WIMAUMA, Fla. — In September, the I-Team exposed how a single mother and her family were forced to live in an apartment for months while repairs were made to their D.R. Horton new construction home.
The company blamed poor work by subcontractors for the problems at the time.
But months later, the family’s belongings were back in storage as crews worked to fix some of the same problems again.
New home troubles continue
When we recently visited the Perez family’s new home in Wimauma, the house looked very similar to the way it did when we went there in September.
A storage container in the driveway contains many of their belongings, which they have had to move in and out of their $541,000 home multiple times.
Since we were last there, cracks appeared on the home’s exterior.
“The stucco started cracking down the sides of the house,” said Jessica Perez. “So they had to repair that stucco.”
Inside the home, floors, counters and cabinets were covered with paper and plastic.
Jessica and her family were staying in a hotel while workers repaired the ceiling.
“There were seven cracks that appeared in the kitchen after they fixed the ceiling the second time. So this is the third time that they’ve worked on this ceiling,” Jessica said in mid-November.
She said they had to repair the ceiling for the fourth time in mid-December.
We first reported on problems in Jessica’s new construction home in August.
Walls and ceilings came down after they closed on the home so crews could repair and replace warped and bowed framing, ceiling joists and trusses.
Jessica’s son Matthew Perez posted videos about the family’s experience on YouTube.
“You can see just the extensiveness of how bad they messed up. Because, I mean, they’re not gonna give you a brand-new home with the ceiling missing,” Matthew narrated in the video as he showed the exposed trusses under repair.
“I definitely was trying to just get my word out there because I’ve seen a lot of YouTube videos where that’s the last resort for people,” Matthew said.
Prolonged exposure to weather blamed for warped and bowed wood
Jessica hired a home inspector in June, shortly after she bought the home, who found uneven drywall on multiple ceilings and walls.
He recommended a structural engineer.
So Jessica hired an engineer who said it was his opinion that Hurricane Ian delayed the home’s rough-in last year, which “contributed to the components being exposed to weather for a prolonged period,” adding, “it was certainly apparent that the walls, roof trusses and floor trusses had exposure resulting in some members becoming warped/bowed.”
“I still have walls that are still bowing. Bows that weren’t there prior, then appear,” Jessica said.
Using a laser level, she showed us where some of the walls were still not level.
“My kids are at the point where they say, ‘We don’t even want to live here, mom,’” she said.
Jessica said she asked D.R. Horton to buy back her house, but company paperwork says after closing, there are no refunds.
Company pays apartment rent and storage
Jessica said after our first story, D.R. Horton reimbursed her for her apartment rent and storage for the months the family was displaced.
At the time, a spokesperson in a statement blamed the home’s issues on subcontractors.
When we contacted the company again about the recent repairs, a spokesperson wrote in an email, “We are surprised to hear from you about this again as we have completed almost everything on Ms. Perez’s list of concerns, including many items that are not typically warrantable. We believe we have gone above and beyond to resolve her concerns and plan to get the last two items on her list finished as soon as possible. “
Jessica doesn’t believe getting a quality home is too much to ask.
“It’s your average person that is buying these homes. That’s the majority of America,” Jessica said.
Especially from D.R. Horton, which had more sales than any other home builder in America last year.
“That’s why they’re the biggest builder, is because their price is where most people can afford. But just because most people can only afford that doesn’t mean they should get poor quality,” Jessica said.
She said her family, including her disabled veteran father, were able to move back into the home in time to celebrate Christmas there.
If you have a story you’d like the I-Team to investigate, email us at adam@abcactionnews.com
