A new proposal for a State House Bill targets unscrupulous home builders in Pennsylvania who never deliver on their promises.  The Bill proposes that homebuilders would have to pay $300 each year, funding the New Home Builder Guaranty Fund, and register with the PA State Attorney General's office.  The intention is to keep customers from losing deposit funds paid to builders who in turn never build the agreed-upon home.

The Bill has been drafted by Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus from Lackawanna County, in response to an upcoming trial focused on a consumer who had been ripped off by a builder, accused of taking a deposit and never building the home, bilking the consumer out of $50,000. 

The Bill, known as the New Home Construction Consumer Protection Act, would require that the registration fees be used to pay back customers who win a judgement against a fraudulent homebuilder.  If a consumer chooses to use a homebuilder who is not registered with the state, they would not be covered by the proposed bill.

If House Bill (HB) 1821 were to be enacted, Pennsylvania builders would be subject to background checks and would be given state registration numbers.  Is this such a bad thing?  Personally, although I am not fond of government intervention from many angles, I feel this is a good measure to weed out the bad seeds and protect consumers from losing what could be their life savings.

There are similar Bills in place already in the states of California and Florida, where continued education and testing is required by builders.  Could Pennsylvania be far behind?  Most members of The Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg are against the Bill, fearing that ethical builders will have to shoulder the burden of criminal or fraudulent businesses in the industry.  It's true in every industry though, including the lending and real estate sales industries.  Why should builders not be regulated as well?

You can read the entire news article on the Business News for Central Pennsylvania website.