Michelle Semple’s downstairs toilet backed up, and her shower flooded a week after she closed on her new house. Semple called a plumber to find a dropped plumbing cap that had gone down a drain during earlier renovations. She spent roughly $650 on that initial problem. But the issues would only worsen over time.
Semple bought her house from 508 Investments LLC for $555,000 in December 2021. 508 Investments LLC bought the house for $395,000 in June and “flipped” it over the next six months with the help of the building company BMK Building Group. (It’s important to note that Ted Bertuca Jr., the president of 508, and Logan King, the CEO of BMK Construction Group, are both members of the same family.) The same family had already owned the house since 1963. Online images make it a typical Nashville renovation: BMK painted the pink bathroom from the 1960s white, and all of the home’s fixtures are light greys and whites.
After the initial leak, 508’s real estate agent was contacted by Semple’s agent. Semple claims that “they refused to pay for it, arguing that it was now my duty.”
A month later, the downstairs ceiling started to leak water. The dishwasher water, she claims, was pushing through an existing hole in the main water line beneath the kitchen sink. Because of the leak, the ceiling had to be replaced; the main water line had to be snaked; new plumbing had to be put in, and more.
When contractors took down Semple’s ceiling, they found an exposed 220-volt cable with frayed wires and an electric box that wasn’t there. When the kitchen sink started leaking, Semple believed he was only a few feet away from the house catching fire.
Then, Semple’s main water line separated because of an incorrect coupling. She already had professionals repairing her house’s plumbing and electrical problems at the time. “The ground began to break away from the house and a wide vacant area under my sidewalk” due to the water damage, according to Semple. She then dialled BMK once more.
BMK replaced the earth under the home and injected foam under the walkway. But Semple claims that the walkway slanted toward the foundation because of how they went about it. She claims BMK promised to pay her the more than $900 she spent on the plumber to repair the main water line and install the right connector but never did.
Semple claims she has already spent over $50,000 on house repairs. I had to use all of my savings, borrow money from family, and charge a lot of things to my credit cards. “I work from home as well, and there was continual construction going on,” she adds.
In December, Semple brought legal action against BMK and 508 Investors. Semple is represented by Jean Harrison, a lawyer with more than 25 years of experience in the field of construction law. Harrison says that the open construction standards in Tennessee contribute to the widespread and consistently low quality of new homes. She compares passing the construction code to receiving a D-minus. It simply implies that your house won’t topple down in gusts of 100 mph. House inspections can fall short and overlook problems like Semple’s damaged wiring.
Harrison, who works with a wide range of residential clients, says bad construction can happen at any price point. Another client, Blake Saltaformaggio, is currently suing Arnold Homes LLC for $2 million. In 2018, Saltaformaggio paid $1.3 million for his house, and problems started to show up a year later. When he saw that the house had sloped floors, bent columns, sagging walls, and other problems, he called a structural engineering company to check it out. According to him, they discovered “significant load route issues, structural flaws, and code breaches.”
When Saltaformaggio first found the structural problems, he contacted Arnold Homes. According to him, they apologized and promised to fix the problems. But as the months passed, they made no additional efforts to finish the repairs. Saltaformaggio filed a lawsuit after receiving an expensive repair quote.
The repairs to Saltaformaggio’s primary mansion in Brentwood caused a problem. He declares, “We have no viable options.” We can’t sell the house without telling potential buyers about these problems and the cost of fixing them, which is expected to be more than $2 million. Over the past few years, I’ve spent many days talking to lawyers, engineers, and builders, followed by sleepless nights. I carry this enormous weight while spending precious time with my wife and two young children. Time is something I can never get back.
During the last quarter of 2022, the number of homes flipped in the U.S. marginally decreased, although they still made up nearly 1 in 13 of the homes sold. Harrison thinks Tennessee’s regulations won’t change, making it difficult for some homebuyers to take legal action against subpar construction. She says the main problem is that the legislature doesn’t want to make construction laws that mean something.
Harrison says that every time there is a housing boom, there is a “cyclical” increase in the number of new contractors. “When we had the buildup in the early 2000s, there were all kinds of crazy construction activities going on,” she adds. She has encountered a few “very good contractors that are in it for the long run.” Yet, Harrison notes that each boom also draws those who “had not built so much as a doghouse… yet felt totally qualified to build a home.” “Someone who thinks that being a freelancer means making phone calls and keeping a Rolodex.”
Harrison claims, “They don’t comprehend the construction science, and they don’t understand the process.” In addition, they are unaware of the dangers. By the time they learn these lessons, the person they were made for has usually already been hurt.
Semple is currently suing 508 Investors and BMK in Chancery Court. Her foundation had seen “substantial shifting” following the original plumbing problems. She claims that the house’s walls are completely cracked and that the nails are bursting. The wall and upper kitchen cupboards are detaching from one another. Her windows no longer operate correctly, and her upper doors no longer close.
Semple found pictures of the house before 508 bought it that showed that the builders had covered up foundation problems with decorative wood. She claims that radon gas has seeped into her HVAC system, and because the grout did not adhere to the subfloor, her tiles started to crumble.
“As a single woman, I looked for a property that had been renovated—new roof, new HVAC, minimal maintenance, and something I could manage on my own,” she says of her search. “I live in constant worry of what may happen next.” Who or what might still be inside the walls?
The BMK Building Group declined several requests for comment after the arranged interview, and they did not return calls at the time of the interview either.
In response to a request for comment regarding Saltaformaggio’s situation, Randy Arnold remained silent.
