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A DEVASTATED homeowner has been left without a new garage after paying $36,000 for the updates, and a special fund intended to protect residents refused to get his money back.
St. Augustine, Florida, resident Greg Rockwell claimed he hired construction contractor Arcadian Developments to rebuild his garage in August 2018.
“It used to be a carport,” Rockwell explained to Jacksonville CBS affiliate WJAX.
“I wanted to have a nice garage to store my cars in.”
Soon after, Arcadian Developments quoted the homeowner $56,125 for the renovations, according to documents obtained by the outlet.
Rockwell paid a total of $36,481.25 across four separate payments for the work, which had allegedly had problems right when construction began.
“From the start, he took my money and did very little or did it wrong,” the homeowner claimed of Arcadian Developments.
Then, according to Rockwell, the contractor left town with the project unfinished and the money gone.
The Florida resident took action, seeking out the assistance of the state in a judgment against Arcadian Developments for $36,000.
Rockwell then submitted the judgment from his lawsuit to a special fund set up for homeowners in Florida designed to protect them from similar situations involving incomplete or mismanaged projects — or contractors who make false statements.
It’s called the Homeowner’s Construction Recovery Fund, but it might not be as helpful as homeowners like Rockwell expected it to be.
Data gathered by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation revealed that only 220 out of 501 homeowners who filed claims with the fund were approved since 2021, per WJAX.
That’s about 43 percent — leaving 41 percent still waiting to hear back and 16 percent denied.
Rockwell told the outlet he was one of the 16 percent with his claim rejected at a hearing.
He claimed the Homeowner’s Construction Recovery Fund denied his request for payment after completing the work himself — rather than seeking another contractor and paying them for the renovations.
“When I got there, they said, ‘You didn’t lose money so we can’t grant you money,” Rockwell claimed.
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“‘I lost $36,000 — doesn’t that count for something?’ They said, ‘No since you did the [rest of the] work and didn’t pay someone else.”
Due to a decision by Florida state officials in 2016, Rockwell still would have lost money because of an adjustment to the fund’s disbursement amount maximum.
After initially being set at $50,000, it was dropped to $25,000 or $15,000 depending on the type of contractor, according to WJAX.
That means Rockwell still would have been out around $11,000.
Board-certified construction attorney Barry Ansbacher explained to the news station that the Homeowner’s Construction Recovery Fund has a limited pot to deal out cash from, with a set amount of $4.5 million annually.
That means claims are on a first-come-first-serve basis, and homeowners have to hope there’s money left and they acted fast enough.
“It really provides no value to consumers in my experience,” the attorney said.
“In most instances, you may easily spend more than the $15,000 or $25,000 going that far.”
State officials were contacted by WJAX about the process and issued the following response.
“Many complaints against licensed contractors are confidential until probable cause is found,” a spokesperson said.
With the unpredictability of the fund, Ansbacher stressed that homeowners looking to hire contractors for work request that they provide a performance bond.
The bond is guaranteed by an insurance company, so it will be funded entirely if the contractor leaves the project or completes work that does not match up with the plans laid out.
For Rockwell, likely, he’ll never see the $36,481.25 again.
He claimed that he attempted to contact the owner of Arcadian Developments, but the contractor seemingly relocated to Georgia.
Rockwell warned other homeowners to take precautionary measures.
“You just can’t trust anybody,” he said.
“Don’t give anyone money until the job is done.”
The U.S. Sun was unable to reach Arcadian Developments for comment on Rockwell’s claims at the time of publishing.
