County pays homeowners for poor inspections

November 9, 2003

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/growth/orl-matzinger09110903nov09,1,5905313.story?coll=orl-dp-weekend-2-main

Osceola settles claim but keeps deal quietBy Dan | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted November 9, 2003

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HOW WE DID IT

We inspected more than 70 areas of every home. For details on how the series came together, click here.

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Oct. 31A yearlong investigation of housing construction in Central Florida shows that new homes are riddled with problems large and small, the result of builders who are constructing too many homes too fast, with not enough trained workers and inadequate oversight. Nov. 2New houses in Central Florida are likely to have heating and cooling problems; cracked walls and windows; mold and poor drainage. But many homeowners experience far more -- and worse -- than that. Nov. 3The new homes of greater Orlando aren't really built by the builders who sell them but by tens of thousands of anonymous men and women who work for subcontractors. They're often rushed, poorly supervised and poorly trained. Nov. 4 The production builders who dominate the Central Florida market are part of large national corporations. So the biggest investment Bali and Quinones have ever made is one of 20,600 "units" sold by their builder nationally in 2001. Nov. 5 Salano and Zavalla grew up together in a small town in the south-central highlands in Mexico. Soon, they'll have something else in common: Orlando. They're among the thousands of Mexicans who have migrated, or intend to migrate, here to work construction. Nov. 9 The state building code -- and the often-overworked, sometimes-careless inspectors who enforce it -- offers little assurance that a buyer will move into a well-built home. Nov. 10 From keeping regulators at bay to stopping legislation they oppose -- such as a bill that would have fined them $1,000 a day for being late in completing a house -- Florida's home builders are among the most powerful groups in the state. Nov. 11 Too many buyers accept problems in their houses because they don't know they are there or are eager to move in and figure the faults can be fixed later. In fact, new-home buyers have only limited leverage with their builders -- unless they're prepared to walk away.

PHOTO GALLERY

Graphics: Building Homes: Building Problems

Deyne Matzinger cashed a $5,000 check from the taxpayers of Osceola County because county building inspectors overlooked critical flaws in her home. But she is not allowed to talk about it.Here's why: County officials fear that if the word gets out, they could be inundated with requests for money from people in similar circumstances.The county settled with Matzinger, a 40-year-old homemaker, and her husband, , in late July. One key to the deal was keeping it quiet, according to a transcript of a closed-door meeting of Osceola County commissioners and administrators."I would like to think that the least amount of awareness that we raise on the issue overall, the better," said Commissioner Ken Shipley, according to a transcript of the July 28 meeting obtained through a public-records request by the Orlando Sentinel and WESH-NewsChannel 2.Public records also show that a check for $5,000 was cut for Matzinger on Aug. 26 and mailed to her home. Matzinger, citing terms of the settlement, wouldn't comment.It was an uncommon victory for an unhappy homeowner. Getting money from the government is rare. There are two main reasons:

Government building inspectors are charged with looking only for code violations, mistakes -- such as missing hurricane straps -- that do not meet the state's minimum construction requirements. Even when oversights occur, government officials argue that inspectors cannot be expected to be perfect.

Many complaints by owners are about workmanship -- everything from cracks and leaks to puddles on the patio and rooms that won't get cool. By law, inspectors are not interested in such problems.Matzinger, though, was worried about more than appearances.She had to pay more than $7,300 to repair major faults in the three-bedroom, two-bath house she bought for $122,000. A private inspector she hired discovered her roof was missing hurricane straps -- a clear building-code violation -- as well as truss bracing and an attachment that should have connected the left corner of the roof to the supporting wall. Under the right circumstances, high winds could have taken off the roof.Matzinger, a former retail manager who called fighting the county and her builder a full-time job, said the inspectors should have caught the faults during their regular checks.County officials balked, saying they could not be held accountable for a missed inspection or two. So she went to small-claims court, which limits awards to a maximum of $5,000, because she did not want to pay an attorney.Governments rarely lose such suits. But, according to the transcript of the commission meeting, Osceola's attorneys acknowledged the county had erred.The issue, said Assistant County Attorney Olga De Fuentes, was the "missed inspections, which we have already come clean with and said that, yes, we did miss their hurricane straps . . ."Commissioners had no problem settling the suit. Their bigger worry -- in a county whose nearly 95 percent approval rate for inspections is the highest in Central Florida -- was that other homeowners unhappy with their builders and the Osceola inspectors might try to sue for damages.That's why attorneys recommended the gag order."She wouldn't be able to go out and advertise what the settlement was and why," said County Attorney Jo Thacker, who described Matzinger's suit as a nuisance that was cheaper to settle than fight.Still, said commission Chairman Owen, "Whether it was our fault or not, I think we have some -- I don't want to say liability, but we do have some moral obligation there, I think, because we did miss some of those inspections."Indeed, almost nothing went right with Spring Lake Village.In April 2002, the county banned the developer, Klein of North Palm Beach, from building in Osceola after Matzinger and dozens of her neighbors repeatedly complained that their houses were falling apart.Many of the homes in the subdivision, south of Orlando International Airport and off Boggy Creek Road, had cracked foundations, mold and drainage problems. Some were never finished, because Klein went bankrupt. He and a partner are also facing charges in New York that they defrauded investors of millions of dollars that were supposed to have been spent on Spring Lake Village.Now, several of Matzinger's neighbors, including Young and Bob Wiley, are also criticizing the county, citing problems with drainage and mold."You think you are protected by the county. Nobody is protected by the county," said Wiley, a 61-year-old retired maintenance supervisor.Water puddles in the crawl space beneath Wiley's house, because the ground is too low. His house, he said, is filled with mildew and mold.Jeff DeBoer, the county's building director, said his office is not responsible. Drainage plans for the development were submitted by a professional engineer -- and the county is required by law to accept the engineer's certification that the drainage was adequate.DeBoer added that no inspection department -- in Osceola or elsewhere -- could guarantee that every mistake by a builder will be caught."I don't think it's realistic to think we'll get 100 percent," he said.That may be, Matzinger said, but foul-ups that were missed in her neighborhood are too great to ignore."You just can't let people get away," she said, "with not doing their job over and over again."Dan can be reached at dtracy@... or 407-872-7200, Category 5483.

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