Chinese Drywall (Cape Coral, Lee: houses, neighborhood, buy)

[CapeCodDon]

I have been informed that most of the homes built between 2003 and 2009 on Cape Coral have Chinese drywall. Is this true?

[NoSnow4me]

Not most, but there were quite a few. Look for blackened copper. I looked at all the exposed plumbing and had the inspector take off a bunch of wall plates for light switches and outlets around the house so I could check the copper wires. That was enough for me. I've heard you can smell it too.

[wellsme]

Here is a database of known Cape Coral homes with Chinese drywall The News-Press. With this map you can zoom in on various known properties WINK News Chinese Drywall Locations

[NoSnow4me]

Wow. I've never come across those resources, wellsme. Thanks for sharing.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by CapeCodDon

I have been informed that most of the homes built between 2003 and 2009 on Cape Coral have Chinese drywall. Is this true?

FYI, there were several threads about this back in 2008-2009. I'm having trouble finding them. There was one that was dedicated to this subject and it was very informative. I remember a Class Action Lawsuit and when Senator Bill Nelson visited Cape Coral. [URL="http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/504919/Nelson-visits-Cape-to-investigate-Chinese-drywall-problem.html?nav=5004"]Here[/URL]

I remember when one development in North Cape Coral had several homes that needed to be gutted. I think it was called Coral Lakes. [URL="http://www.naplesnews.com/news/local/cape-coral-residents-learn-more-about-defective-drywall-ep-399237174-344113502.html"]Here[/URL]

However, chances are if you buy a home today, the Chinese Drywall has been removed, but a good inspector should be able to detect it. In hot, humid weather, you can often smell it. I once walked into a home that stunk like a rotten egg.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by wellsme

Here is a database of known Cape Coral homes with Chinese drywall [URL="http://np.news-press.com/data/218"]The News-Press[/URL]. With this map you can zoom in on various known properties [URL="http://batchgeo.com/map/6bc512a152a0e24281e0f036638e938e"]WINK News Chinese Drywall Locations[/URL]

Interesting and informative. I wrote my comment before I checked out your links. I read the first post and was trying to be helpful. Guess there has been a lot of follow-up on this problem. Sorry, I haven't lived in Lee County since 2009, but I remember it was a big topic back then.

[CapeCodDon]

Awesome info Thank you!

[wellsme]

Here's one of the threads Nancy was talking about (it should keep you busy for a while) //www.city-data.com/forum/fort-...w-fl-home.html. There are others too. Just do a search "Chinese drywall Cape Coral."

I joined this forum in '09 just after we purchased our place in CC. I knew nothing about the drywall problem until shortly after we got back home in MA. I went into panic mode not knowing if we purchased a home with bad drywall or not. Thank God we hadn't purchased furniture or other household items (I really would had flipped out). Between this forum and the internet I learned as much as I could. As soon as we could we took time from work and flew down to meet an inspector.

Before the inspector arrived I removed all of the outlets and switches. He chuckled upon arrival and said I did a lot of his work for him. The inspector checked the house thoroughly (attic, ac unit, etc). He even used a camera to look behind the walls. The house was Chinese drywall free (to our relief).

If you are considering purchasing a home down here definitely have the place inspected for defective drywall. I know of a home in the neighborhood that had Chinese drywall that was never listed as having it. The place was remodeled and sold twice. Unless it was remediated correctly problems could occur at a later date.

Good luck.

[SWFL007]

Originally Posted by wellsme

Here is a database of known Cape Coral homes with Chinese drywall The News-Press. With this map you can zoom in on various known properties WINK News Chinese Drywall Locations

Thanks for this. Chinese Drywall is the worst thing I have ever encountered. The wife asked me to put up an Ikea towel rack in the bathroom and ended up having to get the whole panel replaced so I could properly make a pilot hole.

[Made it]

What about houses that have been rehabbed? Are they still a danger? I've seen that these hames have a difficult time selling even after the Chinese stuff has been replaced. Does the history affect the marketability and property values?