The House of Representatives is poised to hold an investigation into the alleged defects and deficiencies of the Tottotville housing units in the wake of complaints by subdivision homeowners. <\/p>\n
Vice Speaker Timothy Villagomez, in a letter to the Tottotville Homeowners Association yesterday, asked for documents that would substantiate the homeowners\u2019 claims.<\/p>\n
The lawmaker said it was surprising to hear the complaints considering that the subdivision is newly developed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very concerned about these complaints because Tottotville subdivision is fairly new, so the homes should be in sound condition at this time. In any event, I am willing to look into the complaints\u2026.However, before I can make any formal inquiry, I would need documented complaints from each homeowner,\u201d said Villagomez.<\/p>\n
Initial documents showed that Tottotville homeowners have been complaining of water leaks from ceilings, window sills, and exterior doors; water-damaged rear service doors due to lack of roof protection; rattling water pipe sounds on dry wall locations; peeling off paint on concrete ceilings; and damaged roof tiles.<\/p>\n
An occupant also complained of water seeping in from the floor to wall connection during heavy rain, as well as water ponding.<\/p>\n
Another homeowner complained of ceiling leak, possibly from a crack in the concrete roof; ceiling leak between the master bedroom and toilet; leak from underneath the kitchen sink; hole in the outside wall; water traces and wall paint bubbles; loose kitchen door pulls; and separation between concrete wall and wooden closet framings.<\/p>\n
There are about 45 homeowners who currently live in Totottville, the first subdivision built by the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. in 2000 primarily for low- to moderate-income families.<\/p>\n
The units were awarded through a lottery conducted by NMHC a few years back.<\/p>\n
Tottotville was hailed by both government and private authorities as a model subdivision since it is fully paved, has a basketball court, and has 24-hour water and electricity.<\/p>\n
The uniformly designed houses\u2014each unit containing two bedrooms and a garage\u2014were designed by Hawaii-based SSFM company and reportedly constructed by Telesource, which allegedly had subcontracted the project to smaller construction groups.<\/p>\n
These subcontractors allegedly used cheap construction materials in building the Tottotville houses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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