Well there was drama, but at the end of the day, the tax credit for home buyers will be extended to September 30th.

Great News For Local Markets

Now, areas where the EWM Guys list and sell homes will once again create a sense of urgency and facilitate more transaction that might normally be realized.

Broward County To Stay Hot

Areas like Weston, Davie, Southwest Ranches, Plantation, Southwest Ranches, Sunshine Ranches, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Hollywood, Hallandale, Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale will all benefit from this news.  The market is beat up but sales have been brisk and the uptick in activity is a positive for the industry!

For more updates bookmark us or feel free to add a comment.  The EWM Guys would love to hear from you!

The Chinese Drywall case against Banner Supply was underway with jury selection Monday morning in front of Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Joseph P. Farina. The suit alleges that Banner was aware of the product’s defects and never informed customers.

Determination Made Against Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin

A federal judge already decided earlier this year that the German & China-based drywall maker (Knauf) had manufactured sub-standard products which release sulfur at higher levels than normal, causing corrosion of electrical wiring and metals.  But this is the first time that homeowners are taking a building supply distributor.

A Little Background

For those that like numbers, an estimated 550 million pounds of Chinese drywall was imported between 2004 and 2007 (enough to complete 60,000 homes). The concentration of lawsuits however, seems to be overwhelming in Florida, representing over 50% of all claims filed thus far.  One South Florida plaintiff’s attorney rightly commented, “The world has not seen a problem like before.  You’re being attacked by your own walls in your house.  it’s destroying your investment and stealing your peace.”

In Defense, It Was Not All About Cost-Cutting

many of us would like to just assume that distributors and suppliers had a choice when it came to drywall product but actually, it was not that simple.  During the height of the housing boom in 2006, a majority of U.S. drywall manufacturers shut down operations to conduct mandatory maintenance.  Other manufacturers stateside simply couldn’t keep up with demand forcing distributors to look abroad.  So the intent on distributors to simply be more profitable seems less likely.

The Start Of One Big Mess

Bottom Line:  He said, she said will be going for years.  The drywall is defective and is causing major problems.  That is a non-issue or will be soon.  the more important questions are who is responsible, how do we right the situation if a safe and  least intrusive way and make the families dealing with these issues whole?  Stay tuned for more update soon.

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