? Oklahoma's homebuilders policing themselves to gain buyers' trust

By Carol Hertzog

For The Transcript

A few years ago, Wanda Frost was driving through a neighborhood surveying future model homes for the annual Festival of Homes tour.

She happened onto a partially completed house, a neighborhood eyesore. The house hadn't been worked on in months. Grass grew up the sides, weeds choked the yard and the windows were open. The interior had been damaged by rain.

Frost said she has seen several such homes in her 13 years as executive director of the Norman Builders Association. Typically, she said, the future homeowner bought the lot, paid the homebuilder upfront and then the builder disappeared with the money.

"Oklahoma does not require homebuyers to be licensed," said Mark Dale, past president of the Oklahoma State Homebuilders Association. "Plumbers are licensed. Even the guy who cuts my hair has to have a license."

To move toward some form of oversight, the state association is certifying homebuilders through the Norman Builders Association. A certified builder carries general liability and workers compensation insurance, completes required continuing education classes, agrees to mediation if there is a dispute, complies with building codes and provides at least a one-year warranty on a new home.

Currently, builders are not required to carry liability or workers comp insurance, says Mike Means, executive director of the state homebuilders association. "What if a roofer falls and breaks his back? Who's liable? Without homebuilders insurance, the property owner is.

"What if the non-insured builder knocks a tree over onto a neighboring house? Again, the property owner carries the burden. Having insurance in place, which certified builders are committed to do, gives a buyer the assurance the builder has his protection in mind."

Of the state homebuilders' 1,000 members, 200 are now certified, Means said. Another 1,000 to 1,500 homebuilders operating in the state are not members, he said. "It's amazing that persons looking to build don't check out their homebuilders." That can be done on the state association's Web site, www.oshba.org.

About 75 percent of Norman's builders are members of the Norman Builders Association, Frost said. They are listed on the NBA Web site, www.normanhomes.com.

Among other resources, homeowners can search civil, criminal, police and lien records through a legal office, for a nominal fee.

Frost said homebuilding is big business in Norman. Around 655 homes were built last year, with most homes here built since 1983.

In June, the average price of a new home was $153,000, Frost said. That was up from $130,000 in 1999. She said much of the increase has been due to permit fees and other builders' costs.

A home is the largest purchase most people make, yet care in researching the homebuilder most often is given short shrift. "Before homebuyers hire a builder they should contact the association, ask a lot of questions, kick a lot of tires as in car-buying," Frost said.

Dusty Johnson, of Norman-based Liberty Homes, is a member of NBA and the Central Oklahoma Homebuilders Association. He built a Festival of Homes model in Highland Village. He has seen the good and bad of homebuilding.

"After the May 3, 1999, tornado hit the Moore area, 2,000 new homes were built," Johnson said. "Some of those builders are still in town doing business. Others left town before completing the job."

Johnson said certification keeps him on top of the newest products, city building code changes, energy-saving programs and new heating and cooling mandates.

In the custom homebuilding market, checking out homebuilders can be even more critical.

Means said a homebuyer phoned him last month, looking for help in dealing with her builder.

"Design changes were being made without her approval. Substandard materials were being used, again without her OK. Because the builder of the million dollar home wasn't a member, there was nothing I could do."

Another luxury home took a year longer and hundreds of thousands of dollars more to build, Means said. "Another builder had to take over construction. The owners paid thousands to subcontractors because the homebuilder took money from their bank, per their agreement, but didn't pay his subs."

The house framing and foundation were not up to code. A certified builder was hired. The framework had to be torn down, areas of the roof redone and the home design dramatically altered, he said.

"The move to 'police' homebuilders helps to raise the bar in the industry," Frost said. "It restricts those who operate out of the back of a pickup truck."