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Pool estimates that she has lost about $45,000 from mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, homeowner's fees and lost rental income on the home during this extended reconstruction period.

The local Lennar customer care specialist did not return repeated calls seeking comment from TheStreet.com.

In areas of Florida, where the housing boom fueled a gold rush by speculators and house flippers, defects are becoming a particularly litigious affair, says Scott Konopka, an attorney with Page Mrachek who has represented both consumers and builders on the defect issue.

While some consumers have legitimate complaints about shoddy workmanship, others are looking for an excuse to bail out of their purchase contracts now that housing prices are falling, he says. "There is a glut of housing out there, and builders raced to the finish line" for many communities. "But that doesn't mean that all homes are inadequate."

Mike Morgan, a Florida realtor, says the defect issue in his state has been amplified by the fact that third-party inspectors, and not municipalities, do the primary inspection of new housing communities.

"The housing boom resulted in more homes being built than local inspectors could inspect," Morgan says. "The inspectors the builders hire work for the builders. How many jobs do you think they are going to get if they flunk the homes?" While the local municipality issues the certificate of occupancy, Florida law provides that the local government officials and building code personnel are immune from liability resulting from any defects.