Lake Ashton Residents Decry Developer Over Drywall
Homeowners say issue with Chinese product is ignored.
ERNST PETERS | THE LEDGER
Buy photo
Arnold Loomis details last week some of the health problems he and his wife have suffered that he attirbutes to the ddefective Chinese drywall in his home in the Lake Ashton development in Winter HAven.
By Kyle Kennedy
THE LEDGER
Published: Monday, February 8, 2010 at 9:16 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 8, 2010 at 9:16 p.m.
WINTER HAVEN | Sometimes Arnold Loomis wakes in the middle of the night and longs to be in his own home, which is literally a street away.
Loomis cut out a section of a wallboard in a bedroom closet to expose the defective drywall in his home.
But Loomis and his wife, Joan, are reluctant even to enter the new house they bought three years ago on Snead Drive in Lake Ashton because it is contaminated with defective Chinese drywall.
The couple have been living in a neighbor's unused house since December as they wait for help from Lake Ashton's management. But the Loomises and other homeowners in the gated retirement community say they have been virtually stonewalled.
"We're still not getting any communication from the developer. For them to just ignore a problem like this, it's unbelievable, that's all I can say," said Arnold Loomis, 77, a Michigan transplant. "We love Lake Ashton, but God, I don't know what kind of people these are."
At least two of his neighbors on Snead Drive have had their homes tested and confirmed for defective Chinese drywall, a material that can ruin electronics, corrode metals and engulf homes with a sickening sulfur odor. The imported drywall is also a possible culprit in respiratory issues and other health problems reported by some homeowners.
Lake Ashton was developed by MasterCraft Homes and is managed by Century Residential, both part of a Lakeland-based conglomerate headed by Larry Maxwell. Lake Ashton officials did not return phone calls seeking comment for this st
No comments:
Post a Comment