House to look into Tottotville housing problem

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.

Vice Speaker Timothy Villagomez, in a letter to the Tottotville Homeowners Association yesterday, asked for documents that would substantiate the homeowners’ claims.

The lawmaker said it was surprising to hear the complaints considering that the subdivision is newly developed.

“I’m 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….However, before I can make any formal inquiry, I would need documented complaints from each homeowner,” said Villagomez.

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.

An occupant also complained of water seeping in from the floor to wall connection during heavy rain, as well as water ponding.

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.

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.

The units were awarded through a lottery conducted by NMHC a few years back.

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.

The uniformly designed houses—each unit containing two bedrooms and a garage—were designed by Hawaii-based SSFM company and reportedly constructed by Telesource, which allegedly had subcontracted the project to smaller construction groups.

These subcontractors allegedly used cheap construction materials in building the Tottotville houses.