10/26/2005
However, this isn't some Halloween attraction or seasonal scare, but a growing problem amongst home buyers locally and across the country.

In January 2002, Kushner moved into her new northwest Houston home not to find the American dream she had bargained for, but a myriad of problems for the HISD librarian.

"There was defective caulking, large gaps in the bricks, the tub wasn't working properly, cracks in the ceiling and the dining room, water intrusion in the walls...," Kushner said. "Even my garage door wasn't installed properly and every time the wind blew, it would cause the security alarm to go off. I had to have someone come out and fix that problem. It was horrible."

Despite the problems, Kushner said she believed the builder of her residence, Legend Homes, would be willing to take care of the problem, thanks in part to the Better Business Bureau.

"I usually follow my gut instinct 99 percent of the time, and in the beginning something told me to pull out and lose whatever money I had already put down and just walk away," Kushner said.

"But because of this company's rating with the Better Business Bureau, I said they had a satisfactory record and believed they were going to do the right thing regardless. I believed they would fix it and everything would be fine."

No sooner had she moved in did more troubles plague the single Kushner.

"Not soon after I moved in, I saw little black spots on the ceiling in the secondary bedroom," Kushner said. "During the weekend, part of the ceiling fell through. I had to call a plumber to stop the leak and that Monday, they found out my A/C system was not working properly."

Now, nearly three and a half years later, Kushner is dealing with an even greater problem with her residence, a problem which has claimed victim her belongings and her health.

Shortly before her father died in late 2002, Kushner said her father, a World War II veteran, asked her to do him a favor only to bring to light the new problems facing the area homeowner.

"Before he died, he asked me to donate his Army cap to the WWII Museum and when I went to get the Army cap, the whole thing fell apart," Kushner said. "I had never seen anything like that before."

A closer inspection would reveal nearly every family heirloom and assorted clothing and shoes stored in her closet had fallen apart, leaving Kushner clueless as to the cause.

According to Kushner, after much correspondence and pleas for assistance from Legend Homes Area President David Gipe, questions related to the A/C and heating unit for the house began to arise.

From an oversized circuit breaker for the A/C unit to a larger than necessary evaporator coil, Kushner said seven separate engineers or A/C companies have looked at the units, offering varying opinions but no definite answer.

"There was a company called Classic Air Conditioning and what happened was one of the A/C companies I called was able to track down the person who bought the company and he sent somebody out," Kushner said.

"According to them, everything was fine, absolutely no problem. According to four other A/C companies I called out, they all had a different opinion about the size of the evaporator coil being too big for this house."

Meanwhile, an individual authorized by Legend Homes to inspect the units says he found "leaks in the A/C unit within code."

As a result, Legend Homes has offered to repair the leaks and re-stretch the carpet.

However, Kushner said after three separate repairs, she is convinced the A/C system is likely not responsible for the damage to her belongings, but pondered the existence of an environmental or chemical problem.

Since finding her family heirlooms damaged by the unknown problem, Kushner said her own health has deteriorated forcing her to live outside of the home she has nearly finished paying off.

"I can recall lying in my bedroom, coughing and sneezing all night long, every single night," Kushner said. "I was almost hesitant to ever go to sleep because I knew I was going to be sick night after night."

Additionally, according to an initial inspection on the three and a half year old house, aluminum wires were found to be used throughout the house prompting shock amongst those to whom Kushner has presented her case, from the Harris County Appraisal District to Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale to members of the statehouse all the way to Gov. Rick Perry.

Gripping onto her late father's Army cap, Kushner looks around the living room of what would represent her dream of homeownership with disdain.

"Usually, people with defective homes know what is wrong because the problems are visible," Kushner said. "This is invisible. I don't know where it is coming from-is it the walls? Is it coming through the vents? How much am I going to have to spend to fix this problem?"

Fighting back tears, Kushner said she hopes home buyers learn to do their homework and to check out the builders before they make a decision like she did.

"Since all of this happened, my life has been consumed with this," Kushner said. "All I want is answers..."
For more information on defective homes, visit www.hobb.org.
Brandon De Hoyos can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15450206&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532256&rfi=6