Mr Williamsburg, Revolutionary ideas on real estate!Hampton Roads Virginia

From an article by Leslie Wayne/ New York Times:

When Bill Morgan, a retired policeman, moved into his newly built dream home in Williamsburg, Va., three years ago, his hopes were quickly dashed.

Bill Morgan blames Chinese drywall for toxic fumes and corrosion in components of his home.

Bill Morgan had to abandon his newly built dream home in Williamsburg, Va., blaming drywall for corrosive fumes that attacked metal objects.

His wife and daughter suffered constant nosebleeds and headaches. A persistent foul odor filled the house. Every piece of metal indoors corroded or turned black.

In short order, Mr. Morgan moved out. The headaches and nosebleeds stopped, but the ensuing financial problems pushed him into personal bankruptcy.

“My house is not worth the land it’s built on,” said Mr. Morgan, who could not maintain the mortgage payments on his $383,000 home in a Williamsburg subdivision called Wellington Estates and the costs of a rental property where his family decamped.

Mr. Morgan, like many other American homebuyers who tell similar tales of woe, is blaming the drywall in his new home — specifically, drywall from China, imported during the housing boom to meet heavy demand — that he says is contaminated with various sulfur compounds.

James City County has issued this notice:

Citizen Information about Chinese Drywall

James City County residents who believe they may have Chinese drywall in their home may visit this link for answers to commonly asked questions.

If you suspect that you have Chinese drywall in your home, the Virginia Department of Health recommends that you first contact your home’s builder. Individuals may also call the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s toll-free consumer hotline at               1-800-638-2772         1-800-638-2772 or the Virginia Department of Health at               (804) 864-8182         (804) 864-8182 for more information about Chinese drywall.

The Virginia Department of Health continues to monitor the evolving Chinese drywall issue and any potential impacts on public health. New information will be posted to the Virginia Department of Health Web site, www.vdh.virginia.gov, as it becomes available.

Another good source of information is the US Consumer Product Safety Commission web site: http://www.cpsc.gov/info/drywall/drywallstatus07092009.pdf

If a James City County resident does not feel that they have received an appropriate response from their home builder, they may contact the James City County Code Compliance Division at 253-6620 to discuss their concerns. Once determined by a Code Compliance inspection that a non-code compliant drywall product has been installed in their home, and the home is less than two years old, the Code Compliance Division will contact the home builder requiring corrective action.  Section 115.2.1 of the Uniform Statewide Building Code states…..When violations are discovered more than two years after the certificate of occupancy is issued or the date of initial occupancy, whichever occurred later, or more than two years after the approved final inspection for an alteration or renovation, a notice of violation shall only be issued upon advice from the legal counsel of the locality that action may be taken to compel correction of the violation. The James City County attorney’s office has determined that the issue is beyond the statute of limitation for prosecutions under the Uniform Statewide Building Code. Consequently, the County cannot legally initiate a case under the USBC and no Notice of Violation should be issued.

Read more about the Chinese Dywall  problem here

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