A single mom from Hidalgo County is left in the dark by a home builder, literally.  Connie Alonso says the builder turned her home buying dream into a nightmare.

Alonso's brother, Joe Aguilar, e-mailed the Action 4 Listens Line and wrote "what she thought was a good deal has steadily turned into a nightmarish situation". Joe says Connie had a home built by Arroyo Construction on a 5 acre lot, northwest of Mission.

Everything appeared fine until the home was almost finished; Joe said that's when the problems began. "It was only now that the house is pretty much complete when she started inquiring about well when do I get electricty?," Aguilar said.  "She went to the various agencies and they told her this house is not up to code." Surprised, Joe says he and Connie began doing some research to find out why. And they, like us, found out that building permits for the house were secured as an afterthought.

Godfrey Garza with the Hidalgo County Drainage District says this is a violation, since they should be secured beforehand. "Well, I'm looking at the paperwork that was submitted to us and it looks like the home was started or construction began on a home before the individual or construction company obtained any type of permit," Garza told us.

The reason Connie can't get electricity, Garza explained, is because the home's height elevation is below the level recommended by site surveyors. And it's something that may have prevented if building permits would have been secured prior to construction. But Aguilar said his sister was never told that it was her responsibility. "Nothing of that sort is stipulated in her contract so essentially all of the responsibility lies with Arroyo Construction homes," he said.

We tried to get a comment from Arroyo Construction but they denied our request for an on-camera interview. So in the meantime Connie says she's in contact with an attorney and the Texas Residential Construction Commission, an Austin based abitration board that oversees builder and homebuyer disputes. Connie is hopeful that they can soon shed some light on her new home and her building dilemma.

"I've been paying rent, I've been waiting for this house for about 4 months and I I haven't been able to move into or anything," she said, visibly frustrated.

Alonso is expecting to meet with Arroyo Construction and the Hidalgo County Planning Department to see if they would accept a variance in the recommended height elevation. 

But getting electricty may only solve half her problems.  Connie says she must now have to deal with insurance issues and will likely pay more if the foundation is not up to code. And that's not good, considering she lives in a flood prone area.

Action 4 News has also learned from the Hidalgo County Planning Department that this is not the first time Arroyo Construction fails to secure permits prior to construction. Raul Sesin, who heads up the planning department told Action 4 News that the county currently doesn't fine builders but it can deny water and electricity if structures are not in compliance with county building codes.

We've also contacted the Texas Residential Construction Commission.  A spokesperson told Action 4 News he wants to speak to the homebuyer and says he would be interested in launching its own investigation.

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