Owners say mold has made home worthless

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Builder must pay $111,000 for unfinished house

Owners say mold has made home worthless

Macomb Daily - Mount Clemens,MI,

PUBLISHED: February 2, 2007

By Norb Franz

Macomb Daily Staff Writer

http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/020207/loc_builder001.shtml

A Warren blight court judge has ordered a builder to pay more than

$100,000 for failing to post a bond after not completing the

expansion of a family's house that now might be worthless because of

mold damage.

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Pinch Construction, based in Richmond, can avoid the " enforcement

fee " and contempt of court charges totaling $111,000 if it resumes

work on and Bliss' house on Gilbert Avenue, near

and Hoover roads.

The house, however, is severely tainted by mold.

For the Warren couple and their three teenage children, the home

makeover has been an extreme nightmare.

" Every expert said the house should be torn down, " said Bliss,

43.

The attorney for Pinch Construction said his client can't do any

work until the mold is removed. Owner Wayne Pinch has suggested the

Blisses pay for that cleanup.

At the recommendation of their lender, the couple hired Pinch in

2005 to expand their home from 800 square feet to 1,800 square feet.

The project began turning sour 12 months ago after a flooring

contractor detected moisture. The source of the wetness is the

center of the bitter 1-year dispute. The Blisses and the company

blame each other for a lingering problem that may have rendered the

mold-infested house a total loss.

The dispute wound up in Warren's Administrative Hearings Bureau -- a

division established by city officials last summer to combat blight -

- after city inspectors ticketed Pinch in July 2006 for failure to

comply with approved construction plans, and creating unsafe

conditions. Last summer, administrative hearings officer Dean

Ausilio ordered Pinch to pay $330 in fines and costs, and to post a

$94,000 compliance bond the city could tap to ensure completion of

the house. Pinch representatives did not attend that July hearing,

nor did they appeal the ruling.

Pinch paid the fees two weeks ago. At a blight court hearing

Wednesday, Pinch's attorney said the construction company didn't

have the money to post the bond.

Ausilio erased the compliance bond but ordered the company to pay

$110,000 in enforcement costs plus $1,000 for contempt of court. He

also ruled the city cannot start collection efforts if Pinch shows

monthly progress at the Bliss house.

" I think Mr. Pinch hit the nail on the head; it's a witch hunt, " the

company's attorney, lin West, said after the hearing. " We'll

probably appeal. "

West said Pinch Construction agreed last July -- the last time the

company was inside the house -- to complete numerous repairs. But

the Blisses counter that none of those address structural problems --

including a faulty foundation and faulty roof -- that the family

insists are to blame for the moisture.

Mold is prevalent throughout the house.

Wayne Pinch said numerous experts and others involved in home

construction were dumbfounded by the high level of moisture coming

from the walls and accumulating in the crawl space of the house. He

theorized it resulted from a 2-inch gap between the 4-inch-thick

insulation and the drywall that has since been torn down in some

areas.

" Everyone had their own thoughts of how could this house be so wet, "

Pinch said.

" I don't want the Blisses to be homeless. I don't want to be out of

business. "

At this week's blight court hearing, his attorney blamed the

moisture on a propane heater that he asserted the family used in the

garage to keep a small camper heated.

Bliss said the heater was powered by electricity and used only

sparingly in the garage.

Pinch workers have not been inside the home since July 2006. The

Blisses say that since then the mold has increased.

In December, a city building inspector found 29 building code

violations. West, Pinch's attorney, said some of those may be

because of problems that arose since last July, due to moisture.

The couple had a $94,000 home equity line of credit from Republic

Bank to finance the project. The money has been paid to Pinch

Construction.

Another $15,000 would be available upon the city's building

department issuing a certificate of occupancy.

But occupancy appears unlikely. Their own homeowner's insurance did

not cover damages linked to construction.

" That structure is going to have to be torn down and rebuilt. That's

what the bottom line is, " building inspector Steve Sternicki

testified last year in 37th District Court after previous violations

issued by the city.

" I don't see any way of fixing it while it's intact. And that's

what's sad about it, " he said.

A bank appraiser who checked the house last year told the Blisses

the house is worthless.

" Their home has essentially been destroyed, " said the couple's

attorney, Joe Vengalil.

During Wednesday's hearing, Ausilio said he was baffled that

and Bliss have not sued Pinch Construction.

" Your clients cannot sit on their hands any longer, " he told

Vengalil. " It's unreasonable to think this (blight court procedure)

is a cure-all. "

Bliss told The Macomb Daily on Thursday he felt " humiliated and

embarrassed " by Ausilio's remark. " To be told that, it was like a

slap in the face, " said Bliss, who added that civil actions indeed

are pending.

The frustrated homeowner had hoped the blight court would ask the

Macomb County Prosecutor's Office to investigate the dispute and

consider criminal charges, because the family has been contacted by

others who claimed to be Pinch customers with gripes.

" All it did was brought us to step one from last year, " Bliss added.

The couple has filed a complaint against Pinch Construction with the

Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.

For now, the family continues to reside with Bliss' parents in

Lenox Township.