May 22, 2026
“Your home is sinking,” the engineer told the Horios, who’d hired him to inspect their house. He’d dropped a marble on their kitchen floor and watched it roll straight to the wall.
Beth Horio and her husband Blake bought a home from PulteGroup. She told The Wall Street Journal their problems began soon thereafter: cracks spread across the ceiling, and the foundation was sinking. They’re now embroiled in a legal dispute with the home builder.
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“We worked hard to get here and we can’t enjoy our home,” Beth Horio said. “I can’t even have coffee outside. I can’t get outside.” The Horios are far from alone.
‘Heartbreaking’: Owners say their dream homes are falling apart
Tabatha Hayden, a paraplegic mom of five, bought her Louisiana home because it was accessible and affordable. Her dream home promised a ramp to the porch, wide doorways, a pond out back that reminded her husband of his bayou childhood. Now, one of her children has developed a sinus condition, another skin rashes, and a third chronic headaches.
The reason: allegedly inadequate ventilation and a poorly placed HVAC system. Mold infests the house. Hayden told The Wall Street Journal, “It’s heartbreaking because we literally bought this house thinking it was going to be our forever home.” Now, the Haydens are involved in the Louisiana litigation against D.R. Horton, the homebuilder.
Mac Deford, a South Carolina homeowner, echoes a similar story. During the first summer of his new home, he noticed lots of mold on his clothes and other surfaces. Deford told Live5News he had little luck complaining to Lennar, his building developer. Deford said Lennar responded by “trying to sway [us] just by telling us this is completely normal.”
Homebuilders like Lennar and D.R. Horton are facing a wave of claims of poor construction. In its FY2025 annual report, D.R. Horton acknowledges that “our potential liabilities related to warranty and construction defect claims are significant.” The company resolved 405 construction-defect claims last year, more than double the number it resolved in 2022.
In response to inquiries by Hunterbrook Media, D.R. Horton said it “consistently deliver[s] top-quality new homes.” It also said it provides “a robust new home warranty” to buyers. Lennar did not respond to comment.
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How to protect yourself, before and after closing
Hunterbrook Media, which is working with plaintiffs’ attorneys on potential lawsuits against the builders, describes a “three-step playbook” used to trap homebuyers in shoddy homes. Sellers rush homebuyers to close, builders debate and delay warranty requests, and builders force homeowners into arbitration.
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Hollington Law Firm, LLC, suggests homebuyers hire an independent inspector before closing. Even when homes are new, “inspections can identify issues that are not immediately visible.”
Why independent? The issue lies with homebuilder industry incentives. Robert Knowles, a home inspector who heads the National Association of Homeowners, told Hunterbrook: “There’s only bonuses for speed and volume.”
It may be worth hiring an inspector post-closing, too. D.R. Horton’s and Lennar’s standard warranties both expire after one year on workmanship issues (cosmetic, paint, etc.). Hiring an inspector at 11 months could give you time to address issues that arise before the warranty expires. Mechanical warranties tend to expire in two years — structural, 10.
Homebuyers may want to have an attorney check their contracts before signing. Big-builder contracts routinely route disputes into private arbitration, which may lead homeowners to lose lawsuits. The American Association for Justice said in 2022, only 0.7% of consumers won monetary awards in forced arbitration, a steep drop from prior years.
Attorneys can also catch clauses that waive your rights to warranties given to you by state laws, or that force you to give up a deposit after backing out of a bad deal.
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Cole Tretheway has been covering money for four years. He started as an intern at The Motley Fool Money, covering best-of credit cards, savings accounts, and financial products. He's since expanded into wholistic personal finances, including the psychology of money.
