New Homeowner Has Recourse
Through FHA for Work Defects
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON
WASHINGTON men tu
i ... , 'wn mere
n.nS Quite like that sink
ing feeling a man gets when he
begins to suspect that his new
dr?m house is fa"'ng apart
The Federal Housin Admin
jatration (FHA) has some ad
vice for customers who find
themselves in this predicament.
It boils down to this: "Keep in
touch with the building, . .keep
Dr. Keller Named
To White City Post
WHITE CITY The Veterans
Administration Domiciliary, at
mine uiy, nas announced the
appointment of Dr. Emil T
Keller to the position of staff
physician.
Dr. Keller, a nalivo nf
ton, Minn., graduated from high
school in that city. He received
his undergraduate and medical
work at the University of Min
nesota and served his intern
ship and residency at Ancker
Hospital, St. Paul.
Before accepting appointment
at uie uomicwary, Dr. Keller
was associated with the John-
ouii v,iuuc, nugny, n.d., since
January, 1941. Prior to that he
practiced medicine in Leola,
S.D., and in Rolette, N.D.
During World War II he serv
ed as Flight Surgeon for the
72nd Bombardment Squadron in
the South Pacific. He was a
.member of the armed forces
.from May, 1942, to December,
il945.
J Dr. Keller is a past master of
the Rugby Masonic Lodge; serv
,ed on the city council four
years and as mayor two years.
He belonged to the Lions Club
'and was a deacon at the First
.Methodist Church.
Dr. and Mrs. Keller, who re
side in White City, have two
sons, Reed, a physician at the
General Hospital, Cleveland,
Ohio, and Kenneth, a second
lieutenant in the Army, who is
serving in Germany.
in touch with us. . .and keep
cool."
The FHA insures only the
homeowners' mortgage not
his house but it has ways
of making the builder live up
to his bargain. Among other
things, it requires the contrac
tor 10 give the buyer a one
year warranty that the house
was built according to FHA
standards.
The FHA does not enforce
this warranty personally. The
warranty actually serves as a
document which gives the home
owner some legal recourse if
he is dissatisfied with his new
nome and he wants to sue the
builder.
Legally, the question of liv
ing up to the warranty is a
matter between the builder and
me Buyer not the govern
ment. FHA Can Hcln
But practicaly speaking, the
FHA gets very much into the
act. It has an effective lever
for making sure that the build
er abides by the warranty. The
FHA simply will not approve
his next housing project until
he lives up to his past commit
ments. Most buildiers, being reputa
ble businessmen, want to re
main in operation in their com
munities. They also like the
"FHA approved" label on the
tract sign and the low down
payment it implies. So it's good
business to live up to the war
ranty. What can the FHA-insured
homeowner do to make sure he
does not get cheated on the
construction quality of his new
hove? Here is some advice
from FHA officials:
First, the new homeowner
should read his "FHA's home
owner's guide." This is a tight
little report on the role of the
FHA in the transaction. It can
save time and confusion and
might even have some future
positive influence on his blood
pressure.
Secondly, when the "hues"
start showing in the house the
jammed lock, the peeling paint,
the crack in the bookcase he
should carefully note each one
and give the list to the builder.
Take Action Quickly
This should be done as Quick
ly as possible. The longer the
family lives in the house, the
more difficult it can become
to prove that a defect was the
result of a construction flaw.
The builder can claim (and
in some cases, rightly so) that
trie unsightly crack or gouge is
the product of naturally ram
bunctious children, an overzeal
ous pet or some of the other
ravages of the everyday domes
tic schedule.
Third, if the builder refuses
to correct a construction de
fect, the homeowner should for
ward the complaint to the FHA
oifice that granted his insur
ance commitment. This is im
portant. The FHA regional office then
will send out an inspector to
determine whether the home
owner's complaint is justified.
And if the homeowner doesn't
like the FHA's decision, he can
slill haul the contractor into
court and let a jury do the de
ciding. One point ought to be stressed
here: It's never too late to
write that letter of complaint
to the FHA. That's because the
government still has that big
stick the threat of turning
down future projects which
it holds over the builder.
Chances are that only the
more serious structural short
comings will linger or show up
at this late date, but it costs
the homeowner only a 5-cent
stamp and a little time to find
out his rights.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER II, 1963
ELECTED TO POST
McMINNVILL E Stuart
Young, son of Rev. and Mrs:
Clifford Young, 1549 Lenora
Ave., Medford. has been elected
vice president of the freshman
class at Linfield College. Young
will cooperate in the leadership
of all class activities during the
year.
