Orlando Area Real Estate News

Posts Tagged ‘chinese’

A pair of U.S. Senators from Florida has joined forces with a Senator from Louisiana to get some sort of relief for homeowners whose residences were built using Chinese drywall.

Since problems with the drywall first came to light, more than 3,000 complaints have been filed with the Consumer Product Safety Commission; most from Florida and Louisiana. The defective drywall not only makes the home’s smell bad, like rotten eggs, but has been linked to the corrosion of wiring, air conditioning units, computers, doorknobs and jewelry, along with possible health effects.

Now Senators Bill Nelson and George LeMieux from Florida and Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana have written to mortgage lender Fannie Mae asking for help, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald. Nelson and Landrieu also contacted Freddie Mac.

According a recommendation from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the tainted homes should be gutted. To aid the homeowners with the cost of not only repairing their homes but also finding a temporary place to live, the Senators have asked the lenders for six months or longer of mortgage relief.

The lawmakers point that Fannie Mae has already given as much to some Virginia homeowners with Chinese drywall.

Some homeowners like Joyce Dowdy, 71, and her husband Sonny, 63, are not going to wait. The plan to move out of their $150,000, 1,600-square-foot Cape Coral home while it is gutted to get rid of tainted Chinese drywall.

Joyce Dowdy said she suffers from nose bleeds and her husband has a persistent cough. They blame the drywall.

“We can’t live like this anymore,” Joyce Dowdy.

They’re borrowing money to do the gutting, which means that instead of a mortgage-free retirement they will be paying monthly bills cover the costs of repair.

“It’s costing us as much as we paid for the house,” Joyce Dowdy said. “But we can’t just walk away … Our house is worth nothing at the moment.”

Source: MMX CBS Television Stations