Plumbing assessments causing problems for Fort Pierce condo owners

FORT PIERCE — Nearly $6,000 in assessments per unit for plumbing repairs some call unnecessary have some residents at Inlet House Condominiums — where many homeowners are elderly and on fixed incomes — unable or unwilling to pay their bills.

Foreclosure measures have begun on nine of 60 units at the 55-and-up condo community at 2302 Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Pierce since July. The condo association put liens on another three units.

Meanwhile, some owners struggling to escape the assessments sold their units for far less than they originally paid — including the sale of a condo to the plumber working on the buildings for $3,100.

The dispute has led to allegations pitting resident against resident with some condo owners claiming Condo Association Manager Janice Stinnett falsely told them the buildings were condemned. The city never condemned the buildings, City spokeswoman Anne Satterlee said.

Former resident Charles Francis said he sold his unit for $13,500 in November after he became overwhelmed by the assessments. The association had filed a lien on his property in September. He paid $30,000 for his unit in 2001.

"A good part of us didn't have the money," Francis said. "If you live on Social Security, you don't have $3,100."

Another condo sold for $3,100. Melissa Cannata sold the unit to CRS Plumbing owner Reed

FORT PIERCE - Gail Gross stands in the corner of fellow resident Michael Silvestri's gutted condo at Inlet House Condominiums where the foundation and walls were cut into for plumbing repairs. The condo association charged each resident about $6,000 in assessments to replace pipes throughout the condo complex's three buildings. Some residents have been unable or unwilling to pay the assessment, leading the association to file liens and foreclosure measures on several unit owners.

Sudderth in July 2010, according to the county property appraiser's website. The property sold for $79,000 in 2007. CRS Plumbing is doing repairs on the condo's three buildings.

In 2009, the condo association paid about $65,000 from reserves to fix plumbing in Building 3, said Sudderth. CRS Plumbing was contracted to do the work on the buildings, which were built in 1971. But plumbing problems cropped up in Building 1 in January 2010 and the city of Fort Pierce asked the association to fix Building 1 and provide a report for the other two buildings.

Sudderth said the problems were evident.

"The pipe was so corroded that I couldn't get my camera all the way through that line," Sudderth said.

The city listed Building 1 as "unsafe" and told the association to make a plan to do the work.

According to an e-mail on Jan. 25, 2010 from Fort Pierce Building Department Coordinator Paul Thomas to City Manager David Recor, Thomas wrote that the association leaked false information to occupants that the city condemned the buildings.

"The Association is using a dangerous scare tactic to accomplish their goal," Thomas wrote.

Some residents took issue with how Stinnett represented the situation to condo owners.

"Janice uses the city every time she wants to threaten the people," resident Michael Silvestri said. "She said, 'The city insists that you do this.'"

Stinnett said she misinterpreted what the city said. The city had filed an administrative order on the same day stating Building 1 had been found unsafe.

"I had just gotten off the phone with the city before they put the administrative order up," Stinnett said. "They had said to me, 'If you don't do the right thing, here's a series of steps the city could take.'"

Fort Pierce Building Official Marc Meyers said he was willing to give the residents time to get the work done, though the work for Building 1 needed to be completed.

With little money in reserves after the 2009 plumbing project, the condo association approved two separate assessments for residents — $3,100 and $2,650, respectively — to fix plumbing in Buildings 1 and 2 along with a small portion of Building 3. CRS Plumbing sent the city a time frame to get all of the work done by June 30, 2011.

Stinnett said the timetable got moved up when Building 2's plumbing failed. On March 4, 2010, CRS Plumbing conducted a smoke test to check for cracks in the plumbing. According to the report, all but three units filled with smoke.

Meyers, however, said the city addressed only Building 1 and did not provide a timetable for Building 2.

"We did make the statement, this can't go on for years," Meyers said. "If you come back and say in 2015 we're going to accept this, that's not going to be acceptable. But give us a reasonable time frame when you can get this taken care of."

Sudderth said his company did work as needed on all three buildings and problems with Building 2 forced the company to do work more quickly than expected. He said the company has about six months worth of work still to do.

In the meantime, residents have struggled making payments. The association required owners to pay the $2,650 in two equal payments of $1,325 in October and November 2010.

But some residents said Stinnett could have taken other measures, including extending the time frame so residents did not spend so much money on plumbing in one year.

"It's not Ms. Stinnett's fault that we have plumbing problems," resident Roger Rouiller said. "It's the way she handled it."

Stinnett said the condo association tried to offer residents a loan that would have lowered payments for the $3,100 assessment from $500 per month to less than $140 per month, but residents rejected it. Some residents said they did not want to accept a loan without knowing who the lender was.

"We sensed something fishy, so we didn't approve it," Rouiller said.

Stinnett said the lender was a private investor who did not want his name out in the public. She said she would have shown the residents who the lender was had the loan been approved by the residents.

In the meantime, condos began to sell for low prices, including Sudderth's purchase.Sudderth said the seller had inherited the unit and sought to get rid of it, he said. When Sudderth heard the price tag, he jumped to make the deal. Sudderth said he was not concerned about the turmoil surrounding the association.

"No, because truly, I could have sold what was in the apartment for $3,100 and walked away from it and not had any responsibility there," Sudderth said. "There was appliances, there was some furniture there. Truly, it was just an investment. ... I would purchase other ones in there if the price is right. If it's not a bargain, I don't want it."

Stinnett said she checked with an attorney to make sure Sudderth's purchase did not present a conflict of interest before approving the sale.

Stinnett said Sudderth basically paid for the amount of the first assessment in the purchase. Sudderth said he did not see anything inappropriate with the purchase.

"There's other places that I work that I've made offers on that didn't pan out," Sudderth said. "Being a contractor, I kind of know the maintenance of that area and know if it's kept in good condition or not."

Others refused to pay the assessment fees and are stuck in foreclosure.

Silvestri said the plumbing was not needed and he has not paid the assessment. He filed a complaint with the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation against Stinnett. Residents filed five complaints against Stinnett in 2010.

Four of the complaints have been closed with no findings against Stinnett, while the fifth is being investigated, Department Press Secretary Sandi Copes confirmed in an e-mail to Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers.

Stinnett is devoted to the condo, resident Barbara Greer said, and she understands condo laws.

"I have never found her to do anything wrong. She's always had the best interest of our association at the foremost," Greer said.

Stinnett said the complaints were misguided attempts to ignore the need for the plumbing. From January to August 2010, the association spent more than $34,000 on legal fees — more than $550 per owner — battling the complaints. Stinnett said the amount has grown since August.

"Then you have all these huge mega legal bills because we have people who will not allow us to get through this plumbing without creating more and more issues, filing more and more complaints with the division against me," Stinnett said. "It's out of hand."

Stinnett said the association is upset with the number of owners who have gone into foreclosure. But she said people need to pay their bills or else other condo owners suffer.

"Of course we are (upset)," she said. "It's not the association's intent to own units here. We don't want to foreclose on unit owners, but 2011 every single unit owner here has an increase of about $50 because we have so many people who not only didn't pay their special assessments but they're not paying their regular maintenance fees either. And everybody else has to bear this cost because the bills don't stop."

Greer said some residents aren't responsible and haven't paid their share of the assessments. Several have walked away from their condos, leaving condos in foreclosure

"They say they just don't want to pay for the bills," she said. "They don't want to pay their maintenance."

If the plumbing repair work wasn't being done, Greer said residents probably would be faced with being condemned.

"It's a terrible expense," she said. "It's an inconvenience for everybody. But, if you're a homeowner, and you have things that go wrong in your house, there's still an inconvenience to get it fixed."