News Channel 5 Consumer Alert Department,
Due to many instances of builder negligence, poor construction practices and bad decisions over the past 2 and half years, residents of The Village at Grassmere condo complex in South Nashville are stuck in an unfinished development that has no HOA funds and we cannot sell any units at any price.
Complex:
The Village at Grassmere, 420 Elysian Fields Rd.
42 of 70 units have been sold. since March 2007.
Developer:
Stewart O. Heath, Equity Builders
Issue 1: No Mortgages Available
I recently had a purchase contract on my condo and my pre-qualified buyer, a nurse at Vanderbilt, was turned down by every bank in town for HOA related issues that the developer refuses to disclose to residents. Fannie Mae and Freddie mac is not issuing any "condo waivers" right now and the complex is not FHA approved for unknown reasons. The HOA has not been converted to the homeowners and a board has never been elected. We have asked numerous times for financial statements and budgets but the developer refuses, which is a violation of the Tennessee "Horizontal property regime." He claims that nearly half of the nieghbors are delinquent in dues, but when surveying the neighbors this seems highly unlikely. He will not provide any proof.
Issue 2: Construction Problems
From day one, construction problem were severe. Throughout our first year in the condo, crew was in our apartment on a weekly basis fixing something. At one point, the developer threatened to stop coming up to make the repairs, even though our warranty was very clear. When quality became serious, I created a community website to voice concerns…http://grassmerehomeowners.com. Numerous neighbors wished to resell the first year due to these issues, but we were contractually prohibited from selling for 2 years, per our contract.
Issue 3: Lawsuit
The developer did not appreciate the honesty in the website I created and filed a lawsuit in the amount of $250,000 for defamation and contract violation, as well as removal of the website via injunction. My homeowners insurance company hired an attorney for me and over the course of about 6 months we got the lawsuit dropped. The developer obviously had no desire to waste money after he knew I had an attorney as well. The injunction was denied in Chancery court and the website is still online.
Issue 4: Roof Leaks
The complex has been plagued with poor roof construction and installation. Numerous residents have suffered severe leaks causing extensive damage. My unit in particular, unit A12, has been leaking since March 2008 and has been "repaired" 10 times in the same location with no success. Austermiller Roofing installed the roof and has been making the repairs. After being confronted via telephone about the most recent leak, Roger, the apparent owner of the company, threatened me with violence and I am still afraid for my safety. A police report was filed with Nashville PD… 09-340709. Approx. 1 month ago, before the most recent leak, I had just finished repairing the interior of my unit at a cost of $1868. A few weeks later, it leaked again and I now await another round of costly repairs. To make it worse, my insurance company is being reimbursed by the HOA, which should not be responsible for improper installation and construction flaws.
Issue 5: Metro Codes Violations
The developer has multiple codes violations right now. Grass in the neighboring lot, owned by the developer, has reached 4-5ft in height. There is a large pile of construction waste that has been left in our parking lot for over a year, even though construction is halted indefinitely. Further, there is a large pile of household trash in the vacant lot that has been there for a year. The developer refuses to correct any of these issues. Metro Sanitation and Health has been notified more than once.
Issue 6: Trash Pickup Halted
We have noticed that trash has been piling up in our dumpster over the past few weeks and is today too full to close and trash is being piled upon the top of the dumpsters now. I called Waste Management and they informed me that the HOA is delinquent on the bill for at least a few months. They have halted trash pickup indefinitely.
Issue 7: No US Mail Delivery
Power has been cutoff from our mail room since last Friday. The post office notified the management company Friday morning and again Tuesday morning. The lights have not been restored and the entire complexes mail is being held at the post office.
Issue 8: Security Gate
We purchased into a gated community. We fought for nearly a year and a half to get the gate finally installed. We suffered many burglaries during that time. At one point, 3 units in my stairwell had their front doors kicked in during the middle of the day, which also led to construction flaws in the front door installation. Once we finally got a gate, it is without a call box. Now, when a resident has a guest, or a delivery, we have to walk down to the front gate and manually let them in. This is not functional for this complex.
Issue 9: Home Warranties
In our purchase contract, we were supposed to be provided with 2-10 Home Buyers Warranties. These were never purchased by the developer and is now likely too late to be purchased. He lied to me on many occasions stating that he purchased all of the warranties at once and wrote checks for them. I received an email from the Vice President of 2-10 HBW and he confirmed that no such warranties were ever purchased.
Issue 10: Screen Doors Paid for but not installed
Many residents last year, before construction had halted, wrote check to the developer for screen doors to be installed. The checks were cashed and the screen doors have not been installed to date.
Issue 11: On site Storage Units
For $2000, each resident had the option at closing to purchase on-site storage units. Many neighbors purchased these. 2.5 years later, the storage units have still not been completed.
Issue 12: Metro Codes Permit Fraud
The contractor who pulled the permit for my unit and many others on site, was Eddie Miles Custom Builders of Franklin. Eddie Miles never stepped foot on site. He admitted to me that the developer, Stewart O. Heath, was over his limit on the number of permits allowed by Metro Codes and asked Eddie Miles to pull the permits for him, even though he would not be doing any of the work. The work done in the complex was supervised by Tracy Edwards, who does not have a TN contractor license. Johnny Hargis, of Metro Codes, explained to me that this was "technically legal" and was not uncommon before the recession hit and business was booming.
Issue 13: Forced into Foreclosure
At least one resident in the complex tried to sell their unit before the 2 years outlined in the purchase contract. The developer contacted realtracs and made them remove the listing from MLS citing contract violation. A short time later, that same resident was foreclosed upon, which probably could have been prevented if she could have sold her unit.
To close, we are all concerned about our financial future and maintenance of the complex. Without any mortgages available, partially due to builder negligence and biased by-laws, none of us can sell at any price. FHA will not approve the complex so we are stuck. THDA, the backer for my mortgage, actually suggested bankruptcy as one of our only options. Most of us cannot afford an attorney and are required to enter arbitration hearings for any complaints. Arbitration is $1500 to begin the process, so that option is out for most of us.
Sincerely,
Collin Peterson
http://GrassmereHomeOwners.com
217-259-8930
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