Structural Problems in New Home Update

Peggy Bowser and Shannon McDonald want others to know what's wrong with their home. In bright red paint, they painted a message on their garage door. The message says in bold letters, their home has code violations and structural defects. It also lets everyone know they've filed a lawsuit against their builder, Biltmore Homes. Shannon McDonald tells Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "This is a year of aggravation. This was going to be our dream home and it's turned into a nightmare."

A nightmare ABC 11 uncovered when Professional Engineer John McClancy took a look at their $365,000 home In February. McClancy explained that he found a structural problem in the family room ceiling. He told Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "The joint is moving excessively and resulting in all the stress you're seeing and it's not going to stop, it's going to keep moving until it's fixed." McClancy found code violations which he says caused a sagging ceiling and a fireplace that pulls away from the wall. He also went in the crawl space and discovered why he believes the floors sag and shift. He said, "They're all fixable you just have to motivate the contractor to do it."

The builder, Biltmore Homes promised to fix the problems. Peggy Bowser tells Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "They are going to fix everything, they are going to rip out everything that was wrong with the house." In April, crews cut holes in their ceiling to see how to fix the problem. Today, you can still see those holes and nothing has been fixed. Exhausted with the situation, Peggy and Shannon filed a lawsuit against Biltmore Homes. In the lawsuit, Shannon and Peggy say they want damages. Troubleshooter Diane Wilson did talk with a rep for Biltmore Homes, he stressed Biltmore still wants to fix the problems as he says that was the original agreement. He said they have sent two letters to Peggy and Shannon letting them know they want to take care of the issues, but he says the only response Biltmore got was that Peggy and Shannon now want Biltmore to buy back the home. The rep says that's not an option, as that was not the original agreement, which was to fix the home.

As for the warning Peggy and Shannon painted on their home, the president of their HOA says the garage painting is in violation of the covenants and they have turned it over to their attorney. Peggy and Shannon tell Troubleshooter Diane Wilson they will take the warning down after the Parade of Homes.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5685373