HomeOwners for Better Building - Home buyers hit with liens

LIENS PILING UP, HOUSES UNBUILT
It has been months since some Port Charlotte and North Port homeowners have heard anything from Construction Compliance Inc. of St. Petersburg about their houses. Meanwhile, subcontractors have filed hundreds of thousands of dollars in liens against the builder and its customers. Erik and Kathryn Matthews, for example, are still waiting for their house and have seen the following liens filed against them: Kimal Lumber, $9,801.20; Sunbelt Electric, $5,076.70; Jodfer Land Service, $12,600; H.D. Supply/Cox Lumber, $3,517.09; and Residential Dry Wall Inc., $6,622.00.The total: $37,616.99.

SARASOTA -- In April 2005, Erik and Kathryn Matthews contracted with Construction Compliance Inc. to build a $159,000 single-family home on a lot they own in Port Charlotte.

"It's been a nightmare since day one," Erik Matthews said of his experience with the St. Petersburg-based builder.

For 16 months after executing the contract and taking out a bank loan, "almost nothing happened at the site." The Matthewses, now living in a short-term rental apartment in Sarasota with their infant daughter, saw construction begin during the summer and suddenly end before Thanksgiving.

Then the liens started pouring in: Kimal Lumber is seeking $9,801.20, Sunbelt Electric wants $5,076.70, Jodfer Land Service wants $12,600, H.D. Supply/Cox Lumber wants $3,517.09 and Residential Dry Wall Inc. is seeking $6,622.00. The $37,616.99 total "stunned" Kathryn Matthews, but it's not even the end.

Just this week, the Matthewses received four new "Notice to Homeowner" letters from Franciscus Roofing, AirTech Heating and Cooling Inc., Amberjack Sanitation and RGS Enterprises, for additional undetermined financial claims.

The couple contacted their lender, Coast Bank, and were told that roughly $87,000 had been drawn down on their credit line by Construction Compliance Inc.

The Matthewses have been unable to speak with Construction Compliance owner Jesse B. Battle III for months.

The Herald-Tribune also could not reach Battle despite repeated attempts.

The trouble for the Matthewses and other customers of Construction Compliance comes against the backdrop of a struggling housing industry. The sizzling pace of sales in 2004-05 has slowed to a trickle, leaving even the biggest players in Southwest Florida offering huge incentives to move their product in the sluggish environment.

It also has left a number of home builders struggling financially.

Sarasota-based Avalon Homes, a builder with more than 50 open building permits in North Port, has ceased operations, owing creditors and homeowners an untold amount of money. Customers are seeking a criminal probe against the company and its owner, Joseph Pufta.

In August, Sarasota home builder Jade Homes closed its doors while the company's owners struggled to find financing to finish the homes. Vision Homes of Southwest Florida Inc., another builder, is working to help Jade complete its 75 homes, a process likely to take time.

It is unclear what happened to Construction Compliance, a company that has been building in Englewood, Rotonda and Port Charlotte for several years.

Carol Simmons, a broker and owner of St. Petersburg-based Quantum Realty Solutions, who sold many of the North Port homes to be built by Construction Compliance, said that she "understood that some resolution" of the company's financial difficulties was very close. But Simmons added that she was not in a "position to provide any specifics."

Meanwhile, the company's subcontractors are wondering when they are going to get paid.

RK Well Drilling & Water Treatments, a family-owned Port Charlotte business, has filed more than a dozen individual liens against Construction Compliance since November for work done on various North Port houses.

Cecile Taylor, the company's office manager, said RK started doing work for Construction Compliance in August, but payments stopped in late October or early November.

"We received nothing from them since," Taylor said.

Absolute Water Inc., a Lake Suzy-based well driller that also has been doing work for Construction Compliance in North Port and Port Charlotte, filed several liens since December after payments stopped.

This week, Silver Palms Landscaping was the latest company to file: a $2,450 commercial lien directly against CCI.

The Matthews visited their home on Christmas to find water seeping in and construction materials and an unassembled kitchen cupboard set scattered in the middle of the house.

This week, despite the fact that Erik Matthews admits his home is "probably 95 percent complete," the couple retained Port Charlotte attorney Thomas Carrero Jr.

The North Port Building Department has received no complaints filed against Construction Compliance. All of the company's permits appear to be in order, department head Scott Williams said.

Yet Construction Compliance has had 22 liens filed against it by various subcontractors and has itself filed 16 liens against homeowners, a review of records shows.

The company's Web site, www.ccibuilders.com, says Construction Compliance also is building homes in Sebring and Winter Haven.

Battle's experience in the industry began in 1980 when he became a construction manager, building multi-family and single-family homes, a biography on the site says. It also cites experience that "includes an extensive background in building renovation and restoration."

He started Construction Compliance in 1991. The "company has grown dramatically over the past two years due to the firm's incredible attention to detail and on-time delivery," the Web site reports.
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