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Nine families who bought land for their dream homes from the states largest landowner have had their dreams smashed.� The homes were built at a time when St. Joe Company did not need a permit to fill a low lying area and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the fill the company used is creating a nightmare for residents.

In the mid 1980’s St. Joe Paper Company filled this low lying area in Port St. Joe. It used scraps from the company�s nearby paper mill. It then sold the lots with the help of� Federally insured loans.� Today, 9 homes sit on the filled area, but they are sinking.� This water meter was once flush with the ground.

Vernell Bailey raised six kids here, but the house is collapsing and condemned.

�Like this, the wall was coming away from the corner,� Bailey said. �All this here.�

The once solid wood fill underneath has since rotted, creating a mush under the homes. Driveways are cracked.� Windows are falling out. Walls inside and out have split.

Some residents use a rag to keep bugs and snakes out.

�Insects are coming in your house,� Charlie and Dorothy Ash said. �[Grandkids are] afraid. When they go to sleep, they have to leave the lights on.�

Federal money guaranteed the loans for the houses, so U.S. taxpayers may be out if the homeowners default. So far the company is giving the lawyer hired by the families a cold shoulder.

�They�re not saying that we didn�t sell you bad land,� Attorney Ben Crump said. �They�re saying for technical reasons, you can�t hold us responsible.�

Tougher standards are in place today which would have specified what fill the company could use.