UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Construction at a new Prince George's County housing development has come to a standstill, leaving dozens of people who agreed to buy homes there, in emotional and financial limbo for years.
Now, more people are coming forward after a WUSA9 investigation exposed the delays at Parkside at Westphalia in Upper Marlboro.
For Demetries North, his new home at Parkside at Westphalia was supposed to be a family affair. A future for him and his daughters.
“Oh man I had all types of visions,” North said.
For Nino Robinson, it was one of the proudest accomplishments of his life.
“I would drive up all the time, walk in it, look around see what’s going on,” Robinson said of his home, which remains half-finished in the development. “It was my first home buying experience.”
North and Robinson were supposed to be neighbors after signing contracts in 2020 with Dan Ryan Builders for homes in the Upper Marlboro development. The two men decided to speak out after seeing WUSA9’s investigation published in February.
The report featured home buyers like Kim Duvall, who were told their homes would take six months to complete, and are now left in crisis mode, still waiting, more than two and a half years later.
“I'm very upset,” Duvall told WUSA9 at the time. "I've lost opportunities to buy other homes at the low interest rate. I've lost interest on the money that they were holding for two and a half years. I just don't know what to do at this point.”
North and Robinson can relate.
“It was good, until it wasn’t,” North said.
“It all stopped, all just came tumbling down,” Robinson added.
Dan Ryan Builders, now known as DRB, tells WUSA9 construction came to a screeching halt when the developer ran out of money, leaving home buyers caught in the middle.
"I really felt like a failure," North said.
In April 2022, almost two years after North signed a contract, DRB sent customers an email which read in part:
“Over the past two years we have encountered several obstacles outside of our control ... The potential for additional, significant delays in the completion of your home exists.”
At that time DRB offered customers the opportunity to terminate their home-purchase contracts, get a full refund of all deposits plus an additional $10,000 in compensation for the delays.
That email, provided to WUSA9 by DRB, did not mention its developer’s money problems.
North said not disclosing the financial issues in that email was unfair.
“At least I know if I would have known that, I would have been able to say, OK it’s time to go somewhere else," he said.
North stuck it out until September 2022, when he finally gave up and canceled his contract with DRB. He got back the $11,500 he put down, but not that additional $10,000 in compensation DRB had offered just months earlier.
The email from the company stated that proposal was only good for 18 days, until April 21, 2022.
“I feel like they could have extended the compensation, given the fact that, I feel like they withheld information that this was a financial issue,” he said.
DRB spokesperson Adam Schueftan did not respond to a request for comment on North’s allegation that the company withheld financial information about the developer. But he gave the following statement statement to WUSA9:
“DRB Homes continues to communicate with each our customers involved in this matter as new information becomes available. Unfortunately... DRB Homes cannot complete the construction of the homes until the Developer... completes the infrastructure which we paid them to do. Given the sensitive nature of this situation, we have no further comments.”
North now lives in a small apartment, paying $500 more a month than his mortgage would have been if his home was built when it was supposed to.
Robinson, meanwhile, is waiting and hoping.
“The home price I locked in at I’m not going to find that anymore in the market at this point,” Robinson lamented. “I’m going to hang in there for a little while, and I guess, continue to have hope.”
DRB said they hope to have all the financing issues with the developer settled by March 31, which would put them on track to deliver Robinson's home in early 2024.
But DRB acknowledged, even that is not a guarantee. We asked DRB for a contact for their developer for this project so we could speak with them. DRB did not respond. We have not been able to independently reach the developer for comment.