Print Exclusive: Troubles with home could have implications for others on St. George Island
Inside, the house has undergone an autopsy. Sandy Bifano's notes of what engineers found when they peeled back the wallboard are scrawled everywhere: missing beams, sagging wall systems, missing and incorrectly installed hurricane straps. The list goes on, from inadequately attached decks to a flawed staircase that makes it nearly impossible to get appliances and furniture upstairs.

Florida’s Chinese Drywall Problems Go Back at Least 3 Years
Over the past several months, owners of newer homes in South Florida have been complaining of drywall that smells like rotten eggs. In several cases, they have had to leave their home because the smell was so bad.  In addition to the putrid smell, many South Florida homeowners have reported problems with air conditioning and other systems that are likely related to the defective Chinese drywall.  Some spent hundreds - even thousands of dollars - to have air conditioning, pipes and wiring repaired.

Defective Chinese Drywall Used in Florida Lieutenant Governor’s Home
According to a report on NBC2News.com,  Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp is warning others who suspect they have a drywall problem to have the air in their homes tested.  According to NBC2News.com, Kottkamp’s home in Fort Meyers was built with the defective Chinese drywall.  The home was Aubuchon homes, which incidentally, is owned by Gary Aubuchon.  Aubuchon was appointed to Kottkamps’s seat in the Florida state house when he became Lieutenant Governor, NBC2News.com said. Kottkamp told NBC2News.com that an investigation is needed to determine how suppliers ended up with the drywall.  He also said the drywall problems show a need for tougher standards on either the federal or state level.  Finally, he urged other Florida homeowners experiencing smells or other problems in their homes to have them tested.

Act Quickly: House Bill 1005 proposes to completely Abolish the Florida Homeowner's Construction Recovery Fund
Our worst fears are threatening to become a reality, and we must act quickly to stop this from happening. Representative Dennis Ross is sponsoring HB 1005, that changes the construction licensure law, Chapter 489, Florida Statutes.  He is doing this at the request of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which asks the Legislature to Abolish the Recovery Fund.

Family blames illness on mold infested home
A Naples family says mold is growing in their home and now it's making them sick. But the company that built the home says it's not their fault. For John and Diane Mathieu, their brand new dream home turned into a nightmare. "I don't want anybody else to go through what I have. I am fighting for my life because of that home," said Diane. The Mathieus say their home was built without proper water-proofing, which led to mold growing in the pillars.  See website:The Naples Lemon House

The Gold Mine Has Turned Into The Money Pit In Florida
The Bradenton Herald reports from Florida. “Jo Lynne Navarro wants her $270,000 back. That’s how much the Sarasota County woman paid to reserve two Bel Mare at Riviera Dunes condominium units two-and-a-half years ago. The units existed only in glossy sales brochures at the time, but Navarro - like many others lured by a sizzling condo market - was eager to buy early.”

Homicide victim linked to failed Punta Gorda builders
A Fort Myers man who was shot and killed early Tuesday was a licensed contractor associated with two failed Punta Gorda builders whose companies are under investigation in a series of construction fraud complaints. A spokeswoman for the the Fort Myers Police would not reveal whether the department is looking into homicide victim Clifford C. Joyner's links to builders Gary Oben and Dean Rossey, the principals in Floridian Gulf Coast Homes, Ideal Homes and G C Construction.

WHO CHECKS TO SEE IF HOMES ARE FLAWED?
MORE AND MORE, IT'S PRIVATE INSPECTORS A 2002 law lets the builder decide, and the builder doesn't have to inform the potential buyer. Is it a conflict of interest? The private inspectors say no, but the question lingers because the builder is paying the bill. The construction flaws John Norman found in his new Jacksonville home angered him. -- What he found next left him stunned. -- His house made it from start to finish without ever getting a visit from a city inspector. Instead, the homebuilder hired a state-licensed company to inspect the house for compliance with building codes, an arrangement that has been legal in Florida since 2002... In Jacksonville, the Building Inspection Division examines the performance of private inspectors by randomly picking about 7 percent of passed inspections for on-site visits. From September 2005 through last June, it conducted 2,310 on-site reviews and sent deficiency notices after 500 of those reviews, which was almost 22 percent of the visits.

Lawsuit: Home builder did not correct defects
Homeowners in a south Orange County town-home community are taking their long-running dispute with the home builder Toll Bros. to court, contending that numerous construction defects have not been corrected.The homeowners association for Island Walk at Meadow Woods filed suit last week in state Circuit Court in Orlando, seeking unspecified damages. The suit contends the association and homeowners have been damaged financially as a result of "construction defects relating to the building exteriors, streets and drainage, landscaping and the pool at Island Walk."