New home, no worries. No way!

Saturday, February 11, 2012    Last updated: Sunday February 12, 2012, 1:21 PM

After living in a small New York apartment, Michelle and Alon Frumer were thrilled to find a new-construction house in Englewood in 2008, with plenty of room to raise their two young children.

KEVIN R. WEXLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Alon Frumer in his Englewood home, where several rooms had to be gutted because of leaks that fed the growth of mold. That and other problems have forced him and his family to leave the house, and a lawsuit is pending.

But just days after moving into the $997,000 home, the couple discovered water pouring into the basement from an opening in the foundation. Other problems soon turned up, including a cracked chimney, missing fire protection and extensive water leaks, which fed the growth of mold.

"It reminded me of that movie 'The Money Pit,' " said Michelle, a real estate investment manager. "I feel like we're living a real-life 'Money Pit' with this house."

Their years-long struggle to get relief raises questions about the effectiveness of municipal building inspections and home warranties. The Frumers say the city's building inspector should have found the home's problems during its construction, and the warranty company should now do more to remedy them.

Much litigation

The Frumers, who moved out of the house in 2009 and are now living in Teaneck, have sued the architect, the builder, the city of Englewood, the home warranty company and the contractor that the warranty company sent to fix the problems.

According to the suit, the four-bedroom, 4,883-square-foot Valley Place house was built by Leonard and Evelyn Krimsky of Englewood in partnership with Jack Nelson of Englewood. It featured high ceilings, a library and fireplaces in both the living room and master bedroom. It was completed in 2007, and the Frumers bought it in April 2008. They didn't have an inspection because the home had been inspected by the city's building code officials, and it came with the warranty.

But new homes should "absolutely" be checked by an independent inspector, said John Nastasi, an architecture professor at Stevens Institute of Technology.

'A total disaster'

The rest is here:
New home, no worries. No way!