Couple moves out; squabble goes on By SUSAN THURSTON Courtesy of St. Petersburg Times, Published November 30, 2001

 

CORY LAKE ISLES -- Madeline and Ronald Moos thought they found the perfect place to retire in Cory Lake Isles. They built their dream house and looked forward to watching sunsets from their lakefront property.  But it didn't last long.  Within five years, the Mooses got fed up with fighting the developer and moved out. Today, they live in Temple Terrace, in a modest house overlooking a golf course.  The Mooses pulled up stakes in Cory Lake Isles, but their troubles aren't over. At the closing of their house in July, the title company said they owed $6,360 in unpaid homeowner association dues.  Madeline Moos says the dues are bogus and she shouldn't have to pay them. The developer, Gene Thomason, says the fees cover general maintenance and operational expenses.  The Mooses reluctantly agreed and put the money in escrow while the issue is being resolved. At this point, they expect the title company, Alday-Donalson, may take both parties to court to determine to whom it belongs.  The outcome could have broad impact in this upscale, gated community at the end of Cross Creek Boulevard.  "If I'm right, it's not just Madeline and Ron Moos who are right," Madeline Moos said. "It's everyone in Cory Lake Isles."  Thomason charges homeowners a special assessment of about $1,000 a year for the upkeep of common areas. That doesn't include taxes paid to the community development district to finance the streets and other infrastructure and a $100 fee for community-related activities.  Madeline Moos argues that any money needed for maintenance should be collected by the state-governed district, not Thomason. Although Thomason heads the district because he still owns the majority of land, Moos says the assessment did not follow the legal procedures.  Checks are made out to Cory Lakes Ltd., not the homeowners association, she said.  "Gene is billing people left and right, but he has no right to be doing this," she said.  Thomason said the money goes to legitimate maintenance costs, such as landscaping. He didn't know the details about the dues debate, but suspected the Mooses are disgruntled because they lost a lawsuit against him over the positioning of a house that blocked the couple's view of the water.  "The only person with a problem out there is Madeline Moos," Thomason said. "If there was a serious problem, more people wouldn't be paying."  Moos contends that several of her former neighbors are skeptical about the dues, but pay them to avoid hassles with Thomason. She has not been able to find out how much has been collected, but expects it's in the hundreds of thousands.  Carol Konn, a seven-year resident, said she and her husband have asked for an accounting of the expenses on several occasions, but have never received one. Some years they have paid the dues; other years they have not.  "For a community like this, there has to be expenses and I expect that," she said. "We just don't know what it is and how much is going to the community.  "It's like it goes into this black hole." Konn assumes the money covers the landscaping and security guards, but she said she often wonders if it does. She admires Madeline Moos for trying to get to the bottom of the issue.  "I don't want to get into trouble legally," she said. "But it's very much a frustration point."  Madeline Moos said she intends to pursue the issue as vigorously as necessary, even if it means paying all parties' legal fees if she loses.  "I can't walk away," she said.