Florida is an ideal place to buy real estate. With a wide variety of home types and a lack of new buildings, demand is high for new construction. That demand, just as occurred in the run up to the great recession, puts pressure on home builders to meet tight timeframes to construct and sell housing inventory. Under those circumstances, home builders often cut corners resulting in costly construction defects.  News stories about construction defects have popped up throughout Florida. Commonly, those defects involve home builders improperly applying stucco. Indeed, large-scale stucco failures have been found in developments across Florida. Between 2005 and 2008, homeowners in Tampa Bay reported massive water intrusion problems that resulted in crumbling exterior walls, widespread mold issues and even collapsed balconies. In 2016 a Florida jury awarded a $9.6 million verdict against DR Horton due, in part, to stucco defects. The problem is so pervasive it has earned the moniker of “Florida’s billion-dollar stucco problem.” Florida’s Attorney General is even investigating national home builders for deceptive trade practices related to their denial of meritorious defective stucco warranty claims.     Read the article………………