LOS ANGELES — The protests continue: On Thursday morning a group of about 50 homeowners (former and current), construction workers, and housing advocates showed up at KB Home’s Westwood headquarters at 10990 Wilshire Blvd. During the brief protest, construction workers spoke of workplace exploitation and homeowners described being locked into deceptive loans through Countrywide financing that was pushed through by KB.
Additionally, various buyers described being lied to about tax burdens so they’d qualify for mortgages, being foreclosed on so more profitable short sales could go through, and being told they were getting a fixed loan but then being pressured to sign a variable-rate mortgage at closing. One woman spoke about losing her home after her mortgage payments suddenly jumped $600 a month.
There was no immediate reaction from KB Homes reps, or at least no one popped out to look at the action (that we could see). It sounds like these protests have been going on in front of the builder’s Westwood headquarters for some time now (see comments on this story from LA Land). At least some commenters over at LA Land have previously argued about issues of "personal responsibility" on the part of homeowners vs. exploitation.
- Related story: Former KB Home chairman Bruce Karatz was indicted last month on charges of manipulating stock options.
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