A Texas family is devastated after discovering that their beautiful $400,000 new home was so poorly built that it could be blown over by a gust of wind.
Laci Booker says she moved into her Seguin home in April 2023, but within a few weeks it became clear that the repairs were extensive, even though the house appeared fine from the outside.
“I feel very disappointed, I feel angry,” she said told News 4 San Antonio.
She said she hired her own home inspector, who found nearly 80 problems, including inadequate interior and exterior wall brackets.
“That makes the house more vulnerable to wind loads,” Mark Eberwine said. “And we’re not even talking about tornado-level wind loads, just high winds.”
The exterior of the Bookers’ home in Seguin, Texas, appears to be in good shape
But the first problems Booker noticed with the two-story home were that the walls weren’t straight, which she said made it difficult to open and close doors.
“So we asked the warranty team to come out and take a look at things,” she said.
Then they discovered even more problems: their new home, built by Pulte Homes of Texas, has become a dangerous construction zone.
The plasterboard was removed, exposing beams everywhere.
“You walk in and you immediately see the beams and the drywall that has been cut out,” Booker told the local news station.
“The more work they did, the more problems they encountered,” she added.
Laci Booker said she moved into her Seguin home in April 2023, but within a few weeks it became clear that the corrective measures had been expanded
Plasterboard has been removed from the interior of the house, leaving exposed beams throughout
As the problems grew, Booker said Pulte Group asked her to move to temporary housing at the company’s expense so more thorough repairs could be made without harming her or her family.
“We gave them three weeks to fix the problems, and then we could go home,” she said.
Both parties agreed to begin work after the 2023 winter holidays, but repairs to the house are still taking place.
“I never expected to have to deal with something like this,” Booker said. “It’s just a huge emotional and mental toll on us.”
The kitchen is still taken apart and covered in dust, and Booker said her living room, “where my family used to gather and relax, is now regularly remodeled.”
Home inspector Mark Eberwine said he expects more problems to be hidden beneath the surface
Pulte confirmed that repair work began in January and noted that the city of Seguin conducted its own inspection and that all issues noted in the report have been resolved.
They are also working on fixing the issues outlined in Eberwine’s report. The home builder indicated that the framing needed repairs, which then resulted in repairs to the drywall and interior trim.
But Eberwine says he’s convinced there are many more problems lurking beneath the surface.
“I am absolutely certain that if you were to remove this drywall, you would find more structural integrity issues,” Eberwine told the local news station.
He thinks that is why the repairs are taking so long.
However, Pulte claims that even when the family moved, repair crews did not always come in. This claim is denied by the Booker family.
“We are aware of Mr. and Mrs. Booker’s concerns and are addressing them. Repairs have already begun on schedule,” a company spokesperson said.
But because Booker has hired lawyers, repairs have stalled and the two parties are at an impasse.
PulteGroup Inc was previously sued by eight other homeowners in Texas. CEO Ryan Marshall is pictured
Booker, however, says she just wants the company to take the house back “and for me to get far, far away from them.”
Eberwine agreed, saying, “They should just buy the house back.”
Booker’s complaints come just a few years after the owners of eight homes in Converse, Texas, sued PulteGroup Inc., alleging that their homes had numerous design and construction defects that had led to “unacceptable levels of cracking and warping” in the homes’ foundations.
That led to extensive interior damage, including broken tiles, split baseboards and cracked wallboards, rendering the homes “unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unfit for habitation,” the lawsuits say. according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Mold growth was also reported.
The homeowners are suing Texas-based Pulte Homes for fraud, negligent construction and breach of implied warranties.
Company spokesman Jim Zeumer said at the time that the company “works hard to deliver excellent build quality and overall customer experience.
“We are reviewing the documents, but we stand behind our warranty and look forward to speaking with these homeowners to discuss their concerns.”
The group added in a legal document that it is “not liable for normal wear and tear or deterioration” and is also not liable “for any percentage of the damages caused by the plaintiff’s failure to take reasonable steps to mitigate the damages or to maintain the property.”
