Many homeowners in these subdivisions have been feeling under attack as builders scale back their products or leave San Antonio. The owners are left in the lurch, facing lower-priced homes being built next door or empty lots with little hope of development.

But in at least four KB Homes communities, residents have found that waging grass-roots protests can yield some success when builders scale back. Where builders pull out completely, the future is less certain. Either way, the problems are likely to continue as the market struggles to recover.

Earlier this week, residents of KB Home's Sundance Trails, Sundance Ridge and Quarry at Iron Mountain subdivisions were told by KB Home's Central Texas region President Ken Langston the company had decided to reverse some of it cutbacks. This was after weeks of lobbying county commissioners and state legislators, letter-mailing campaigns and the launching of a Web site, www.KBLies.com, by Quarry at Iron Mountain residents.

Initially, KB Home planned to alter home designs in several communities to offer homes that were cheaper and smaller and some with less masonry. But at Tuesday's meeting, Langston told the crowd that KB Home had limited new construction in the Sundance communities to models with two- and three-car garages only, and that all new homes must have masonry.

It also plans to add two new models with more brick this month at the Trails at Herff Ranch and replace narrower, lower-pitched models at the Quarry at Iron Mountain with larger floor plans popular in Austin.

But for the angriest of the residents who were hoping to have their homes bought back by the builder, Langston's concessions fell far short.

“My price per square foot has diminished 17 to 18 percent, $70,000 to $80,000 in one year,” said Matthew Hegedus who with wife Rachel are among the dissatisfied Quarry at Iron Mountain residents. “That's because of the acts of the one builder who controls this neighborhood. We just want to educate other consumers.”

KB Home executives say there were no significant price differences in the community since it opened in 2006 and offered Tuesday night to meet again with Quarry at Iron Mountain residents.

This sort of conflict likely will continue in San Antonio as the new-home market struggles to recover and more builders scale back.

Homeowners have few options after buying into a new community that does not develop as initially planned.

Sales staffs typically show off plans for a community and even may specify neighborhood amenities in a purchase contract. But most contracts give builders the right to alter a community's plans at will — and homeowners don't have solid legal grounds to challenge the changes unless deception or false advertising was involved, according to the Texas Residential Construction Commission.

Usually the strongest deterrent against a builder making changes is the desire to avoid generating ill will among potential buyers. But even in cases where buyers take the extra step of seeking assurances of the builder's financial stability, the unstable market still can force sudden changes.

Tamara Price, a San Antonio real estate agent, paid roughly $292,000 for a house in the Kimball Hill Homes' Sablechase neighborhood last October.

The single mother of two said she thought the builder was sound after attending a meeting with company CEO Ken Love at which he assured potential buyers the company was on solid financial footing.

Two months later, she learned Kimball Hill Homes would shut down operations, leaving its Sablechase community about 75 percent incomplete.

Already, the builder had slashed prices about $25,000 below what Price paid in an effort to sell the community's 11 remaining homes.

“I put my life's savings into this house,” she said. “They could rewrite the covenants and could let in a low-end builder. What's to say they won't?” she said. “They should have contacted me. I'm not asking them for money. But they should provide an apology to everyone who closed through December.”

Kimball Hill Homes executives said Wednesday they still had planned to emerge from bankruptcy protection in October when Price bought her home and that they announced the plan to shut down operations on Dec. 2, a week after negotiations with the last investor fell through.

“There was no deception here,” company spokeswoman Anita-Marie Laurie said. Laurie said Price was not notified personally because of a breakdown in communication.