May

The Naples Lemon House in Vanderbilt

The Naples Lemon House

The last few Friday’s I’ve run photos of mailboxes for the “mailbox series” on my blog. Occasionally I’ll go out for a drive or just take a turn down a street to see if I can find a candidate for a post. While driving through the Vanderbilt and the Naples Park area I stumbled across a yard sign. I thought it was a real estate sign from a distance. As I’m driving closer to it I’m thinking, “Danger Realty”? Isn’t that an odd name? It turns out that it is a real estate agency style of sign but it’s not a sign, it’s a warning.

A young couple purchased the Naples spec home in 2003 and just a few years later had some issues pop up. I’ll interject that this home was purchased for about $2,000,000. A few minor defects showed up a couple of years down the road, which lead to huge problems. The issues were cause by latent construction defects. It was only a matter of time before the home was consumed with hazardous and dangerous defects that caused health issues for the family that lived in it. The home itself is now in pretty bad shape and basically a total loss. Stucco is peeling off, porches and patios are filleted open and reveal nothing but rotted, black, moldy wood. It’s just awful to look at and no doubt a tragedy to live through.

I’ve visited the website that the owners started to inform the public about the lack of rights home owners have with construction defects, even with homeowner insurance. The website reads like a fiction novel it’s so remarkable and unbelievable. Sadly, their issues have not been resolved. It also appears that there has been no entry on the website since January of 08. I certainly hope everything is alright, on of the owners has suffered serious health issues as a result of living in this toxic home.

It turns out that many insurance policies will not cover the mitigation and repair of toxic mold and there is continued litigation with the builder and developer seeking restitution. There is so much more to this story and I’ll let you read it for yourself.

If you’re interested in learning more about The Naples Lemon House visit their website www.TheNaplesLemonHouse.org