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• North Charleston, SC.

Video

9/25/2007 3:33 PM
By: Chelsea Hover


Imagine purchasing a brand new home, and within months of moving in it starts to fall apart.

The Raymond's home at 225 Almquist A viewer contacted News 8 and said that's exactly what's happening to dozens of homes in the Lennar Homes neighborhood of Huttoparke in Williamson County.

"They told me when I first moved in that it was just cosmetic," homeowner Amy Orbison said.

Neighbors complained about cracked foundations, doors that don't shut, popped nails and faulty sheetrock. Orbison said at first there was mold in the house. Lennar made repairs, but the problems didn't stop.

"I complained about nail pops in ceiling, where the nails are actually coming out, gaps, windows leaking," she said. "I think they're trying to save a dollar. I think they're going to do everything they can to cut corners, cheapest labor they can find, and sell it at the highest price they can sell it. And they don't care what happens to the homeowners once they're in there, it's your problem. They don't care."

It's a similar story down the street at Eddie Raymond's house. He and his family actually moved to a motel for a month so Lennar could redo the sheetrock. There were still more problems when they returned.

Homeowners say Lennar sold them defective houses, and they want their money back.

"We went into the attic and there was no insulation. He told me they must have forgot. I said, 'I don't know how you can forget to put insulation in the whole house,' " Raymond said.

Raymond joined the Orbisons, the Crump family and others to protest Lennar and seek legal advice. They created a website that details the problems in the neighborhood.

Homeowners also demonstrated against a new Lennar neighborhood being built across the street. Hutto Highlands advertises homes starting around $150,000. Neighbors say they will protest again every weekend until Lennar stops construction there.

Click here and scroll down to view a detailed map In a written response to News 8, Lennar said they have addressed the drywall nailing pattern issue in 100 homes in Huttoparke and 40 homes in Legends of Hutto, and they're determined to fix the remaining homes as soon as possible.

Residents don't want to move out while the homes are being repaired. They want Lennar to buy back their homes. Homeowners face another hurdle if they try to sell.

"I can't even put the house up for sale. Nobody's going to buy it, because you have to disclose what's wrong with it," Raymond said.

Lennar is trying to make it right and honor their commitment to homeowners.

The homeowners say they don't just want the problems fixed; they want to make sure other first-time buyers don't make the same mistake.

Full Story