Even with nearly $300,000 of documented structural defects in a Lennar home at 6111 Yeats Manor Drive, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s office maintains that the home met home construction codes and passed inspection. I was shocked at what his office said.
After sending a message to the Tampa Mayor, Bob Buckhorn, and his office, I received a response the next day via email. Here is the email from Thomas Snelling:
Mr. Fannin,
I am asking my Construction Manager to reach out and you can discuss with him your situation in regard to the issues with your home.
Marvin,
Below is the customer service message Mr. Fannin sent. Please take a look and reach out to Mr. Fannin.
The first email I receive from the Office of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. It is from Thomas Snelling and indicating that Marvin Dryden, Construction Manager, should reach out to me.
I responded to Thomas Snelling and Marvin Dryden promptly with this email:
I responded to the Office of Mayor Buckhorn promptly.
Shortly after, I thought I would send the more pertinent parts of this site to facilitate the initial conversation, so I sent this email to Thomas Snelling and Marvin Dryden with the relevant links:
Thomas, Marvin and RoseMary-
I have been organizing a lot of information to help facilitate conversations around these issues. These might be helpful to read before we talk to provide you some higher-level background information.
- Background Information and History of My Lennar Home
- People Get Sick in My Lennar Home
- My Lennar Home is Making Me Sick
There is also a section on the ongoing construction problems and communications with Lennar. I’m trying to update often, so not everything is there as of yet.
Second email to the office of Mayor Buckhorn sending information to hopefully jump start the conversation on what is happening in my Lennar home at 6111 Yeats Manor Dr. in Tampa, Florida.
None of the links are clicked or viewed – I receive a response
I noticed that none of the links to the email were clicked, yet I received a response just a little over an hour later indicating that Mayor Buckhorn’s office essentially couldn’t be of any assistance in the matter.
Mayor Buckhorn’s office responds without even reading any of the information I sent – much less a conversation of any kind. The green column indicates links clicked in the email. They are all at zero at the time of the response below – and as of now still.
@Lennar your houses are absolutely the epitome of INCOMPETENCE. You should be ashamed. When our neighbors are professional tradespeople and explain to us what you did wrong, it is mind boggling how poorly these houses are "built."
— Amy Cole (@amycole96) January 4, 2018
Here is the email:
Mr. Fannin,
Of course we feel badly about the things that are happening to you because of your home. The Planning and Development group issues a review and approve the land use, issue a permit, and complete inspections on the structure based on the minimum standard of construction. We do NOT perform quality control or even inspect components beyond the minimum standard provided by the code. So for example we do NOT water test a new roof. It may be leaking, but still installed per the minimum standard of the code. The licensed contractor would have a responsibility to repair the conditions that come from that deficiency, and they even provide you a 1 year warranty to cover those types of deficiencies. Your contractor, Lennar homes would be your point of contact for warranty repairs during that period.
I researched your project and it had all of the required inspections. So our position would be that the home was constructed to the “minimum standard” of construction provided by the Florida Building Code (at the time of the permit). That doesn’t mean that there were not flaws or deficiencies. It simply means that what we inspected was to the minimum standard of construction.
Clearly your best path is to litigate this as a civil matter. We the permitting authority, do not have the ability to go back on a project that was final this long ago. Once again, the best path for resolution for you is to pursue civil resolution.
Please feel free to reach out to me at any time if you have further questions,
Marvin Dryden
Construction Services Center Manager, Planning and Development
The Tampa Mayor’s office responded with essentially, “We can’t help” after not even having a conversation or reading (to my knowledge and technology) any of the information I sent about my home at 6111 Yeats Manor in the Westshore Yacht Club.
This email prompted a ton of questions from me. The next email from the Mayor’s office answers the questions I have. I’m not sure if the answers made me scared, mad or confused.
Even with nearly $300,000 of documented structural defects in the home, Bob Buckhorn’s office maintains that the home met home construction codes and passed inspection. His office is primarily responsible for issuing permits and ensuring the construction meets code.
Sounds like a deep-rooted situation. Follow the 💰💰💰trail…you'll find out who's protecting the company.
— Dr. Florida Starks (@drflostar) November 13, 2017
Next communication from Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s office: Q&A With Tampa Mayor’s Office – I’m Confused Now
Previous communication from Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s office: Message to Mayor Buckhorn – “Can You Please Help?”
Code Violations and Bad and Unsafe Workmanship are the reasons behind this inspection . Do I trust anyone affiliated with Lennar ? Absolutely Not. Have No Idea who Lennar has in their pockets . pic.twitter.com/EiaeRngtMY
— Neal Diamond (@DiamondNealauto) January 4, 2018
Note: As of the date of this publication, all the Lennar executives went silent and none of the construction repairs were ever made, including the promised replacements of two, improperly installed and defective A/C units causing extensive mold exposure and health issues.
