Article
Courtesy of Miami Herald
By ELAINE
DE VALLE
Published September 28, 2006
Rain drips into Mayrellis Cuba's bedroom, and pieces
of plaster from the ceiling fall down on her and her husband while they
sleep.
Their children can't play outside, because Cuba is
afraid they may hurt themselves from the shingles and nails that have
fallen off of the roofs, which sometimes damage the cars in the parking
lot.
Cuba and other town house owners at the Courts of
Birdwood in Westchester near the 3700 block of Southwest 99th Avenue have
been waiting for roof repairs since Hurricane Katrina damaged their homes
last year.
Work was slow in getting started and then stopped
last spring after the roofing company that was hired reportedly found
asbestos in the ceilings of the complex, built in 1985. Then, suddenly two
weeks ago, a second roofing company started all over again.
But residents still worry that the homeowner's
association or property management company is pocketing some of the
insurance money.
According to documents Cuba obtained from the
homeowner's group, the Courts of Birdwood got a check for $193,378 from
Allstate Insurance in September of last year. Of that, $171,450 was for
the roofs. The rest was for trees, fences and other structures.
Asbestos removal was included in the $166,000
contract with The Big Roofing Company for the job. Homeowner Association
President Edwin Llamas said he negotiated a lower price than what the
roofing company negotiated with Allstate to spread the wealth around.
''So we could use that money to do other things,
make other improvements,'' Llamas said.
But he refused to answer questions about the
progress of the work and why it had stopped. He blamed the roofing company
then referred questions to Raul Aguilera of SPM Group, a community
association management firm paid to oversee the property.
Aguilera did not return repeated phone calls to his
Doral office.
Back in July, The Big Roofing Company sent a letter
to all unit owners, explaining that they stopped work because a third
''progress payment'' of $37,500 had not been received.
Danny Potocki, general manager of Big Roofing, said
there were problems with the association and SPM from the beginning, and
the initial claim was even higher than $193,000.
''We went to bat for them with the insurance
company. The total claim was upwards of $375,000. They demanded we sign a
contract at $166,000,'' Potocki said.
'Then they came back after we started the project
and said they didn't want to do all the buildings. The homeowner's
president said, `I want this unit, this unit and this unit done first.' Of
course, it was his unit and all the people on the board.''
When his workers found rotted and damaged wood in
the ceilings, Potocki said, the management company did not want to pay for
the repairs.
''The insurance company is more than happy to pay
for it. But they don't even want to give us the go ahead to go back to the
insurance company and get more money,'' Potocki said.
His firm has filed a complaint against the
condominium association with the Florida Department of Business and
Professional Regulation, and the condominium association filed a complaint
against the roofing firm, according to Potocki.
A spokeswoman at the state division said complaints
are confidential while they are investigated, and she could not confirm
whether or now the complaints had been filed.
Potocki said the management firm went to each
homeowner and told them the firm did not have enough insurance coverage
and tried to drum up more money from the condo owners for the repairs, a
claim some residents back up.
''People were paying on the side to have their units
done first,'' said Joaquin Hernandez, 83, who wraps his clothes and other
items in his closet in plastic to protect them from the water that seeps
in every time it rains.
Potocki also said the management company took the
materials they delivered to the property -- shingles, nails and other
supplies -- and allowed another roofing company to use them on a different
property.
''We delivered three-quarters of the materials --
material that has disappeared. Tenants were calling us, telling us these
guys are taking materials to other properties,'' Potocki said. ``When you
are dealing with people who do things that are shady, you have to protect
your company.''
Potocki said he feels bad for the residents.
``I see black mold growing in some of those units.
It's a health hazard.''
The temporary repairs the company began to make do
not last long in rainy weather, Potocki said.
''Those people are sitting under 30-pound felt for
several months and that stuff only has a shelf life of a month or two,''
Potocki said.
Hernandez said his temporary repairs are already
damaged.
''My nephew went up there the other day and said it
was cracked all over,'' Hernandez said. ``They have to do it all over
again.''
Potocki said he had workers go out to replace the
felt or cover it when Tropical Storm Ernesto threatened.
''We weren't allowed on the property. We were told
that if we went out there, they were going to call the police,'' he said.
``At this point, it's not about the money. It's about holding someone
accountable.
``My next step would have been to lien the property
owners. But I'm not going to. We're about even. But I'd like to just get
the job finished. I still have permits open on the property.''
But another company has already stepped in and is
finishing the job Potocki's firm started, Cuba said.
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