Measuring toxic drywall's harm to Florida homeowners

Florida homes damaged by Chinese drywall were marked down by $91 million in value by property appraisers last year, according to state records.

The decline was decidedly less, however, than the $493 million in property value exempted from Florida property taxes in 2010 under a special program offered for homes containing the corrosive material, which has been blamed for respiratory problems and property damage.

Locally, 85 single-family homes and condominiums in Sarasota and Manatee counties have lost at least $25,000 in value because of defective drywall, according to new data generated by the Florida Department of Revenue.

Thirty-nine of those homes have lost more than $100,000 in value and received exemptions, the department data shows.

In all, Sarasota and Manatee counties are among 12 Florida counties reporting more than $1 million in drywall exemptions based on damage.

Chinese drywall was used in the construction of thousands of homes during the real estate boom, mainly in the South, after a series of destructive hurricanes in 2005.

The material emits foul odors, corrodes pipes and wiring and causes appliances to malfunction, in addition to health problems.

Many of the suffering homeowners are in line for help following a December settlement involving Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., a German maker of defective Chinese drywall, which some analysts contend could reach $1 billion.

The settlement called for Knauf to create an uncapped fund to repair 4,500 properties, mainly in Florida.

Owners whose homes have been damaged by the defective drywall can apply for the exemption to their county property appraiser, who then investigates and can mark down the value of the home for property tax purposes.

Overwhelmingly, these were homes built in 2006. More than 80 percent of the 78 Sarasota County homes that got drywall exemptions were built in that year.

Statewide, 2,568 properties — almost all single-family homes or condos — had exemptions for drywall damage last year.

The new data released by the state could be looked at several different ways. Because it contains homes that did not get the exemption in 2010 but did receive a break in 2011, much of the $91 million in exemptions awarded last year are considered in addition to those exempted in 2010.

However, since this data is a snapshot of each year's exemptions, it also shows that many homeowners are repairing their drywall damage, restoring their homes' values, and dropping off the list. In all, about 2,000 properties that were granted exemptions in 2010 were not on the 2011 list, indicating that either the home had been repaired or demolished.