Several homeowners in the upscale Del Webb community at Lake Las Vegas say their luxury homes are falling apart just five years after being built.
Attorney Norberto Cisneros represents five homeowners who say their homes, each worth over $1 million, are showing major structural problems because the ground beneath them is shifting.
“They believe they bought a wonderful home, and instead they bought a lemon,” Cisneros told FOX5.
One homeowner’s house is now tilting an inch and a half from back to front. Another described large cracks in nearly every wall, including one that stretches across the bedroom ceiling.
The floor tiles are separating in the kitchen, and patios are pulling away from the homes.
“We can see inside the wall,” said FOX5’s Kim Passoth while walking through one of the properties.
Cisneros said the soil underneath the ridge-line homes was not compacted properly before construction. That mistake, he said, is now causing widespread instability.
“There are severe soils compaction problems out here,” he said.
“Basically, when they built this community, they gutted it out, took all the soils, and they have to re-compact it before they build the homes on top of it. They did not compact the soils properly here.”
‘Dreams Are Shattered’
Homeowners say the damage is growing worse each week.
“I’m very careful how I walk because everything is unstable and uneven,” said resident Willie Barron. “I can’t afford to fall.”
“You know that as each day goes by, a week goes by, things are moving,” said Larry Skow. “It’s very disturbing because you know that your home is going to get worse.”
When asked if their dream home had become a nightmare, homeowner John Penn replied, “Dreams are shattered.”
Some are concerned a natural disaster could result in total collapse.
“If that happens and if it’s large enough, the wall will collapse,” Penn said.
“This house will go down and affect the houses below us.”
Repairs Could Cost Hundreds of Thousands
Cisneros estimates that stabilizing each home would require lifting it and redoing the foundation soils, a process that could cost $300,000 to $500,000 per house.
Under Nevada law, homeowners must notify the builder before suing. The builder then has 90 days to investigate, offer repairs, or deny responsibility. According to Cisneros, that period has passed.
“What they said is, ‘We’re willing to do further investigation,’ which is not an appropriate response under NRS Chapter 40,” Cisneros said.
“We’re not even at a point where they’ve offered any repairs at all.”
PulteGroup Responds
PulteGroup, the builder of the homes, responded in a statement to FOX5: “We stand behind the quality of homes we deliver. We are actively engaged with homeowners in assessing their concerns and addressing warranty-related repairs to their homes.”
Cisneros said he is aware of other attorneys working with more affected homeowners in the community.
If PulteGroup does not agree to fix the homes, he said a lawsuit will be filed.
For now, residents are left waiting and watching as their dream homes slowly break apart, uncertain if help will come before more damage is done.