They were sold leaky homes in the pricey Winter Park area. Now they’re demanding the homebuilder pay for repairs
Walls and windows that leak when it rains.
Baseboards separating from the walls and damp drywall accumulating mold.
Residents living in the Hawk’s Crest at Winter Park community shared their complaints on a neighborhood Facebook group page. And then, they say, they realized their experiences were nearly identical.
“We all had water coming in from the same places,” said Angela Surber, a teacher at Orange County Public Schools who purchased a home in the neighborhood in 2020. “It was the biggest purchase of my life and it was a wonderful experience for me, initially.”
But about a year into her purchase, Surber said she started to notice the baseboards in her home were coming loose. Then one night during a particular heavy downpour, Surber awoke to find the shutters in her bedroom drenched and the corners of her carpet saturated. Water was dripping through the wall by her window, even though it was closed shut, she said.
“To say I felt helpless and scared and had no idea why it was happening is a huge understatement,” Surber said.
Surber is one of 35 residents seeking a resolution with the homebuilder Taylor Morrison Home Corp. to make needed repairs to their homes. The Hawk’s Crest neighborhood contains 230 one- and two-story homes, built between 2019 and 2020. It has an address in prestigious Winter Park, though it lies just outside the city limits.
Claimants each filed a demand for arbitration through the law firm Morgan & Morgan in September, alleging shoddy construction practices by Taylor Morrison or its sub-contractors have resulted in significant water intrusion and damage.
They are seeking at least $60,000 each to address the issues to date, though attorneys worry the damage will get worse every time it rains.
In a statement, Erin Kristick, a spokesperson for Taylor Morrison, said: “As a homebuilder, we understand situations may arise that require construction repairs. We continue to be willing to work with our Hawk’s Crest homeowners to make necessary repairs and hope to begin that process soon.”
The company said it could not comment on specific issues taken through arbitration.
Mitchell Schermer, the attorney representing the claimants, said he finds it hard to believe that Taylor Morrison, or any sub-contractor retained by the company, built the homes correctly.
“I think anybody looking at this is going to be able to quickly cut through a canned corporate response and see that it’s not just an individual one-off situation,” he said. “They’re going to see that this truly is widespread, and I think [Taylor Morrison] is going to have a hard time running away from that.”
A preliminary damage assessment report by the engineering consultation firm Exponent, which was retained by the claimants, found inadequate reinforcement of stucco in the homes, improperly installed windows and improperly sealed joints.
According to the report’s findings, there was limited drainage from the stucco in the tested homes.
“Due to this, it is possible that the amount of water entering the wall assembly can’t exit at the rate it is entering which can lead to water intrusion through weaknesses in the water-resistive barrier,” the report said.
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Caroline Johnson, another claimant, said she thought she wouldn’t have to worry about making significant repairs when she bought a newly constructed home. But that changed when she realized her baseboards were separating. Johnson said she hired an inspector who peeled back the boards and found signs of water intrusion and mold throughout multiple rooms on the main floor of her house.
“I felt nauseated,” Johnson said. “I felt deceived about the quality and the craftsmanship of the home.”
Johnson said her first course of action after learning of the damages was to negotiate with the homebuilder.
In response, the homebuilder sent out multiple inspectors, she said, but nothing happened to eradicate the mold or prevent water from seeping through.
Schermer, her attorney, said the warranty process set up by the builder was not followed adequately.
“It appears that it was there to put the homeowners at ease but when they needed to trigger it to get these problems addressed, ultimately from what we’ve seen, Taylor Morrison did not step up and do what they said they were going to do,” he said.
The homebuilder is currently responding to the filings and has put the claimants on notice that it intends to bring its stucco contractors into the mix.
“The longer this drags on, it holds us all captive and it puts our health further at risk,” Johnson said, referring to the mold in her house. “I think it’s only fair to ask for a timely resolution and quality workmanship.”
