LABELLE, Fla — A LaBelle family reached out to Fox 4 when frustrations with their home builder boiled over. Community Correspondent Austin Schargorodski worked on this story for several days, and was able to track down that homebuilder to finally get the family some answers.
Claudia Mayol and her mother-in-law Fe Alvarez’s have a beautiful new home in LaBelle – but they said getting to this point has been anything but pretty. They said the project has been plagued by delays starting after they signed the building contract in June 2022.
Watch Austin's report here:
“They didn’t start the permitting until January of 2023. They didn’t start the process of the house. We got our slab poured August 2nd of 2023,” Mayol and Alvarez said.
The family says they expected work to begin within 60 days and to move in by August 2024. Instead, they’ve been living in a barn and RV on the property after renting another home became unaffordable.
They also said electrical issues and incorrect material substitutions delayed the project further, forcing them to pay loan extension fees they believe they shouldn’t be responsible for.
“I’m feeling helpless. Overwhelmed. Between the financial and emotional side of it, feeling frustrated. I feel like I’m going to lose my job if I continue in this situation. I was supposed to have my space and my office; I work from home,” Mayol added.
Austin took their concerns to Jeff Onorato, president of Blue Ribbon Homebuilders. He said delays were due to permitting backlogs and supply chain issues after Hurricane Ian, with permitting taking up to six months.
Onorato clarified the contract aims for completion nine months after the slab is poured – not work starting within 60 days. He added that Blue Ribbon often helps with extension fees at closure and will address any electrical issues during the final walkthrough.
Onorato said the home is move-in ready, but the family must resolve code issues with another building on the property to obtain a certificate of occupancy. While not the answer they hoped for, Claudia and Fe said they’ve learned a lot and have advice for future homebuyers.
“Take your contract before you sign it to an attorney of your choice and have them go over it. And if the builder is not going to abide by the contract and it expires, then they should pay, and put that in the contract – that the builder should be paying for all of the extension fees they request. And if you have to rent, then the builder should pay for those expenses as well,” Mayol and Alvarez said.
