Construction Crisis Update: Hope for Homeowners

For most people, their biggest financial investment is a house. Home ownership is the very symbol of achieving the American dream.

Action News has uncovered a construction problem threatening to destroy that dream for hundreds in the Delaware Valley.

Troubleshooter Nydia Han is exposing the issue, helping get some homes fixed, and pushing for legislative change.

This construction crisis is devastating homeowners all over the area. They can't sell their homes and they can't afford to fix them.

"How can they let this happen to people? It's completely destroying people's lives," said Tamra Adams of Furlong, Bucks County.

The Adams family is one of many who have said their dream is a decaying dud. They claim water is behind their walls rotting the house from the inside out.

"I feel trapped. I wake up and I feel trapped. It's always there," she said.

It's called water intrusion and experts blame it on shoddy construction.

"This house was not built according to standards and building codes even back then. Absolutely not a question about it," said Rob Lunny of Lunny Building Diagnostics.

Many of the homes afflicted were built during the housing boom between 2003 and 2005. Many are stucco but other materials are vulnerable, too. And for some consumers, the cost of repairs can be upwards of $100,000.

"You should never, ever have to be in a position where you have to take down the entire outside of your house down to the studs and have it redone," Rob Greer of Chester Springs, Chester County.

The allegedly sick homes were built by a wide variety of builders including the region's top name, Toll Brothers.

Toll Brothers estimates its liability for water intrusion at $324.4 million.

But no law specifically requires Toll or other builders to alert homeowners of any possible defects or make repairs.

"Builders will say they have no obligation to issue such recall because they will tell you that a house, unlike a defective car seat, is not a product," said the Adams' construction attorney Jennifer Horn.

The company has agreed to fully fix more than a dozen homes the Troubleshooters brought to the company's attention. They've even offered third-party oversight of the repairs and a 5-year warranty. But a long list of other homeowners, including the Adams, say they are not getting that same treatment.

"And I can't understand why they can't help. They won't help," Adams said.

After the Troubleshooters got involved, Toll did re-do the area nearest Jackson Adam's bedroom but the family still has it sealed off because of continuing concerns of mold. And while Toll said recent testing showed the home is safe, the Adams insist elevated moisture readings indicate the entire house needs to be remediated.

"It's not fixed. That was just a band-aid on the wound and the wound is the entire house," she said.

Homeowners face a tough battle. A weapon builder's use is the age of the home. The Pennsylvania Statute of Repose states homeowners must file claims against builders within 12 to 14 years of construction. But homeowners often don't know their house needs fixing until that deadline has passed.

The good news is that legislative change may be on the horizon. The Troubleshooters alerted lawmakers to the problem and five state representatives and one state senator have promised to protect homeowners in a variety of ways. They are