The warnings come from owners of one- and two-year-old homes at Estancia Palm Springs, some scared to stay in their townhouses when it rains because water seeps in behind fuse boxes.
They point to water stains around leaky windows and report mold spreading inside new walls in homes that sold in the low- to mid-$200,000 range, providing an affordable alternative to typical Palm Beach County prices.
One woman holds up a picture of a toilet that trickled water onto her front porch with every flush — spoiling the pleasure of walking through the front door of the first home she owned.
Their frustration mounting at the Broward County-based development team they say failed to fix problems at the 64-home neighborhood on Davis Road, these Estancia residents launched a new kind of attack: They have teamed up to try to stop one of their developers from getting approval for 48 new homes more than a mile away, near Lake Worth.
About 10 Estancia residents have been showing up at county meetings to oppose Oliver Bibas' plan for the Vivendi Homes development — as well as the "bonus homes" Bibas would get to build and a $450,000 break on fees Palm Beach County plans to give him as incentives to include more reduced-price homes.
The Estancia residents already have succeeded in getting the county's zoning commission to delay action for two months on Bibas' new plan. They vow to return to every government meeting necessary, even as they struggle to plug their leaks and reclaim their homes from mold.
"We had no choice," said Kamisha Kerr, a mother of four who said she bought a unit in February and found water leaking in and mold spreading through her downstairs walls. "No one should have to go through what we are going through."
While Bibas and his partner in Estancia, Isaac Kodsi, point fingers at each other over problems at Estancia, Bibas presses on with Vivendi.
"It's a completely different development entity," said attorney Jeffrey Rembaum, who represents Bibas in the Vivendi proposal.
Bibas, who lists a Hallandale Beach business address, declined requests for comment despite repeated phone calls.
"He meets all the requirements," Rembaum said.
Giving developers incentives to build affordable housing won't help the working families who move in if they get stuck with problems they can't afford to fix, Estancia resident Allison Francis said.
Floor-to-ceiling plastic sheeting stretches across Francis' foyer, with a zipper down the middle, that leads to a bathroom where she says mold treatments have been left unfinished by the builders for eight months.
"This isn't fair to anyone," said Francis, an accountant whose 4-year-old son suffers from asthma. "Work-force housing, that means working people. How are they going to afford to fix this stuff?"
Bibas and Kodsi are the two managing members in Estancia Palm Springs LLC, which developed the neighborhood south of 10th Avenue North, according to records filed with the Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations.
Bibas has since proposed building a 48-home condominium and town home development on the south side of Melaleuca Lane east of Kirk Road near Lake Worth. Bibas is listed as the lone owner of this new development venture, proposed by Vivendi Homes LLC, of which he is listed as the only managing member.
Though state records show the Estancia and Vivendi LLCs listing different suites at the same street address, Kodsi as well as Bibas' attorney say the two have parted ways and that Vivendi is a Bibas project.
Some Estancia residents, frustrated with problems in their homes, argue that Bibas should not be allowed to continue building. After complaining to the developers, they started writing letters to the Village of Palm Springs, detailing construction concerns that include plumbing problems, such as bathtubs leaking into downstairs ceilings; leaky windows and doors and the spread of mold; and electrical issues such as outlets that don't work and lights that dim when the air conditioning is running.
One homeowner wrote that she would get a shock while washing dishes if one of the kitchen switches was turned on.
A retaining wall behind Donna Wong's home is made of stacked bags of cement mix, instead of a poured concrete wall or one reinforced with other supports.
Wong helps lead the group of residents who have been repeating their concerns at county meetings, where Bibas has been trying to win approval for his Vivendi development.
"I wanted a nice little starter," said Wong, a nursing assistant who paid about $200,000 for her Estancia home when she moved north from Miami with her husband in 2005. "It has evolved into a nightmare."
The retaining wall, streetlights that don't work and wiring problems found in some homes are code violations the village can require the developer to address, but leaks and other problems likely need to be settled between the developer and home buyer, said Bette Lowe, Palm Springs' land development director.
"I don't blame the residents for being upset," said Lowe, who authorized more inspections in response to residents' complaints and said the village could end up fixing the wall and charging Estancia developers for the work. But, "It's not so much a code issue, it's a warranty issue."
Kodsi, Bibas' partner in the Estancia development, first said he wasn't aware of any construction problems at Estancia but then acknowledged authorizing some repairs after residents complained.
"That's normal with any builder and any new construction," said Kodsi, an attorney and managing partner of Ark Financial Group of Fort Lauderdale, which finds financing for real estate developments.
Kodsi said the Estancia homes passed Palm Springs' required inspections.
Mold problems at Estancia could have come from investors buying units and leaving the air-conditioning off for months until they resold at a higher price, Kodsi said. He said at least half the homes at Estancia were sold to investors. Residents could also be to blame for their mold problems, he said.
"Was somebody's toilet leaking and they neglected fixing it [or] did they leave their window open?" he asked.
Estancia residents acknowledge that many buyers bought from investors, but they contend that problems such as leaks and electrical issues occurred because of structural deficiencies from the initial construction.
Kodsi said he was the financial partner and that Bibas handled construction of Estancia.
County officials say they sympathize with residents' concerns, but they lack jurisdiction because Estancia was built in Palm Springs. In addition, they say they can't factor in the problems at Estancia when deciding whether to approve Bibas' new mix of condominiums and town homes.
If Bibas' new neighborhood follows county guidelines, it is eligible for affordable housing incentives, Zoning Director Jon MacGillis said.
To move the project forward, county zoning commissioners have called for Bibas to appear at their meeting next Thursday.
Estancia residents plan to be there to face off with Bibas — if they can get through the malfunctioning neighborhood gate. Residents say the gate sometimes shuts down or bangs into cars as they try to pass.
"I will keep going," said Francis, who paid about $243,000 for her home and acknowledges that publicizing her neighborhood's faults likely hurts her already-declining property values. "We're willing to sacrifice our well-being so no one else has to go through this."
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