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There are a lot of unanswered questions about Chinese Drywall.  Since so many people are looking for answers I decided to share some information that the Florida Association of REALTORS® put together.

How does this affect homeowners in Gainesville?

Before we get too far along I’d like to mention that this shouldn’t have much of an impact in Alachua County homes, you can read our prior posts out it for details.

New Laws

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywall

Drywall

There is pressure mounting for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue a recall of Chinese-made drywall.   A few bills have been proposed at a national level to make this happen.  If the bills pass the way they are written at the moment manufacturers could be responsible for the cost of repairs or replacement.

Lawsuits

There are several class-action suits on the books.  The companies listed include U.S. home builder Lennar, Banner Supply Company, Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin and the foreign company that distributed that company’s drywall within the United States, Rothchilt International Ltd.

This is big, very big.  The timing is bad for the construction industry… it’s like a man being kicked when he is down – except he is the one kicking.

Disclose! Disclose!

Just like we tell people for any other issue: If you are selling real estate and know or think you know about a problem please disclose it.  Write it out on the legal disclosure form and have the buyers initial that they have seen it.  That will help protect you and help then make good choices about what they are getting into.  The Florida Association of REALTORS® actually has a new form just for Chinese Drywall!

I can see this thing haunting us for a long time.

Resources

Florida Department of Health

FAQ

File a Complaint

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson