Couple buys "dream" log home kit, turns out to be nightmare (March 5, 2004)
We recently received a letter from Rick & Debra Shannon of Minot, Maine. After years of dreaming about owning a log home, they bought a log home kit from a well-known kit company. The kit manufacturer recommended a builder, whom they hired to assemble the kit. Unfortunately the builder never finished the house and quit the job. Several builders later they have a house with no roof (and many things wrong with the house itself). They've put up a website to let everyone know what can happen. It's at http://www.reliablebuildersinmaine.com/.
If you are thinking about buying a kit log home, you owe it to yourself to spend just a few minutes reading Rick & Debra's log home construction diary. You'll be glad you did.
Log home kit manufacturer contaminates soil with preservatives, goes out of business (November 22, 2004)
Here's a great reason to build your own log home -- you can use natural, preservative-free logs (if you build it correctly). In Massachusetts a kit builder went out of business in 1993, leaving an 8-acre property that was contaminated with pentachlorophenol and has been taken over by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The cleanup is expected to cost the town millions.
What they don't mention in the article is what happens to all of the people who bought log home kits treated with those chemicals from the kit manufacturer. Manufacturers of log home kits today still treat their logs with chemicals, although they usually only use "approved" treatments -- but how long until today's treatments are found to be toxic to humans?
As the article points out, the log home kit manufacturer went out of business and left behind no assets or funding to clean up the site. That means there is probably no one for the buyers of their log home kits to sue if they get sick from the chemicals in their logs.
You can read the original story here: Log home kit manufacturer contaminates soil and goes out of business
Here's an interesting quote from the article:
The 8-acre property has been dormant since 1993. Prior to that, it housed New England Log Homes, a company that cut and treated wood for the construction of log dwellings.
When New England Log Homes Inc. went out of business, subsequent studies revealed high concentrations of dioxins and pentachlorophenol in the soil. Both are considered toxic agents in humans.
Confounding the situation is the legal status of New England Log Homes, which is basically a defunct Massachusetts corporation with no assets and no funding to clean up the site. The town of Great Barrington, in partnership with the CDC, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency, has worked for more than a decade to fund a cleanup and restoration of the site.
http://www.mariarose.com/logcabin.htm
Our favorite quote from this story: "Also in April, 1995, we talked with John Leeper, editor of 'Log Homes Illustrated'. Our story and photos were sent to him previously, but he said they couldn't, and wouldn't publish our ordeal because the log home company ads are what keeps his magazine in business."
Save the Shumways! One family's log home nightmare.
Be sure and read owner reports about your log home "kit" company before you buy. You can find reviews and reports at Log Home Reports online. However, you should be cautious of believing any review there from an anonymous source.
http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/unpubeo/Oct02/eo02158.htm lawsuit over defective design and materials, it seems that the suit was dismissed on technicality! Many kit builders know they make horrible homes so they stack the deck against the buyers. If you are planning to buy a log home kit make sure you understand the contract before you sign anything!
http://www.dor.state.nc.us/practitioner/hearing/2003-292s.pdf Did you know that many jurisdictions charge sales tax on kit log homes? A couple tries to petition for relief from undisclosed tax burden… DENIED! A couple who bought a kit log home didn't know that there should have been state sales tax collected on the sale (at the time of the sale)... and end up having to pay it 5 years later. Sometimes log home kits are subject to state sales tax, buyers often are not informed of that tax burden to make the total cost seem less expensive.
http://consumerlawpage.com/article/penta.shtml Here’s a lawsuit over toxic and carcinogenic 'preservatives' used in log homes -- class action potential. Sounds like you can become embalmed before you die just by living in a home treated with the typical preservatives used in kit log homes. There are things you must know about preservatives and log homes before buying or building a log home. If done properly a homeowner will experience ZERO exposure to any preservative – if done improperly it could lead to life long health complications.
http://www.law.emory.edu/1circuit/sept96/95-2084.01a.html A Circuit Court Judge (who bought a kit log home) sues a log home manufacture because she had a toxic reaction to preservatives used on her log home. Who wants to live in a un-natural toxic cesspool and end up suffering from "symptoms of gastritis, and... Intermittent stomach and back pain [due to an] elevated level of pentachlorophenol" in their body!!!! This was a problem that could have been entirely avoided with just a little bit of knowledge.
