Some valley homeowners say their dream homes are falling apart. The 5 i-Team exposes a builder whose homes are causing heartache.
A close look at what's behind cracked walls and foundations leaking windows and roofs. Homeowners in Anthem - one of the valley's largest master-planned communities - say they're living in "Broken Homes" and they're filing suit against the Del Webb Corporation, the company that built Anthem.
The 5 i-Team has discovered the suit could cost this giant development company tens of millions of dollars.
It was marketed as "the best" master planned community in America.
A real neighborhood outside the city with all the amenities, but the Anthem that was advertised is not what some of these homeowners say they got, "It really has been a nightmare for us. It's been the most disappointing experience and every time you come home.. you see it," Lisa Vializ told us.
Six months after moving into her home in Anthem, Vializ began noticing cracks on the walls, in the living room, near the windows, in the bedroom... even the garage.
Vializ says, "I've got chunks of wall falling out of here. It is just been getting worse and worse and worse...They're coming out of the doors and the windows and they're huge... And it's almost like the house is just - it's just twisting - it's just like buckling."
It's a similar situation a few blocks away at Steve Ruttenberg's home.
Ruttenberg showed the 5 i-Team the developing damage, "You can see where these cracks have not only opened up, but they're shifted out of plane with each other."
An Attorney hired by Ruttenberg, Vializ and several other Anthem homeowners says the problem is a result of the soil - it has a lot of clay in it. If you put a house on the clay, it shifts as the clay expands and contracts which, in turn slowly cracks foundations and structures.
The homeowners' attorney - Tom Miller - blames Del Webb - Anthem's developer saying, "They knew about this problem. They should have disclosed this problem. They should have taken steps to prevent this problem from happening."
Miller believes as many as half the homes out here - could be affected.
He's filed a petition for class action.. meaning thousands of homeowners could be included in the court case against Del Webb.
Residents say they are simply asking for what they were promised.
Ruttenberg says, "They owe me the product that I thought I was buying."
Del Webb made a statement through a representative:
"We have made tremendous efforts to provide quality customer service and to be responsive to our customers' needs. We have every desire and have attempted to work with this small number of home owners on their individual issues."
Homeowners are now scheduling community meetings to see how many homes are affected.
If you're an Anthem homeowner who has questions about recourse, you can send e-mail to rr@kabateckgarris.com
© Copyright 2008 The Miller Law Firm. All rights Reserved.
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