Home buyers sue builders of modular home

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, Oct 24, 2003 by Cathy Kingsley

What was supposed to be Rita and Lewis Nolan Daugherty's dream home has turned into somewhat of a nightmare. After numerous delays and construction problems, the modular home that took nearly a year to complete sits empty.

The Daughertys are suing Hytek Investments Inc., d/b/a/ First Choice Homes, for breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation and punitive damages. They are looking for a judgment in the amount of $135,000 plus interest at the rate of 12 percent from the date of contract, an award of plaintiffs' attorney's fees, court costs incurred and for other relief that the court deems proper.

The Daughertys contend that First Choice Homes failed to complete construction on their home in a timely manner and allowed damage to occur to the home, including water damage and mold. They also claim that construction, repairs and modifications performed on the home are not in compliance with the building code of Jefferson County and are of poor quality and workmanship.

The Daughertys had initially set out to purchase a mobile home from First Choice Homes in Fenton. On Sept. 29, 2002, they entered into a purchase agreement for a double-wide trailer home for $71,154.48. They paid $500 in earnest money.

Because they wanted to have a staircase leading to the downstairs area instead of the fireplace that was already there, First Choice suggested they purchase a modular home instead with the same outlay as the mobile home but for approximately $8,000 to $9,000 more.

A couple of weeks later, the Daughertys agreed to have First Choice Homes construct a modular home with a staircase leading to the basement from the den.

The Daughertys say they were told they could move into the modular home before the end of the year, but work was not begun until Jan. 7, 2003, when workers started digging for the basement.

On Feb. 7, the plaintiffs got a construction loan in the amount of $135,000.

No work was done on the home from the end of January until April. The Daughertys claim they made several attempts to contact First Choice on the progress of the home but with no resolution.

On April 25, they spoke with Tim Donaldson, an employee of Hytek, and he told them they could move in by Memorial Day weekend.

On May 14, the modular home was inspected by the Jefferson County plumbing inspector. It did not pass inspection.

About a week later, the home was moved to what was to become its permanent location in House Springs, next door to the Daughertys' house.

It took about a week and a half to put on the siding and the roof. As a result of the delay, the bedroom ceiling in the corner of the house got mildew and mold. First Choice Homes was told about the mold condition of the house, so a 4-foot section was replaced in the ceiling.

The target date of Memorial Day weekend had come and gone.

Nolan Daugherty spoke to employee Donaldson again in early June, and they discussed the plumbing situation. Nolan told them that if they could not do a better job, he would do it himself.

On June 12, a contractor's employee from A&M Pumper looked at the plumbing in the kitchen and master bath and determined that it was all wrong. He suggested they get a licensed plumber to redo the pipes.

Later that month, two men showed up to redo the plumbing, but it was still not done correctly, according to the plaintiffs.

It was at this point the Daughertys asked their lender to stop disbursing payment vouchers.

Enough is enough, Rita Daugherty said. We had enough of the deceitfulness going on and the shoddy workmanship.

In addition to the plumbing and other problems, she said the house was not the house they had originally ordered.

It never was the house we designed, she said. I know it wasn't our house, the windows, doors, things like that.

President of Hytek Investments Lauren Mongie said that it was the house they ordered.

The cabinetry in the home was a little different, but not all manufacturers use the same product, he said.

After Mongie was notified of the stop on payments, he called Nolan Daugherty and told him he now knew what kind of man he was dealing with. He then called the loan officer for the construction loan and got him to start making payments again.

Some additional work was done on the house, but on Sept. 12, Hytek had the locks changed on the home, keeping the Daughertys from entering and inspecting the home.

Mongie said it was simply a matter of course to change the locks.

I'm required to do that, he said. The lender holds me accountable to assure that someone doesn't take possession until three days after the permanent close.

The modular home, which normally takes three to four months to complete, was now in its ninth month of construction.

First of all, the delays were all caused by Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty, Mongie said. There were three delays during the entire process.

The first delay was when they weren't ready to get a construction loan, he said. The second delay was when Rita's mother was ill. Nolan said, `My wife's mother's ill; we can't think about it right now,' Mongie said.