June 2013 - Tainted Corrosive "Chinese" Drywall - Condo structures continue to be uncovered !!!

SARASOTA, Fla. - June 11, 2013 - PRLog -- Tainted Corrosive Drywall or Chinese Drywall has been the subject of legal litigation, class actions, and discussed in the news for several years now (2008) and TCDW has been confirmed to exist or been installed as early as 1999 in the WCI Waterleafe and Sun City developments.

Single Family Residences (SFR) have dominated the news, as condominiums containing TCDW have been lurking in the shadows and are starting to see more and more light or as some would say ... being exposed or discovered ???

Condominium Boards, Developers, Sellers, Re-Sellers and Realtors have the unpleasant and often financially devastating task of disclosing the facts to perspective buyers or do they ???

Selling units AS IS or caveat emptor are legal terms that some would say should be a RED FLAG that removes the burden of disclosure from the seller, or does it ???

Lawyers will explain and counsel their clients that the seller, Developer, or Realtor should have known or disclosed the condition, but proving this in a court of law might not be as easy as one may think and the cost associated with legal litigation can be staggering to the average consumer.

Previous mold damage, previous roof leaks, previous window leaks, previous termite damage, and numerous other disclosures are not required when selling AS IS, particularly if the seller or owner never lived in the unit or residence.

Now just think about how many foreclosures, short sales, and bank repo's, are on the market as what appears to be a bargain or significantly reduced price, and listed AS IS. Chinese Drywall Analysis or Drywall Inspections have become the new last hurdle required for Lenders or Banks to fund loans or complete closings transactions.

Guidelines, Analysis, or Inspection Protocols vary from lender to lender, and some Banks will not fund a loan or purchase of a CLEAN or UNINFECTED unit in a condominium complex, simply because one (1) or several units have been diagnosed or confirmed to contain TCDW, even when corrective actions or abatements have been completed or accomplished.

Please also understand ALL abatement or corrective TCDW or Chinese Drywall Protocols are not equal in scope or cost.

My firm has and will continue to educate and explain this issue, but today we will concentrate on the disclosure subject.

For those of you who own one of these INFECTED condominiums or a unit in a complex with some INFECTED units ... this 800 pound gorilla in the room can be a major financial issue.

Companies performing common or standard Developer Turn-Over Studies for condominium Boards are the experts and professionals paid to disclose, discover, explain, and document specific types of defects or deficiencies that would affect the long and short term maintenance cost or value of the individual units.

TCDW Analysis has been one of my firms strongest selling points, easily separating my firm in the industry, during the last 5 years, as we knew condominiums would not be exempt or immune from the issue of TCDW, and definitely a lot harder to find or discover.

Condominium Boards have found that the other companies or engineering firms that they hired to perform their Developer Turn-Over Study do not have what is commonly called errors and omissions coverage that will insure or cover TCDW, just like homeowners, builders, developers, and contractors, quickly discovered their insurance policy did not cover TCDW losses under their policy, because of a Pollution Exclusion clause.

Some companies and Boards actually accepted letters from the Developer, Contractor of Record, or his Sub-Contractor stating they did not install or purchase Chinese Drywall or TCDW in lieu of a detailed TCDW Analysis or Inspection to either save money, avoid the whole issue, or risk of finding the truth, after the fact.

Billions ... yes ... BILLIONS of development dollars were invested in condominium projects, particularly in Florida during 1999 - 2007 along with single family structures.

At one time, it was a joke among construction groups that the tower crane was the new Florida state bird, because so may where see along the coast and new construction projects.

Last month, my firm was again in the uncomfortable position of telling a homeowner, Realtor, and Condominium Board their structure was 100% confirmed to have TCDW or Chinese Drywall, specifically the Knauf brand, that was visually confirmed and fairly accessible or detectable by a trained Forensic Construction Professional. The most uncomfortable part of the discussion or disclosure was knowing my firm interviewed for the Developer Turn-Over Study and did not get the project or job, mainly due to cost, detailed and complete Analysis or Inspection my firm would have performed compared to my firms competitor.

Looking from the Boards perspective, in 2009 who would have thought TCDW or Chinese Drywall would be the major issue and potentially financial 800 pound gorilla in the room, unless you did not read the newspaper, or watch TV.

Time for the lawyers to sort this additional and new issue out and find out who and when they knew ???

Please understand, I use this example to underscore the importance, knowledge, and forward thinking Board Members need when making decisions that may affect their community.

After all is said and done ... Chapter 718, the Florida Condominium Code that addresses Developer Turn-Over Studies, at that time did not specifically cover or address TCDW or Chinese Drywall or did it ???

Congress has finally weighed in on the subject or should I say, issued a Congressional Mandate that ASTM must respond to in twenty-four months ... so the saga continues ...

Please remember one very important fact ...

To date ...

This simple and very important fact remains constant ...

No one has ever determined, explained, or even been able to recreate the corrosive out-gassing associated with TCDW or Chinese Drywall.

For more information or answers to your question ...

Call or e-mail ...

Michael S. Foreman

Foreman and Associates, Inc.

941-955-8111

Michael@ForemanandAssociates.com

or visit or web site ...

www.ForemanandAssociates.com

Thank you for your time and interest.