independent consumer advice 
• HUD.gov/consumer  – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 
• Texas Attorney General (512-463-2100) 
• Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (512-463-6599) — TX builders, general contractors & home inspectors are not licensed, yet, but TDLR already licenses electricians and other trades. 

  • Texas Secretary of State  (512-463-5600)
  • Travis County Judicial District Civil Court (512-854-9306) 

Buyers

• About.com  – Large collection of Home Buying Tips, Tricks and Techniques 
• Angie’s List – Find reputable homebuilders, contractors and service providers 
• CNN Money  – Advice on Buying a Home 
• Fannie Mae  – How to Buy a Fannie Mae-Owned Home 
• Home Building Pitfalls – Avoid rip offs, Save money, Save time, Avoid stress 
• Home Buying For Dummies – book by Eric Tyson & Ray Brown 
• Homeowners Consumer Center offers consumer advice by Americas Watchdog, a national consumer advocacy group.
• HUD.gov/buying  – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 
• MSN – Buying or Selling, Rent or Buy, Loans & Finance, Home & Garden 
• MSN – City Guides 
• Rate Your Builder – Consumer ratings of home builders and communities 
• Real Estate ABC – Real Estate & Mortgage Resources 
• Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs – Assistance Programs 
• Texas Department of Insurance – Compare rates and submit complaints
• Texas Real Estate Commission – Licensing related to EXISTING homes 
• Texas Residential Construction Commission – Register Builders, NEW homes 
• The Clark Howard Show – Section on Homes & Real Estate 
• The Environmental Protection Agency 
• The Everything Homebuying Book, by Piper Nichole – How to buy smart 
• The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University – Real estate questions 
• U.S. Department of Energy 
• U.S Department of Justice 
• Web Soil Survey – USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 

Sellers

• HUD.gov/selling  – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 
• InMan News   – Real estate news, info, advice, research, opinion 
• MSN – Buying or Selling, Rent or Buy, Loans & Finance, Home & Garden 
• Real Estate ABC  – Real Estate & Mortgage Resources 

Home Improvement

• Ask the Builder  – How-to articles by syndicated columnist Tim Carter 
• Home and Family Network  – Decorating, home improvement, health, etc 
• Home Depot  – World's largest home improvement specialty retailer 
• Home Improvement Encyclopedia  – by Better Homes & Gardens 
• Home Improvement & Repair  – How-to articles & videos from PBS TV show 
• Lowes  – World’s second-largest home improvement retailer 
• MSN – Green Living 
• MSN – Lifestyle 
• MSN – Home & Garden 
• National Gardening Association  – Content for consumers and educators 
• Sound Home Resource Center  – Home Improvements, Construction, Repair 
• True Value – Independent member-owned hardware cooperatives 
• BobVila.com  – Do-it-yourself info from This Old House TV series 

Legal & Legislative

• Contact Your Legislator – Find State/US Senators & Representatives by Address 
• Find an Attorney  – by National Association of Consumer Advocates 
• Lobby Watch – See what politicians take homebuilders' money 
• Mold Resources  – by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
• Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act – Encourages building on contaminated soil with no apparent oversight, liability, or duty to disclose 
• Texas Attorney General – Protects citizens and enforces health, safety & consumer regulations 
• Texas Real Estate Commission – Licensing related to EXISTING homes 
• Texas Residential Construction Commission – Register Builders, NEW homes 
• U.S. Department of Energy 
• U.S Department of Justice 

Consumer Advocacy

• America's Watch Dog – Advocates Consumer Protection and Corporate Fair Play 
• Hutto Arsenic – Documents problems with the Brownfields Act, which releases builders from liability or duty to disclose when they develop contaminated land 
• Complaint Sites  – We can't endorse homeowner complaint sites, but there are many! 
• Hutto Parke – From neighbors upset with Lennar Homes and the TRCC (see Site Map) 
• National Association of Consumer Advocates  – A forum for information sharing among attorneys and consumer advocates 
• People Over Profits  – Opposes Binding Arbitration to protect civil justice 
• Public Citizen – Represents consumers in Congress, the executive branch and the courts 
• Texans for Public Justice  – Tracks the influence of money & corporate power in politics 
• Texas Public Interest Research Group  – Stands up to powerful interests  
• Texas Watch – Working to restore access to courts and balance to insurance marketplace 

Building Trades

• Texas Association of Builders  – Resources, legal tools, and policy representation 
• Web Soil Survey – USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 

Realtors

• Texas Association of Realtors – Education, standards, resources, legal tools, and policy 
• Texas Real Estate – Consumer info about buying a home and working with realtors 
• Texas Real Estate Commission – Education, licensing & regulation to protect homeowners