Chinese drywall in your SW FL home............. (Cape Coral, Fort Myers: foreclose, new home)

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by coastalrap

And I would (almost) never buy a home older than 10 years old. While there may be from time to time a quality issue that surfaces there are always issues with aging homes. Roofs, water heaters, windows plumbing fixtures, built to older codes etc. etc. Then on top of that, you have an obsolete floor plan.

This is a very common attitude in Florida, which is why most neighborhoods have that cookie cutter look. I grew up in New Engand, so I love 100 year old homes. I was looking online at some Southern Bed & Breakfasts and fell in love with the architecture. Look at this house for sale, circa 1896. Bet it doesn't have a Chinese drywall problem!

OldHouses.com - 1896 Victorian: Queen Anne - Outstanding Victorian Queen Anne in Palatka, Florida

Sorry to go off topic, but I often feel the same way and wonder why, when there are so many beautiful old houses that have been completely renovated from top to bottom.

[HomeStager]

Originally Posted by justNancy

This is a very common attitude in Florida, which is why most neighborhoods have that cookie cutter look. I grew up in New Engand, so I love 100 year old homes. I was looking online at some Southern Bed & Breakfasts and fell in love with the architecture. Look at this house for sale, circa 1896. Bet it doesn't have a Chinese drywall problem!


Sorry to go off topic, but I often feel the same way and wonder why, when there are so many beautiful old houses that have been completely renovated from top to bottom.

Older homes in Europe, Canada, Austrailia and the U.S. that have been renovated since 2001 are suspect of having the Toxic Chinese drywall. A much older home renovated decades ago may contain asbestos in the walls, or lead paint.

Things like disclosures and home inspectors should be the fail safes for becoming aware of a homes problems before one makes the purchase. With some products, it can be years before their hazardous potential is even realized.

Remember, our government has yet to put a ban or recall on this toxic drywall product being sold in the U.S. It is still being sold for use here. Our own government and those who our taxes pay to keep us safe, are failing us miserably in the name of corporate greed.

Regardless, far more people bought homes built after 2001 that are very happy with them.

Making purchases is like playing Russian roullette these days.

In this globalist society where politicians are trying to level the playing field regarding trade, BEFORE leveling saftey regulations with the countries we trade with, we are begging for trouble.

Next, it may be are car parts from China tha fail us while on the highway.

Weather you buy a new car or old car, who knows where all of the parts/replacement parts were made and to what countries saftey standards.

I don't think that this problem of bad products being imported from China is going to stop with drywall.

Everyone needs a heads up to an on going problem with tainted Chinese products finding their way into our market place. Like with the tainted Talapia fish from China. We have scores of that fish here. Why is it being imported from China?

We all assume safety regulators at the borders are checking things. Lesson learned here, they are not.

I am dismayed at so much of what our own FDA has allowed to be called "safe" for consumption.

It seems, the only products that are safe to assume are trouble free are those made by the Amish.

[bltdf20]

Hello, my father has a bathroom cabinet made from real wood and the towels in the drawer always have that smell I can't get rid off. The bathroom itself doesn't mell only the towels. Is it possible that there is also something wrong with this treated wood?

[dmccauley]

Originally Posted by bltorres

Hello, my father has a bathroom cabinet made from real wood and the towels in the drawer always have that smell I can't get rid off. The bathroom itself doesn't mell only the towels. Is it possible that there is also something wrong with this treated wood?

It could just be his water.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by HomeStager

Older homes in Europe, Canada, Austrailia and the U.S. that have been renovated since 2001 are suspect of having the Toxic Chinese drywall. A much older home renovated decades ago may contain asbestos in the walls, or lead paint.

You have a good point. Still, a good inspector (sounds as if you'd be great!) should be able to find all the problems (I hope.) Thanks. I'd be in the under $100,000 range, and I'm wondering if the quality is often inferior in lower priced houses? Having said that, my sister had a very large home custom built and experienced numerous problems, i.e., a leaky roof, some structural problems, and water was pooling in her driveway (bad grading) and so on. After it was completed & she sold her other home, she had to move into an apartment because of some code violations. So I guess even when you're spending over $600K on a house, things can go terribly wrong.