http://www.court.state.nd.us/court/opinions/9792.htm A manufacturer of kit log homes is sued ... they claim they aren't subject to state law (in the purchasers home state) since their headquarters are in a different state. Of course the kit log home manufacturer selected a state to operate out of where the laws did not favor consumers. Never mind what's moral... let's just stick with what's 'legal.'
www.state.in.us/judiciary/opinions/wpd/07170301.jts.doc A lawsuit over 'alleged' fraudulent activity of a kit builder ... problems with defective materials and inferior workmanship apparently means that a kit builders insurance carrier can deny coverage -- because such defects are not an 'occurrence' that are covered by insurance (yeah sure, we got insurance... don't worry and just sign the contract lol). Manufacturers of kit log homes and builders often make it sound like they have ‘full coverage’ insurance that will protect the consumer no matter what. In reality the insurance companies are seldom liable for the horrible problems that often develop in poorly designed and constructed kit log homes.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=mo&vol=/appeals/082001/&invol=15082801_2001 A builder of kit log homes is sued over "misrepresentation, breach of warranty [and] inhabitability" of structure... an engineer even told the homeowners that "it was dangerous to live in the house in the condition in which it had been left.” He testified that the home was “inadequately designed, constructed and built, and was in the process of collapsing.” (and it hadn't even been completed yet!)
http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Superior/out/a35038_02.PDF A person who purchased a log home kit ends up getting a species of logs that he did not order – and on top of that the logs were improperly seasoned too. The improperly seasoned logs caused major problems, which could not be repaired; in fact attempts to ‘repair’ the logs only made the matter worse. Don’t builders of kit log homes have insurance for this sort of thing? Well, the kit builder's insurance company was originally held liable, but they appealed that ruling and ended up not having to pay for their client’s breach of contract and ‘problematic’ construction practices.
http://www.wallacejordan.com/decisions/Opinions2002/1000787.htm A man who buys a kit log home discovers that 1) his foundation is not level 2) his doors and windows do not fit correctly 3) the sheetrock job is substandard 4) electrical work has not been done properly, et cetera... “Inspectors pronounced [the home] substandard' before it was even completed.” This kind of story is far more common than you might imagine, the maxim of ‘Caveat Emptor” reigns supreme within the kit log home industry.
http://www.mslawyer.com/mssc/ctapp/960423/93-711.html A manufacturer of kit log homes is charged with breach of contract for failing to honor clearly expressed warranties. Note how the builder and manufacturer try to blame each other in court -- no one wants to be accountable. Both parties can hide behind this finger pointing game, dragging out the legal proceedings, while the consumer is left with a log home that they can’t live in.
http://wings.buffalo.edu/law/bclc/web/nynorman.html Two builders of kit log homes are accused of larceny by the state of NY -- for taking payments from consumers yet failing to deliver log homes as promised. This occurs more often than you think, but usually the kit builders just hide behind bankruptcy.
http://www.mariarose.com/logcabin.htm This site contains a great comment about kit magazines -- "Also in April, 1995, we talked with John Leeper, editor of ‘Log Homes Illustrated.’ Our story and photos were sent to him previously, but he said they couldn't, and wouldn't publish our ordeal because the log home company ads are what keeps his magazine in business."
http://www.tycolaw.com/newsletter_fall_03.html The Indiana court of appeals rules that the insurance carriers of kit log home builders ARE NOT responsible for construction defects in the log homes that they build. In other words, the kit builders buy insurance to cover the building process, but the insurance company is not liable for damages that result from 'bad construction practices.' This ruling gives insurance companies a lot of wiggle room to get off the hook, making it easier for them to deny the claims of people who own poorly built kit log homes.
http://www.ai.org/judiciary/opinions/archive/08280302.ewn.html Manufacturers of kit log homes often hide behind a 'forum selection clause.' As a consumer you NEED to understand this legal principle and how it impacts your rights to sue.
http://www.wallacejordan.com/decisions/Opinions2002/1000787.htm
http://www.mslawyer.com/mssc/ctapp/960423/93-711.html
http://wings.buffalo.edu/law/bclc/web/nynorman.html