Martha Stewart, KB Home to design homes

[Carolab]

OKAY. So Martha announces she's building with these guys, who, guess what? Have a SLEW of complaints/lawsuits against them coast-to-coast, so much so that there is a website (www.kbhomesucks.com) devoted to reporting on them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/12/business/media/12martha.html

AND:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8D6MD900.htm?
campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db


Martha Stewart, KB Home to design homes
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
AP Business Writer


OCT. 12 3:39 P.M. ET Fans of Martha Stewart who snapped up her towels and sheets will soon be able to live in a house designed by the domestic maven.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. and KB Home, one of the nation's largest home builders, announced Wednesday that they are teaming up to build a line of new houses that are inspired by the domestic queen's three homes in New York and Maine.

The first jointly designed community -- to be named KB Home Twin Lakes: Homes Created with Martha Stewart -- will feature about 650 homes in Cary, N.C., an up-and-coming suburb of Raleigh, the companies said in a news release. Model homes, which will come in eight different variations, are scheduled to be completed in early 2006.

Bruce Karatz, KB Home's chairman and CEO, said his company and Stewart plan to also build similar developments in Houston and Atlanta.

The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, allows both Stewart and KB to expand into new areas.

(more at links above)

And be sure to visit www.kbhomesucks.com

[lazarus]

1. Yeah, but

there are ______sucks.com websites for a TON of companies. Every large company has a slew of complaints/lawsuits against them, because we're in such a litigious society.

I'm not saying KB is crystal pure, but I always take these complaints with a grain of salt. I was a retail manager for RadioShack for a few years, and if you could hear some of the complaints (and one court case) I had to do deal with...

[Carolab]

4. Read the website. It's the NUMBER ONE complaint website.

I work in real estate, in fact I work for a new home builder.

These complaints are real and they are a big deal.

Plus, the CEO of this company, Bruce Karatz, has been involved in insider trading!

[MalibuChloe]

6. His wife is Sandra Lee...

that God-awful "semi-homemade" lady on the Food Network.

They are both dem donors, however.

[Carolab]

7. Denver Post says that marriage is TOAST

http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_3084779

Do you think maybe the "home diva" is a HOME WRECKER?

This guy has major money--why else would two attractive blondes get involved with him?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050922/bs_nm/construction_kbhome_earns_dc

[Piperay]

10. Maybe Martha will

get them to clean up their act.

[dretceterini]

2. Martha's learned

how to become a damn good actress since coming out of jail. Maybe she and Condi Rice are planning to come out with a line of shoes....

[xchrom]

11. martha is a dem supporter -- she'll design shoes

with hillary.

[skids]

3. Typical.

I bet they are about as energy efficient as a treehouse, too.

[Dora]

5. Y'know...

If you consider the lack of materials and labor that goes into a treehouse, one could argue that they're very energy-efficient.

Just sayin'.

[Buns_of_Fire]

8. Slightly off-topic, but I once worked for a subsidiary

of Kaufman & Broad (the "KB" of KB Home), and I know that Eli Broad (the "Broad" of Kaufman & Broad, and the founder) was a Class A Number 1 sleazy moneygrubbing lying asshole scumbag bastard before being a Class A Number 1 sleazy moneygrubbing lying asshole scumbag bastard was cool. Just sayin'.

(Why, yes, of COURSE I have fond memories of my association with them. Why do you ask?)

[Carolab]

9. Interesting. I just assumed KB stood for "Karatz, Bruce". n/t

[catzies]

12. Eli Broad is also a big repuke donor in addition to all those qualities

IIRC.

[mountainvue]

13. oops

[Neshanic]

14. Martha is officially bottom feeding now. KB...Ahhh what a company.

One of possibly the most detested homebuilders in Phoenix, which by the way is no easy feat, Martha's hitched her little perfect wagon to the builder that defines the word "shitboxes".

If she hooked up with a Pulte/DelWebb that would be another story, and a better move, as they are the classier gang that builds here. KB is a tough, rough, my way or the highway, city council threatening crew....wait Martha's the perfect fit.

I am assuming she will have inspections of her creations, and punishment for the homeowners that are not in compliance.

It's a good thing.