WINK Investigates: Beattie Development homeowners call on state to change construction laws

Some people are so angry at the contractor they hired to build their dream home, they’re demanding changes in the law. Homeowners face a huge problem now: liens.

Homeowners who paid their contractor, Beattie development, are being liened by subcontractors who claim Beattie never paid them. Florida law generally allows that.

“We get PTSD to go to the mailbox. You never know what’s gonna come,” Mary Ann Fitzgerald, a former Beattie Development customer said.

The battle isn’t over. Imagine asking your contractor for years to finish your home and it doesn’t get done.

“We didn’t know who to call, when to call. Nothing ever got done. It was the most stressful thing,” Fitzgerald, a former Beattie Development customer said.

Then, you start to get billed for materials you already paid for.

“You’re just kind of like waiting, for that 90 day mark to finish and just wondering what else hasn’t been paid that I don’t know about,” Kristen Kramer, a former Beattie Development customer said.

“I abided by the contract. I did everything that I was supposed to do, right, but yet, now I have to double pay for everything,” Jason Yoraway, a former Beattie Development customer said.

This is the reality of some homeowners after terminating their contract with Beattie Development.

Unable to move into their homes and having trouble getting loans from banks to finish their homes if the liens are not taken care of. They told WINK News Reporter Olivia Jean that Beattie always had an excuse when liens came during contracts.

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“We called up the office and we told them, what’s this? He says it’s being taken care of,” Ramon Rosas, a former Beattie Development customer said.

Subcontractors and Beattie Development are where the liens are coming from.

The big issue: homeowners say they gave Beattie Development money to give to the subcontractors for their work but say they discovered later the subcontractors were never paid.

“We want to take care of the vendors. We really do, but we have no money to do that, and so it would be great if we could have some patience and tolerance and extra negotiating power with these vendors,” Yoraway said.

So, that raises the question: Why isn’t Beattie Development getting the liens?

“You have some trust that there’s going to be some some checks and balances, right, some controls that are in place, and it just doesn’t seem to be the case,” Ed Nagy, a former Beattie Development customer said.

These homeowners are now demanding change within the law.

“I think that things have to change. A lot of people, so many people like they wait their lives to move to Florida, right? And, you know, then they save a ton of money because they want to build their dream house here in Florida. And then you come, and then these nightmares happen,” Kramer said.

Homeowners say when things go bad it’s on them.

“We don’t have any protection,” Rosas said.

“Why is it that it’s the homeowner’s responsibility and the builder gets to walk away from that just because they wrote something in a contract that we found out he’s broke on multiple levels,” Roberta Murphy, a former Beattie Development customer said.

“I don’t see where homeowners have much protection. I don’t see where there’s much like at all,” John Fitzgerald, a former Beattie Development customer said.

“We need help from our government to, you know, help make it better. And we really want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anybody else, because it sucks,” Kramer said.

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Dozens of homeowners are now demanding help to change state law. There is a Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund, but they some say the process is impossible to complete without spending more money.

There’s still have one big unanswered question: Where did all of their money go?

WINK News will continue to stay on top of this story and bring you updates as we get them.