Stop Wall Street, Protect Your Home.
Institutional investors can compete with families for homes and convert purchased properties into rentals. The plan called for measuring how much of Madison County's housing stock they own and whether their purchases are concentrated in particular neighborhoods.
Give families a fair chance to buy a home.
Families looking for a home may compete with investors, including institutional buyers. Better information about who is buying homes can help residents and policymakers understand the local market.
When homes are purchased and converted to rentals, fewer may be available for families seeking to buy. The plan called for tracking ownership and rental trends in Madison County and using that evidence to shape housing policy.
Who pays
- First-time buyers, who need a fair opportunity to compete for homes
- Renters, who need affordable homes and responsible landlords
- Existing homeowners, who deserve transparent information about neighborhood housing trends
- Communities, losing the stability that owner-occupancy historically provides
What he proposed
- A purchase-price disclosure rule for buyers organized as institutional entities, so Madison County families can see in real time how much of the local market is being absorbed.
- A first-time-buyer right of first refusal on listings in qualifying price ranges, a 72-hour window before institutional offers can be accepted.
- Local housing trust seed funding that converts a fraction of state ARPA-style infrastructure dollars into down-payment assistance for buyers under area median income.
Build It Right. Stand Behind It.
Build It Right was Forrest Satterfield's plan for new homes in Alabama House District 21: a 1-2-6 warranty floor for new homes (one year on workmanship and materials, two years on plumbing, electrical and HVAC, six years on major structural components), mandatory liability insurance tied to a builder's license, and a statutory implied warranty of good and workmanlike construction.
Alabama law doesn't require residential builders to provide a written warranty. Doesn't require liability insurance. Doesn't codify a statutory implied warranty of good and workmanlike construction. Buyers absorb the cost of defects through years-long disputes with no statutory floor. Build It Right combines worker safety and buyer protection into one policy, what every other regulated trade in Alabama already does.
1-2-6 Statutory Warranty Floor
1 year on workmanship and materials. The cosmetic and basic-functional layer of the house. Paint, doors that latch, drywall cracks, cabinets, tile grout, finish carpentry. If something in this category fails in the first year, the builder is required to fix it.
2 years on plumbing, electrical, heating, and air-conditioning. The mechanical systems. Sewer laterals, fixture supply lines, electrical rough-ins, HVAC ductwork and equipment. The first sewage backup, the failed compressor, the unsealed ductwork, all covered for two years from closing.
6 years on major structural components. Foundation, load-bearing walls, framing that transfers roof load to the foundation, roof structure itself. The slow-revealing defects that take years to show: settling cracks, framing errors that break load paths, foundation movement. Six years to bring a claim.
Mandatory Liability Insurance
A license to operate as a residential builder in Alabama becomes tied to active, current liability insurance. Specific minimums are written into law: $1 million per occurrence, $2 million aggregate, with explicit completed-operations coverage. The certificate of insurance is filed with the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. A lapse in coverage triggers automatic license suspension.
Statutory Implied Warranty of Good and Workmanlike Construction
A legislative codification of the standard, not subject to ordinary contractual disclaimer. The default applies in every residential contract. A waiver requires more than boilerplate: explicit, conspicuous language supported by separate consideration. The buyer arrives at closing with a baseline of legally enforceable workmanship standards, regardless of what the builder's contract says.
In litigation, the buyer's case becomes simpler. Instead of proving the builder violated specific contract language, often vague or absent, the buyer proves the work fell below the standard of a reasonably competent practitioner. Industry experts testify on what the standard is. The judge or jury applies it to the facts. Either the work met the trade's own bar or it didn't.
Public Builder Database
Protecting homeowners doesn't always mean legislation. A public builder database gives families an easy way to look up whether the builder they're buying a home from has a history of home defects in the neighborhood.