‘It’s bad’: Ex-manager says home builder problems run deeper than Action 9 first exposed

PALM BAY, Fla. — Problems are continuing for some local homebuyers. A former superintendent of Palladio Homes is speaking out about the widespread problems he’s seen with the home building process and how it’s impacting not just the customers, but also the employees and local contractors hired to build the homes.

Last month, Action 9 exposed the massive delays some homebuyers claim they were seeing.

As she showed the Action 9 team her unfinished home in Palm Bay, Jessica Hossain said, “Completely unlivable house and it’s very frustrating.”

She and her family were expecting to move in a year and a half ago.

Action 9 learned there may be other issues for Palladio Homes besides the delays Hossain and others have been complaining about for months.

Former Palladio Homes Superintendent Steve Arce said, “It’s bad. It’s a bad situation out here.”

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He was part of a team overseeing construction of homes like Jessica Hossain’s. When he took the job, Arce said he was warned about Palladio.

He told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal, “They had a reputation of not paying their subs. Their six months… is what it would take to build a home. Their six months was taking three years.

In his two decades or more in the construction industry, what he saw even shocked him.

He said, “I mean just horrible. Horrible finish work, two different types of casing in the house, two different types of baseboard, baseboard not matching, just horrible homes.”

Then he realized some contractors stopped showing up because they weren’t being paid, at least not on time. In fact, court records show several contractors have also taken legal action claiming Palladio owes them thousands of dollars for work and building supplies.

State records list Giro Katsimbrakis as a manager of the California company. In 2003, the businessman was sentenced to 15-months in federal prison for bank fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. He was ordered to pay up to $850,000 in restitution.

When Action reached Giro Katsimbrakis, he blamed COVID-19 for starting the delays. He said Palladio is honoring the contracts and will complete the homes. Katsimbrakis said his criminal cases from more than 20-years ago are not relevant now. He also said he would make good with his vendors, too.

It appears Katsimbrakis and Steve Arce had a dispute over money. Arce claims he quit because of pay issues, while Katsimbrakis said he fired Arce for not doing the work and said he had taken a chance on him despite Arce’s own checkered past which also goes back 20 years.

But Steve Arce said, the current problems with Palladio are what are really hurting a lot of people especially customers like Jessica Hossain.

“You’re supposedly moving into a new home. If it takes three years to build a house that’s not a new home. The slab is three years old. Your block is three years old. Your trusses have been sitting there for who knows how long without any cover on them.” Arce said.

Katsimbrakis said he only gets paid by the lenders after work is completed on the homes. He said progress is being made on Hossain’s home and will be paying her construction loan until the home is complete.

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