They'll Do It Every Time
By Jimmy Hatlo
HOWCUM? FLASH PINSTER CAH CO
THE LEN(5TH OF THE FIELD FOR A
TOUCHDOWM.IN RECORO SPRINT TIME"
But is me first across the coal
line ? nope.' old fatso, the ref,
13 two yards ahead all the way
FHA Endorses Act
For Responsibility
InH ome Defects
By JOSEPH D. IIUTNYAN
WASHINGTON (UPI) - The
Federal Housing Administration
if HA) has endorsed legislation
intended to give it some re
sponsibility for patching up
FHA-insured homes which de
velop serious structural defects.
However, this authoritv would
be a last-resort device that
would be used only in connec
tion with what some FHA of
ficials informally refer to as
the "horror" case.
This is the instance where
something in the house col
lapses to the point where it is
practically unlivable.
Introduction of the bill has
stirred up some old misunder
standings that have caused con
fusion almost since the day the
r s-st-x V ' -; - , . ,vw t
rfHietw vvr' a -im .
i?sw!c r. s "!.-si?"ri.r. M&&o
K-. .T:"W.7:SSBsSC::..'iV.i:' A V-vWutflMH III HIM III I III
r X-aSMS
js -..-i .
Engine trouble, and not a service station in sight
ll ivus such a tiny speck on the ocean
that our tanker almost missed it!
FHA was born. One of these in
volves the significance of the
imprint "FHA insured" on a
builder's sign. Just what is the
buyer getting?
Actually, the FHA does not
insure a house. It insures only
the mortgage. However, by set
ting minimum construction
standards to qualify for the
mortgage insurance, the --;en-cy
does have something to say
about the kind of house that is
built. And it accepts additional
responsibility by sending its in
spectors around periodically to
make certain its standards are
being met.
Refuses New Projects
The FHA already has a very
effective technique for weeding
out the builder who falls to re
spond to legitimate customer
complaints. It simply refuses to
approve a new project for FHA
insurance until he remedies all
of the defects in his present
project.
The blank spot in FHA cov
erage seems to be those few
cases where a builder just re
fuses to take any action at all.
Either he drops the FHA com
pletely or just goes out of busi
ness. The FHA feels that since its
Inspectors approved the house
in such, a situation, It docs have
some responsibility for making
sure that the customer does not
get cheated.
Administrator Robert C.
Weaver of the Housing and
Home Finance Agency already
has testified in favor of legis
lation that would extend the
FHA's liability along these
lines. The bill is still pending
in Congress. It will have to be
passed and signed by the Presi
dent before the homeowner gets
this additional protection.
Stresses Two Points
Weaver stressed two things
in connection with this new ob
igation. First, the kind of
cases it would cover involve
only a very small portion of
FHA business.
He said builders generally
were reliable businessmen in
terested in maintaining a good
reputation in the community.
The second point is that this
new FHA obiigational authority
would be used only where the
defect is of a near catastrophic
type. It is not intended to re
dress the grievance o( the man
with the leaky faucet or the
stuck door. The contractor us
ually will handle such com
plaints anyway.
Letters written to the FHA
strongly suggest there is more
confusion on this issue than
just about any other in the
housing field.
loo many homeowners lust
aren't aware of what they are
getting when they receive an
FHA insurance commitment on
their house. The biggest prob
lem involves construction grievances.
As a result, the FHA gets in
undated with letters of com
plaint from persons who should
be settling their problems with
the builder. The other extreme
is that some homeowners, who
are unaware of their rights,
are not getting the quality for
which they paid.
Far out in the Sulu Sea, beyond the direct ship
lanes, the little Ermedita ran into trouble: a shat
tered crankshaft. The captain and some of the
crewmen left in small boats for help but help
never came.
Seven days had gone by. There was no radio, just
a while flag fluttering from the mast. Not a ship had
passed. Supplies were rimninjr low. And hope, too.
Aboard our tanker, outbound to Sumatra, a lookout
thought he saw a flash of white on the far horizon.
The captain altered his course to investigate.
They found seven shocked, tired men, took them
aboard, gave them medical care, and towed their
stricken vessel to the Philippines, saving their
means of livelihood.
It's only one of many times our tanker men have
made friends for our Company by giving aid at sea.
On land, Standard men and women seek to make
equally good friends for our Company-by the char
acter of our public services, the
integrity of our products, and our
behavior as a citizen.
STANDARD OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA
Labor Unions Lose
3 NLRB Elections
PORTLAND - (UPI) -Labor
unions lost three representation
elections conducted by the Na
tional Labor Relations Board
last week.
In Eugene, production, main
tenance and transportation
workers at Cascade Fibre Co.
ejected representation by the
Lumber 4 Sawmill Workers un
ion of the United Brotherhood of
Carpenters and Joiners. The
vote was 29 to 19.