[coastalrap]

Originally Posted by justNancy

You have a good point. Still, a good inspector (sounds as if you'd be great!) should be able to find all the problems (I hope.) Thanks. I'd be in the under $100,000 range, and I'm wondering if the quality is often inferior in lower priced houses? Having said that, my sister had a very large home custom built and experienced numerous problems, i.e., a leaky roof, some structural problems, and water was pooling in her driveway (bad grading) and so on. After it was completed & she sold her other home, she had to move into an apartment because of some code violations. So I guess even when you're spending over $600K on a house, things can go terribly wrong.

Unfortunately, an inspector can only inspect what he can see so expecting them to find "all the problems" is not reasonable. However, this drywall issue does have tell tail visable signs that would lead an inspector to become suspicious and suggest further more in depth inspection.

As you have said, what the builder charged you for a house has no correlation to the quality he put in.

Ahh the time honored decision. Old, riddled with problems and obsolete but dripping with character or newer, lots of life, efficiency and utility left but looks like the one next door and across the street. You can have both but it ain't cheep.

[hiknapster]

And then there's the mold issue. Most homes in Lee County and northward have problems due to Charley. After the hurricane came through many, many homes were without electricity for a week or more. All of my relative's homes were affected. There are so many people from up north that have no idea about this.

[HomeStager]

Originally Posted by justNancy

You have a good point. Still, a good inspector (sounds as if you'd be great!) should be able to find all the problems (I hope.) Thanks. I'd be in the under $100,000 range, and I'm wondering if the quality is often inferior in lower priced houses? Having said that, my sister had a very large home custom built and experienced numerous problems, i.e., a leaky roof, some structural problems, and water was pooling in her driveway (bad grading) and so on. After it was completed & she sold her other home, she had to move into an apartment because of some code violations. So I guess even when you're spending over $600K on a house, things can go terribly wrong.

Absolutely. I have friends renting a vacation getaway in a newer custom home worth over a million and the cheap windows already won't stay up and other windows are leaking causing the interior drywall to always stay wet. Mold is just around the corner for that house.

I agree, I do not think that spending more insures higher quality or a greater chance of a home being problem free.

It really is a game of Russian roulette out there. Florida needs a lemon law for homes it seems.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by HomeStager

It really is a game of Russian roulette out there. Florida needs a lemon law for homes it seems.

I looked at a house today that has been bought and sold twice since 2005. The real estate agent, who was kind enough to drive me all the way to Cape Coral, said there are a thousand reasons a house might be on the market a few times, but it puzzles me. Maybe the owner who purchased this home in September lost his job or got transferred. I have no idea.

According to the public records on Lee County Property Line it was built in 2005 and sold by Beazer homes for $245K. It is now listed for $139K. That's a change of -43%! Does this sound right to you? Maybe I'm just being overly cautious since I come from a neighborhood in New England where people often lived in the same house for generations.

[Donna-501]

Originally Posted by justNancy

I looked at a house today that has been bought and sold twice since 2005. The real estate agent, who was kind enough to drive me all the way to Cape Coral, said there are a thousand reasons a house might be on the market a few times, but it puzzles me. Maybe the owner who purchased this home in September lost his job or got transferred. I have no idea.

According to the public records on Lee County Property Line it was built in 2005 and sold by Beazer homes for $245K. It is now listed for $139K. That's a change of -43%! Does this sound right to you? Maybe I'm just being overly cautious since I come from a neighborhood in New England where people often lived in the same house for generations.

That sounds about right. The home around the corner from me was built in 2006 and sold for $245,000. It was foreclosed on a few months ago and came on the market for $62,000. People came to look for 4 days none stop than I didn't see anyone. The new people moved in a few days ago. I don't know what they paid tho.