Article Courtesy of Channel
9 News WFTV
By
Jeff Deal
Published June 2, 2023
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NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Some homeowners in one Volusia County community are up in
arms after they claim their homeowners’ association president hired an
unlicensed contractor to work on their buildings. They told Action 9's Jeff Deal
they’re worried about how they will cover the extra costs to finish the job.
Carol May has enjoyed the Hidden Pines community in New
Smyrna Beach for years. “It was such a wonderful community.
I mean, everybody was so nice,” she said.
Recently, though, actions taken by her homeowners’
association have her concerned. She’s specifically worried
about someone who replaced windows and siding on some of the
buildings in their townhome community. She showed Action 9 a
renovation agreement with Rusty Nail Reno’s LLC that was
signed by the Hidden Pines HOA president Richard Behrens.
The problem is that the owner of Rusty Nail Reno’s, Bradley
Schleper, isn’t licensed as a contractor by the State of
Florida.
The City of New Smyrna Beach confirmed that no permits were
pulled for the job initially, and it issued a stop-work
order in March. Last year, Schleper entered a no-contest
plea to charges of contracting without a license. State
investigators said he was paid nearly $127,000 for work on a
home. The investigator also claimed that no permits were
pulled and that he “never finished the job” according to
court records.
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May said, “A lot of our feelings are, ‘Why didn’t the board check on that?’
We have to as homeowners.”
Schleper is also awaiting trial on an aggravated assault charge after a
Volusia County man told investigators Schleper “brandished what looked like
a camouflage AK-47 type rifle” during a dispute about another job. Schleper
denies the allegation and told Action 9 he was home at the time this
allegedly happened.
No one answered at the HOA president’s home when Deal tried to ask him about
the hire. Deal also tried to reach him by phone.
Real estate attorney Karen Wonsetler told Action 9 that hiring an unlicensed
contractor can be costly. “The only person who’s going to pay to get these
homeowners associations out of a bad situation with unlicensed contractors
is to have all of the members pay and now have a licensed contractor come in
and fix it.”
Some residents said they’re concerned about spending more if the unfinished
work has to be re-done and finished with the new contractor who has since
taken over the project.
With this issue and other spending decisions by the HOA, some homeowners
said the president is proposing an assessment of roughly $22,000 for each
homeowner. It’s money May said some of the residents just can’t afford.
“These people are panicking. I mean to the point where they are crying and
(asking) ‘Where am I going to go? What am I going to do?’” she said.
Schleper told Deal over the phone that he was hired to do work that
initially didn’t require a contractor’s license or permit and that he does
top quality work, but said he did some window replacements before getting
permits because it was an emergency situation. He believes he just got
caught in the middle of an HOA dispute that’s been going on for years. The
city has reported him to the state Department of Business and Professional
Regulation, the agency that oversees contractors.
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