Employes of Smoke CrafLs.
Inc., Albany, voted 18 to 8
against representation by Amal
gamated Meat Cutters and
Butcher Workmen, Local 324.
Employes of the automobile
bumper replating plant of Allied
Plating, inc., Portland, were 9
to 6 against representation by
International Association of Ma
chinists Lodge 1432.
Wrap On!
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mailing and special handling.
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ECON-O-CLEAN
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38
lb.
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$1.90
Cleaning and Spotting Onlyl
Dumas Domestic Laundry
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USE OUR DRIVE-IN SERVICE
"Nolhinj Mikti Clolhn n Citin ll a Laundry"
Psychology Subject
Of Television Show
ASHLAND "Perspectives in
Psychology," will be the title
of the new Insieht series, whirh
is a program sponsored bv
Southern Oregon College under
the supervision of Dr. Jon Pow
ell, on KMED-TV, from 8:30 to
a.m. Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday.
The program will be present
ed by the psychology depart
ment of SOC and designed to
noint out that nxvrhnlnpv ic
much broader than merely the
treatment of the mentally ill.
The show will also use live sub
jects to best demonstrate
theory.
A 3-
Portland Scene Of Five Conventions
PORTLAND (UPI)-Five na-
tional, regional andjtate con
ventions will open here this
week.
The National Grange starts a
nine day meeting today. About
1,500 delegates are expected
The Pacific Marine Fisheries
Commission begins a four -day
meeting Tuesday. Some 150 per
sons are due.
The Oreeon School Rnaivt As.
sociation opens a three day con
vention with about 600 delegates
Wednesday.
The Holstein Fnesian Assnpin.
tion starts a two-day regional
convention of some 50 persons
Friday. 1
Another 100 rlploaaioe a- v
c c
pected when the Credit Women
of the Northwest open a two
day meeting Saturday.
LIVE AT THE
HOTEL GRAND
THIS WINTER "
Steam heated rooms
TV in the lobby
Frae Phones
Parking Area
$50.00 per month
HOTEL GRAND
It never touches a drop.
1 Ohi&lM OF AMtftlCA, INC. '
The Volkswagen is cooled by air. Not
water. An ingenious advantage.
. Since air cannot freeze, the Volks
wagen engine cannot. Even at tempera
tures below zero, il ii safe and sound. .
The VW hat no radiator problemi
. for an eloquently simple reason.
It has no radiator.
Viz.- It never needs onli-freeze. It
never needs flushing out. There is no
radiator hose to crack and leak and
possibly lose expensive onli-freeze.
When drivers line up for anti-freeze
etc. on the first bitter wlnler day, the
VW owner is spared the annoyance.
: Not to mention the expense.
The Volkswagen has an equal advan
tage tn hot weather.
Air cannot boil any more than It tan
freeze. .,
, Neither eon the VW. '
fn. bumpeMo-bu.nper tragic, when
tempers, and water grow short, when
cars sit at the side of the road waiting to
cool, the lillle Volkswagen goes right on
past.
It is above It all.
Riding on air.
MORSE MOTORS
6th & Ivy Phone 772-7155
please care , . .
So others
may eat
every 81 delivers' a Food
Crusade package to hungry
people across the world
Mare lltan half die people on 'eerth do
not . hftve enough to enl. Throuprh
CAREi Food CruiBili, ton help feed
million! nt the hungry not for Juit a
meal or two but lung enough, (o gle
them strenglh to help thrnmelvri. .
From our form akundanre, the U.S.
donate Food for' Peare. CARE arldi
other -Maplea, parka varloui until to
:; matth errantry needt. Every II yon glye
nVllveri a packafie Maligned to nourlnh
, ichoo) dillrlreni InfanUi. orphani, refu
ten, dliintrf lrllm, dmllntr, famllln.
F.viry parkage ynu provldr bran yonr ':
name and arfdroti, in that the recipient!
know their frlenrli In Amcrira. CARE'i ,
Ameriran itan in each area luperviari '
drUreriM to llioir ho need help moat.
II, I0. MOO give what yon can!
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As near us your nuiilliov
The ilnllari on lend In CAI1E bring 5our
prrinnnl brlii tn the ncr-ily In other lands.
For Knnd Criimilr gifti, jou may rhoote any
nf iheie deiliiialjonii
Afxh-inislitl Hritith Hnndum Colombia
Cypruj Crrere Hong Kong India
lrn luly Jordin " Korei Macau
Mrxiro. PAi-lan Pnlind Sierra l.eone
Tuniiia Turkey Vietnam Yugoslavia
'"""" . fr the Food Cr-.'- I
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1 """""medford "maTl tribune