The Horror Home
Home building is slowing down due to interest rates, but the shocking number of stories about mold in new homes are too many to ignore…..this time it’s a HOUSE HORROR story bought to you by HIGHLAND HOMES…. And there are termites too..
Happy kids.
Happy family.
And Gregory Grand had just moved his wife, son and daughter, into a beautiful new home out in Katy.
“It was a dream. Yeah, it was a dream,” Gregory Grand said.
But soon his dream was full of holes.
“You need to send me quickly a professional. I’m a little bit scared right now…” Elea Grand said.
Within three months of moving into a 700-thousand-dollar home built just for them by Highland Homes.
The house was making them sick.
“We’ve been exposing the epidemic of moldy homes all across the Houston area,” Wayne Dolcefino told the camera.
“On the inspection report there are still quite a few things that need to be done,” says Elea.
Elea and Gregory Grand were first-time homebuyers, and they tried to keep up with the construction in the neighborhood called Cane Island.
“Once insulation gets installed we have another round of inspectors,” said Bennett Bowles
They even made checklists to make sure the problems they caught were being fixed by Highland Homes before they finalized the deal.
They celebrated a joyous Christmas in their new home.
“The whole thing of having your own home and the kids were so happy because they had finally, they have their own rooms and they were so happy,” said Gregory.
But that happiness faded quickly, after just 3 months. Gregory’s dad passed away in France. And when they returned to Katy, just two weeks later…more grief.
“After my father in France and you come back here and your home…” Gregory said.
The house was being eaten right before their eyes.
“Like every day we would find like new little holes from the termites,” Gregory said.
Highland Homes supposedly told them they were seeing ants, not termites.
The Grands started documenting the bugs both inside and outside.
Highland refused to see their growing problem.
“That’s why we didn’t want to talk to them anymore after that. Like saying, no, no, no, you don’t have any problem. No, no, no. The termites, they are not termites, they are ants. Ok, that’s termite. But they are only here,” explained Gregory.
So the Grands had an independent inspection done in April 2023.
Their home was actively infested with Formosan termites, the most aggressive kind of the bug.
Could the termites have spread to other homes?
“One morning we woke up, we had like a basket right here, right under here, a basket full of water because it was raining the night before, and here is exactly where the big termite nest is in the attic,” Gregory showed us.
Leaks in the roof had sent streams of water into the house. Making the termite invasion even worse.
And then the family began getting sick.
“My wife started to cough and two mornings she started to, had some blood coming out. And our kids were also having fevers.”
And in May, the kids’ pediatrician was treating them for illnesses brought on by mold he said. And it’s not the first time we’ve heard that story.
“I have so many clients that they’re having life-altering health issues with their children, even very, very small children,” said Linda Lauver, Mold Expert.
The Grands moved out a long time ago, but we went to their mold contamination expert Linda Lauver of AQ Testing.
“So when you have termites, that means you have moisture. And so, then we did some testing. We found we identified some mold,” Linda continued.
But Linda saw other dangerous warning signs.
The vinyl flooring, she said, was coming up. The slab was obviously wet and moldy too.
That led to tests on the concrete
“It’s hard to believe that the Highland House of horrors could get worse… but it did,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“We’ve discovered that the slab and the concrete they use is really porous and had a really bad quality,” Gregory said.
Linda says it allowed water to seep in, and weaken the entire foundation.
“This house is kind of a perfect storm. They have significant foundation issues. They’ve got the mold issues and they’ve got the termite issue,” said Linda.
Highland Homes is a Plano, Texas company in business for 40 years.
According to Builder Magazine, it builds more than 3-thousand homes a year in Texas.
Look…
Right now, it’s building homes in neighborhoods all around the Houston area.
“How can you say trustful? Is that a really trustful builder?” said Gregory.
Highland Homes won’t talk to us about the horror story unfolding in Cane Island.
But we’ve found a pattern emerging with these builders. Like other builders, they wanted to keep our video from being seen publicly if they settled the case before it aired. Too late.
“It was a dream. It was a dream and now…. like, it’s a nightmare,” expressed Gregory.
“Their house is uninhabitable,” said Ernest Freeman.
“Even worse than a nightmare,” Gregory added.
The Grands hired attorney Ernest Freeman, he’s been studying the defects in Highland Homes.
“We represent, at any given time, a number of homeowners in this area that have Highland Homes. And we get a lot of calls about that builder,” said Freeman.
It’s what happens when you buy a house and can’t seem to get the problems fixed before you move in.
“We don’t think they probably treated the foundation or beneath the foundation. We believe that Highland failed to take early preventative measures in the construction of the house to, you know, guard against wood-eating insects to include termites,” Freeman continued.
It’s a long, and often an expensive fight to seek justice. In addition to the termites, the mold, and the foundation, experts found even more defects.
Can you believe?
A sagging ceiling. Unsealed windows. Misaligned doors.
A consultant hired to figure out how much it would cost to repair the house, if it’s possible. Says it may cost more than 737 thousand dollars.
“For no fault of Mr. and Mrs. Grant. They didn’t cause these problems. It’s completely on the builder, and the builder should take responsibility for it. And we’ll make sure that they do,” stated Freman.
The Grands lawsuit against Highland Homes alleges negligence, breach of contract, and common law fraud.
Grand says he now has evidence Highland Homes didn’t fully treat the frame of the house for mold.
Quoting:
‘Mold proliferation in the home is believed to be the product of building science defects leading to excess high humidity and condensation.’
Here’s an indication that the Grand’s foundation issues may not be a one-off.
Look at this 2024 Better Business complaint about another Highland Homes foundation settling. The ceiling cracking. Cement already breaking away from the slab.
Sound familiar?
“It has been an emotional journey. Very hard. Now that my money is almost gone. When you face this hard kind of situation that’s hard. You know, that’s hard as a father,” Gregory said.
Highland Homes isn’t the only builder being sued for moldy homes.
“The problem is widespread. Texas lawmakers need to start paying attention,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“I don’t know how we get these builders to start building better homes and being aware of the damage they’re causing. In the long run, what we have is a health crisis and a financial crisis. You know, families fall apart under this kind of pressure,” declared Linda.
“Because right now, I’m not free. I’m paying every month a very big mortgage, while paying also a second rental, while paying everything. So, I’m not free,” Gregory said.
“It’s been two years that we are fighting for it, so I hope the future will be brighter,” Gregory concluded.
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