INVESTIGATION: Homeowner says Realtor, builder did not disclose Chinese drywall

ODESSA, Fla. - Hundreds of Tampa area home owners are taking part in a class action suit against companies that imported defective Chinese drywall. But ABC Action News has uncovered a unique case that is raising questions about what Realtors are obliged to disclose to home buyers.

 

It was an exciting time for Matt and Tracie Hansen last summer, moving from Kansas City to the Tampa area. Matt got a new job, and they bought a big new house in Odessa's Greyhawk gated community. "This one just had everything we wanted. It obviously had a great price, but it was a beautiful neighborhood and a beautiful home," says Matt Hansen.

Thirty days later, however, a new neighbor knocked at the Hansen’s door, “And said 'My house has Chinese Drywall, and your house was built by the same builder' that built this home,” according to Tracie Hansen.

The problem with some Chinese-made drywall is now well documented. Many builders were forced to use it after the 2004 hurricanes, when supplies of domestic drywall were scarce. The tainted Chinese drywall has been linked to elevated levels of sulfur resulting to corrosion to metal and noxious odors.

The Hansens claim they began experiencing headaches and breathing problems. When they had a handyman open up their walls, there it was - Chinese drywall. The heartache came next, and they moved out a month later.

"Now I don't have a home, and my credit is probably going to be ruined. My son - we're living in a rental - he can't even decorate his room," says Tracie Hansen.

The Hansens are just one of many Tampa area families living the Chinese Drywall nightmare.

So what makes their story unique? The possibility the listing agent who sold them the house knew there was a chance it included defective drywall.

The Hansens bought the unfinished home from bankrupt builder Smith Family Homes in early August. In fact, the house was listed by Wilderness Realty, the real estate company builder Ron Smith ran with his wife and two sons.

Tracie Hansen says that neighbor who knocked on her door also told her "She had notified her builder that they did have Chinese drywall," Hansen says.

And that neighbor told Hansen she had reported it prior to the Hansens' closing "It was mid June before we bought the house."

The Hansens met other local residents who also claim both Smith Family Homes and Wilderness Realty were aware of at least some homes that had Chinese drywall.

Another homebuyer, Alecia Santiago of Wesley Chapel, said she asked the businesses for assistance, saying “we had Chinese drywall in our home. Could we get help taking it out?"

Santiago and her family bought a Smith Family home in Wesley Chapel's Seven Oaks in November 2008. She showed us e-mails indicating her Realtor talked to Marcus Smith, who worked for both the family construction business and the real estate company. The correspondence included information about the Chinese drywall problem, and was dated before the Hansens closed on their home August 11th.

"My heart just sank immediately when I knew the dates were so close. I thought 'there is no way someone can do that to a family'," says Santiago.

Marcus Smith would not open the door to talk to us. Neither would his mother, who also worked at the now-defunct Wilderness Lake Realty.

But another member of the Smith Family, who worked there, Scott, did acknowledge they "were aware [tainted Chinese drywall] was in other homes."

Randy Schwartz, Chief Counsel for the Florida Realtors Association says Realtors "have a duty to disclose material facts that affect the value of the property that are not known to the buyer or readily observable." He says the Florida Supreme Court spells it out.

The problem is the courts have not yet specifically started dealing with the Chinese drywall issue. "We don't have any cases in Florida that have taken this doctrine, where we can sit there and say 'ok here's what the builder did, here's what the real estate licensee did or didn't do'," says Schwartz.

All of which leaves the Hansens in limbo, like thousands of other families forced out of their homes due to tainted Chinese drywall. They are stuck with a home expensive to fix and difficult to sell.

"I would love for someone to be responsible for this. But I don't know if that's going to happen. I don't know if I can win that fight," says Tracie Hansen.

The Florida Association of Realtors says there is way some homeowners might be able to get some financial restitution. The state has a recovery fund available if homeowners get a judgment against a Realtor who is in bankruptcy.