Unfinished Home Addition
 

There is a villa, in the Ruby Villas (Village of St. Johns), on Fraser Ct just off Meggison that has an unfinished building addition. There are a couple of partially constructed block walls, and piles of building supplies in the yard. A large section of the roof is covered in heavily weathered plywood. This may sound normal for a building project, but this particular villa has been sitting in this condition for well over a year...probably closer to 18 months. It appears as though a room addition was planned/started, and then abruptly stopped. This unit is not buried deep inside the villa community, but is readily visible from the cart path on the way to & from the Water Lily Bridge. I can't believe some of the neighbors haven't complained about this issue, but it appears as though nothing has/is being done to speed things along. Thoughts?

Does the project have a county building permit as required? If so, the permit has probably expired and the county can take action against the owner for violating the permit. If it doesn't have a permit, the county can also take action for not getting a required permit. So, the best place to start is the county building department. I think they can take legal action against the owner, and possibly against the contractor.

I know which house you are talking about they were adding on to the house and the construction company started a fire in the house, and has been that way I think close to 2 years. Not sure why.

Would it make sense to report to Architectural Review Committee?

Or knock on their door .

R U sure.................I went by & there was a tree on it.

It would make sense to ask Community Standards if anyone was interested enough. Another approach would be to ask in the CDD meeting for that area (not sure which CDD it is in). Chances are good that both groups are aware and are working to get the situation resolved.

If a contractor caused a fire, then insurance companies are involved and this could take a long time to settle.

So the owners are not just dealing with a room addition which can be stressful, their contractor may have started a fire and now you want to report them to ARC?!!! I'm willing to bet the homeowners are also dealing with their home insurance company plus the contractor's insurance company to see who's paying for the damage to the addition plus any damage to the existing structure. But go ahead, report any.

[QUOTE=Mrmean58;2365388]So the owners are not just dealing with a room addition which can be stressful, their contractor may have started a fire and now you want to report them to ARC?!!! I'm willing to bet the homeowners are also dealing with their home insurance company plus the contractor's insurance company to see who's paying for the damage to the addition plus any damage to the existing structure. But go ahead, report any.[/QUOTE]

Either way, the homeowners' insurance pays the owner and they get reimbursed from the contractor is a separate transaction.

There was definitely an extensive fire. Photos of it burning with many fire trucks involved were posted in several southern FB groups back in 2023, and I’m pretty sure it was reported on the online Villages news site. It was caused by a construction worker. Work has been done since the fire, but that was a long time ago, and for many months now it has sat untouched. Every time we pass it, including yesterday, we wonder about it and speculate it’s an insurance issue. Maybe their contractor wasn’t insured? Whatever’s happening it definitely sucks for the homeowners and their neighbors.

Its been that way for over two years. Kind of figure that it is in litigation and that has been the reason nothing is being done. I am sure the Villages are aware of the situation. Don't think it is visible from the Water Lily Bridge as it is right across the street where the new church is to be built.

If the owner has homeowner's insurance, they can file a claim. I don't think the owner can file a claim directly against the contractor's liability policy, especially if the contractor denies responsibility. The liability policy is controlled by the contractor, unless the owner sues the contractor, or if the contractor acknowledges responsibility.

The county requires a building permit for a room addition. I don't understand why the county is not prepared to enforce their own laws about building permits.

Exactly. No one knows the background to this or what’s currently in progress but lets “call ARC” and add more problems for the owner. Ya. Thats neighborly! Welcome to the Villages!!

If it happened over 2 years ago (Post. No. 12), and the property owner has insurance, there has been plenty of time to clean up the site, even if there is ongoing litigation. It doesn't appear to be an ARC issue. The county needs to take some legal action. These things seem to drag on all the time.

Well, if it was still under construction, then The Villages still owns it. I cant remember if it was occupied and then the construction problem happened. I agree that it is probably an insurance issue.

According to the OP, it was an addition, not a new building.

It’s definitely not a new construction. The addition started roughly mid summer of 2022. It was a slow start took months from foundation to first wall, that didn’t connect to original house structure.
Sometime after the first wall, a tarp went over the roof structure of the rear of home. Unless work is being accomplished inside, it appears all worked stopped when the tarp was added to original structure

[QUOTE=dewilson58;2365392]Wrong! We are finally coming to the end of our room addition for our courtyard villa, which was suppose to be done months ago. After they started, I called my agent (State Farm) to inform them of the addition. They told me they do not insure my addition until it’s completed and final inspection from county is done. So here our addition sits with No Insurance coverage and of course we’re at the start of hurricane season. So I’m sure the hold up with that addition is a legal court battle against the builder and who’s paying for the damage.

Here are some things to consider if you are planning an addition to your house. I wouldn't trust a contractor to provide insurance coverage.

"Standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover homes that are under construction.

If you’re planning short-term home renovations, you can add home under construction insurance (also called a dwelling under construction endorsement) to your policy for additional protection.

For more extensive construction projects or new home builds, you’ll need builders risk insurance.

Builders risk insurance and home under construction coverage protects your home during construction and building materials from theft, fire, vandalism, and storm damage."

Sorry but insurance companies do not insure additions until they are completed and county does final inspection. How do I know, I’m going thru this no coverage on our villa addition until final inspection.

See Post No. 21. You may be able to buy additional coverage from your insurance company. If not, I would probably not proceed with the addition. I wouldn't trust a contractor to cover the potential damage.

This home caught on fire during the addition construction.

It’s my understanding the owner (having to rent elsewhere since unlivable) is having a battle of wills between the two insurance companies.

Sorry just saw your reply I’m going to call State Farm when they open shortly to see about coverage you mentioned. I’ll be ****ed if they say yes, especially after I was told no by them.

Thank you for the information

I tend to agree with you, but, as a taxpayer, I expect the county to do their job.

Sometimes the homeowners are forced to be in LIMBO, unable to act, for many reasons. I know personally of such a case and a couple neighbor people were leaping about and gnashing their teeth and having bad spells. Failed contractor, who also failed dozens of other people in this state was the worst part and the fact that they had sunk a LOT of money into the addition and pool. Fast forward today, which is several years now granted, but their home is beautifully done and landscaped in a most pleasing way. We can't forget that the people who live there are our neighbors and sometimes patience and understanding goes further than actions to make things more intolerable.

Home that caught fire
 

Instead of all the trash talk maybe you should have some compassion for the owners of the house that caught fire. It's sad people run their mouth when they don't know what is really going on. Do you think the owners are happy with what is going on?? I know I wouldn't want to have to deal with what they are going through.

The place was gutted by fire and is boarded up. I doubt anyone will answer the door.

Might have to do with insurance .

There lies the problem. There was significant damage to the main house (home insurance) not the in- progress addition. The contractor caused the fire with a tool being used on the roof. It ignited the roof of the house and burned what looks like 25% or more of the house and not the addition (just concrete block stage).

Commenting, yes, but no "trash talk". The property owner is responsible for removing an eyesore from the community, especially after more than 2 years. If the property owner is incapacitated, I may have some compassion. But, there is no evidence of that. How long should a boarded up building be allowed? 3 years, 5 years, 10 years???

100% false.

Ours covered our addition during construction.

Should have understood your coverage.

Two Years
 

It’s not neighborly to leave your house in this condition for 2 years. Proceedings need to begin.

A lot of Monday morning quarterbacks.