‘A 4-year nightmare’: Florida couples say contractor left dream retirement homes ‘incomplete and uninhabitable.’ What every homeowner should know

“Everything that we read online was good. Everything that we heard, word of mouth, was good. He had all these awards. He was president of this association and that association,” Kristen Kramer told Newsweek (1).

Homebuyers were told that building delays were related to Hurricane Ian, which struck the state in September 2022. But, by 2024, Beattie Development had gone into liquidation after accumulating more than $11.5 million in debt. Dozens of customers lost money — in some cases, their life savings.

The Florida-based home builder is accused of taking money for unfinished homes and currently faces dozens of lawsuits. But that’s cold comfort for many of the builder’s clients. The Kramers, for example, had to come up with an additional $300,000 — on top of what they’d already paid — to finish their home, which was only 60% completed.

Many frustrated customers have already filed proof of claim, hoping to get some of their money back, according to Wink News (2).

Courtney Dellinger-Porter told Newsweek that Beattie Development left her home “incomplete and uninhabitable,” describing the experience as “a four-year nightmare filled with empty promises, repeated delays and, ultimately, financial loss.”

Understanding homeowner protections

From April 1, 2026 through April 1, 2030, Florida is expected to add an average of 305,953 net new residents per year, or about 838 a day, which is fueling a construction boom — and attracting both legitimate builders and opportunistic contractors (3).

At the same time, Florida homeowners have fewer legal protections than they did a decade ago. These weakened consumer protections have left many homeowners vulnerable — particularly retirees who can’t easily restart financially if a project collapses. And there’s often little recourse when builders abandon a project.

In 2023, Florida lawmakers passed Senate Bill 360, which reduces the amount of time homeowners can file a claim for construction defects from 10 years down to seven (4).

This protects builders “because now they’re not responsible for another three-year period,” Tampa insurance attorney Dave Murray told Fox 13. In some cases, homeowners are required to sign an NDA, or non-disclosure agreement, in order for the builder to make necessary repairs, which protects unscrupulous builders rather than homeowners (5).

Murray told Fox 13 that Florida’s faulty home construction crisis is a result of contractors who aren’t “directing, supervising, managing or controlling the construction” and in many cases are “relying upon unlicensed subs to do their work and not going back and checking it.”

However, protections vary significantly by state. Some states require builders to offer structural warranties for newly built homes — which cover roofing, plumbing and foundation issues — for one to 10 years. These warranties can protect homebuyers from construction defects that aren’t noticeable until after they move in.

Builders in California, for example, typically provide 10-year warranties for structural elements and at least one year for general workmanship (fit and finish). General building contractors and specialty contractors must also be licensed for projects valued at $500 or more in labor and materials.

Still, retirees spending their life savings on new construction may not realize how limited their rights are (depending on what state they’re in) — until a project collapses.