Mary Browning put $69,000 down in 2018 to build her retirement home in East Tampa. Eight years later, the 74-year-old still can’t move in, describing a house riddled with uneven floors, a cracking foundation and faulty wiring. “It’s not a room in this house that is completed,” Browning said.
Browning’s contractor was Hopps Construction Services Inc., a Tampa-based firm led by President and CEO Victoria Hopps, according to 10 Tampa Bay, which reported on Browning’s ordeal. Records cited by the station show Browning paid the initial $69,000 deposit in 2018 and later paid an additional $100,000, bringing her total outlay to $169,000 as the project dragged on without completion. Hopps is a state-certified general contractor holding license CGC1525858, according to the Better Business Bureau. The license had an August 31, 2028, expiration date.
Browning, who is unemployed and living on Social Security, told the station she sought medical treatment for depression tied to the ongoing dispute. The legal fight has been winding through the courts since 2022, when Hopps Construction sued Browning and placed a lien on her home. Browning filed a countersuit, and the cases were later consolidated.
A Judgment Won, But No Money Collected
Earlier this year, a court awarded Browning a $193,000 judgment, the station’s report notes. But Browning said she has not received any money from that judgment. Hopps told the station bluntly that Browning should not expect payment, saying, “I’m not gonna give her a brown penny.”…