Harrisburg homeowners want refunds after builders win lawsuit

HARRISBURG, N.C. — Thousands of new homes are built across our area every year and in the process, homebuilders pay cities and towns fees to install water and sewer systems.

Some homebuilders felt they were paying too much so they sued and won, getting a lot of money back.

Anchor Blaine Tolison went to Harrisburg where the mayor said homeowners should get a refund too.

In subdivisions like Brookdale Commons, each home buyer paid almost $3,000 in fees for infrastructure, including stormwater systems, according to the town of Harrisburg. Now many people including the mayor, said those homebuyers should be refunded those fees.

Michael Santoiemma is a retired veteran and dreads a $2,300 bill to keep cool air flowing through his home.

"One of the air conditioning units needs a new coolant coil," Santoiemma said.

His ears perked up when he heard he could be owed almost $3,000.

He is one of 740 homeowners living in subdivisions where the homebuilder received a massive refund for development fees from the town of Harrisburg.

"It's a significant amount of money that I don't believe the homebuilder actually absorbed as part of the building of that house," Harrisburg Mayor Steve Sciascia said.

The town recently paid $2.3 million in refunds to eight homebuilders, Sciascia said.

It's the result of a lawsuit those homebuilders won in the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Some homeowners and the mayor feel those developers should pass along some of that refund to families who purchased their homes.

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"They're getting it on both ends and that seems unfair," Santoiemma said.

Santoiemma bought his home from Lennar Carolinas, which received the largest refund from the town in the amount of $650,000.

He would like to see his family and his neighbors benefit from it.

"That is a lot of money, and I'm sure everybody can use it," Santoiemma said.

The word about the refunds is spreading. A few of the homeowners in Brookdale Commons said they plan on reaching out to their homeowners' association to see what can be done about them.

Lennar Carolinas has not returned our phone calls Tuesday

Cox Media Group