SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Darlean Williams says she owns a shell of a house, after being forced to move out of her brand new home because of ongoing defects.
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“Since I’ve moved in, it’s been issues from day one, I have not been able to get comfortable in my dream home,” Williams said.
Months after purchasing her home, she says her kitchen ceiling caved in.
“It would have just killed me, the way the whole ceiling crashed down,” she said.
Her next door neighbor, Earl McCarthy, says he and other neighbors are also having issues, involving cracks, HVAC, sewage and other problems.
“You realize you’re not alone in the struggle that you have with this builder,” he told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln.
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Both homeowners say they were told by the developer LGI homes, they did not need a realtor or third-party inspector.
“They assured us you don’t need a realtor, we’ll help you every step of the way, it’s a one stop shop,” Williams said.
Realtors Mark Kozik and Curtis Russell of great Homes ATL say first-time homebuyers should avoid one stop shop properties. In some cases they say developers cut corners and reduce the number of suggested inspections.
“A lot of buyers do no not know that they have the right to a private home inspection,” Kozik said.
Kozik and Russell says inspections should be done during the pre-drywall and final phase of construction.
“While the home could be beautiful, you need to know what’s going on behind the walls,” said Russell.
And both say it’s critical for buyers to have representation.
“We need to know, from the developer, to the handoff to the builder, to the handoff to the consumer, so this way if there’s ever an issue you can trace it right back to the source,” Russell said. “And right now, what I’ve seen is the consumer knows who the builder is but there’s nothing beyond that.”
Channel 2 has been reaching out to LGI homes for more than a month, but the company has not responded to our request for comment.
Homeowners say a LGI representative reached out to homeowners and says it plans to hold a meeting next week to discuss issues with this community.
Earlier this month, Channel 2 reported on infrastructure issues in this neighborhood. Homeowners told Lincoln they saw raw sewage leaking from a manhole near the community’s playground.
When Channel 2 reported the sewage leak to Fulton County, they sent crews to investigate.
Fulton County says workers found construction items dumped in the sewage line causing the blockage. Channel 2 submitted an open records request and learned Fulton County is responsible for inspecting sewer pipes for this community.
The county said it had no records on file for any inspections.
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