Lennar's bombing range in Orlando
Explosive news from Orlando: unexploded bombs found on Lennar housing site
How did Lennar build homes on a former military base without the live ordnance first being cleared? That's the subject of a CNN report about a neighborhood in Orlando that was built on the former Pinecastle Jeep Range.
And as questions swirl about who knew what and when, a bigger question is coming into focus: who will the homeowners be able to hold accountable, now that their homes have been built? Is it the Army Corps of Engineers, the developer?
The report notes that "multiple lawsuits have been filed, accusing builders of gross negligence and seeking unspecified monetary damage."
NIMBY nightmare: top ten things you don't want to find in your backyard.
So, is this "real estate fraud" as one commentator on the CNN online edition claims?
And is it true that the government would have to step in and help the banks if all these property owners refused to pay their mortgages, claiming that the contract to buy the property was fraudulent, due to non-disclosure?
Either way, here is an interesting comment that should give prospective home owners pause:
" The twisted thing about real estate is you owe the bank not the developer. The bank pays the developer, and the home-owner is left with 30 years of house payments on a piece of property not safe to live on and lower in value than they paid for it. "
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Comments (3)
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/patmonrn
Hmmm, interesting, now didn't someone once mention that there were some substances buried out there that it might not be advisable to live around and breathe, unless of course you've been living around it and breathing it for years and no one seemed concerned enough to really do anything about it, until it looked possible to build condos and town houses, move the white folks in and turn a hefty profit.
Then, miraculously, vultures like Feinstein, Pelosi, Newsom, Maxwell et al; who of course have no direct or indirect, personal or familial, financial or political stake in any aspect of this boondoggle, suddenly found money to 'clean up' a small piece of the property. Now let me see, was that the site for the new stadium or the market rate condos. Oh dear, it's just so confusing, i can't keep it all straight. Plans, alliances and promises keep getting made and broken.
At one point I was concerned about how much of the project as proposed was going to end up under water as a result of global warming and rising sea levels, but I guess that's not an issue any more. As Lennar can no longer afford to include parks and sidewalks, since they lost that $25 Million grant they were hoping for, they can just substitute paddling pools and a little lake to provide sanctuary for migrating birds, and demonstrate how environmentally conscious, and what good corporate citizens they and their henchmen, and women, truly are.
Psst, any of you 84,000 Prop G supporters wanna buy a bridge ?
Patrick Monk.RN. Noe Valley
patmonkrn@yahoogroups.com
Posted by Patrick Monk.RN | July 1, 2008 04:09 PM
I am a homeowner in Tivoli village and my property is on the bombing range. I have talked to lawyers and financial specialists, foreclosure lawyers and real-estate professionals and they all have no advice to give. I am in a horrible predicament and so are the 1000's of people that do not feel safe in their homes and have know-one to turn to for help. It is disgusting to think that the rich got richer of my hard working money. I have nothing if I go into foreclosure, because I can not afford to pay my taxes on the house if we foreclose. I would have to claim bankruptcy to avoid paying thousands that I don't have.
Currently, I rent my townhouse but my tenant is not paying because they know that nobody else will rent my house due to the bombs (who wants to rent a home that might have bombs under the dinning room floor). Also, the lawsuit could take up to seven years and mean while Im paying two thousand a month on and empty home. If i keep this home I will loose about 168,000 if the class action-suit takes seven years (my lawyer told me it could take this long). If I walk away I end up with a foreclosure and bankruptcy on my credit and loose out on any potential real estate investments in the future. Either way, I am screwed! The government and builder need to take the house back and figure it out amongst them selves without the homeowners in the middle loosing thousands of dollars.
The stress alone in my life is so overwhelming that it consumes everything I do, because I am hem-ridging money.
Posted by Daniel Mahood | October 1, 2008 11:26 PM
Sadly, it's the homeowners, as usual, who suffer as this will take years to go through the courts and the defendants have unlimited access to attorneys and can and will delay, delay, delay.
Katie
Orlando
Posted by KatieH | November 29, 2008 06:47 AM