The neighbor above her condo has a leak she just won’t fix. The water pours down, month after month. How can you fix that problem? That’s where Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser steps in.

One certainty in South Florida: water, the ocean, the bay, pools, ponds, and in Marilyn’s case, the walls.

Marilyn Rizzo: “The walls were filling up with bubbles of water from the ceiling and down on the floor.”

Marilyn lives on the second floor.

Marilyn Rizzo: “This is my walls filling up with water. This is since June of last year, 2023.” Next door to Marilyn, her neighbor has water pouring into her unit as well. Neighbor: ‘What you are looking at, is you’re looking at water damage that has occurred from the third floor apartment. The third floor above them, where an owner has Plexiglass windows on her porch. Marilyn Rizzo: “Which is illegal now and comes in her lanai. Her lanai fills up with water and it goes to our bedrooms.”

 

To confirm the bubbles were caused by water from her neighbor, the board let Marilyn send a company in to inspect the unit.

Marilyn Rizzo: They started testing, doing a water test, which is a simple wet the windows with a hose. They found some kind of water coming in. It was the lady above me.”

Marilyn contacted the owner, who had left for the summer.

Marilyn Rizzo: “She kept refusing to to admit that it was her. ‘Not my fault. Not my fault. Leave me alone.'”

She tried to talk to the board.

Marilyn Rizzo: “We were told by the board ‘It’s not their problem, we’re not getting involved. You three have to take care of it yourself.'”

Finally, after a year of fighting, Marilyn got the attention of one board member.

Marilyn Rizzo: “He’s given her 30 days to rip out her lanai, put in real windows and she didn’t do it.”

Marilyn says her insurance company doesn’t want to repair her condo until the leak above is fixed, leaving her in a moldy condo.

Marilyn Rizzo: “I am allergic to mold. I’m on inhalers, I lost 50 pounds in a year. I was so sick.”

And nothing she can do about it.

Marilyn Rizzo: “My life is in this woman’s hands. I’m angry. I’m very angry.”

With water dripping down for a year, everyone would be angry, but what can someone do about it, Howard?

Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “If the condo owner or board or management company won’t do anything, contact the city or county because the leaky window may be in violation of
their code. They can cite and fine the condo owner until the problem is fixed. If none of those options work, file for an injunction. A judge will order them to fix the problem and make
them pay your legal costs.”

A week after we interviewed Marilyn, the owner of the leaky condo submitted a permit to replace her windows. We also contacted Deerfield Beach and things changed dramatically for Marilyn.

Marilyn Rizzo: “Because of Help Me Howard, Channel 7, they reached out. They got me a code enforcer.”

The owner of the condo got two citations and Marilyn got to explain her frustration to the magistrate.

Marilyn Rizzo: “They knew this last year and they kept denying it.”

The magistrate made his decision.

Commissioner Ben Preston: “I am finding a violation on the city’s code. I’m going to give 30 days to correct. $250 a day on each violation.”

Maybe that’s what it took. Maybe it was a coincidence.

Marilyn Rizzo: “Thank God after a year and a half.”

A few days later, the Plexiglass windows were replaced by impact resistant windows.

Marilyn Rizzo: “Case closed. Hopefully, hopefully. It’s been a long battle for myself and my neighbor.”

A long battle that is ending after the right phone call.

Marilyn Rizzo: “It’s magnificent. This would never have happened if it wasn’t without Help Me Howard.

And thank you for contacting us, Marilyn.

Fortunately, Marilyn had homeowners insurance that will cover the damage to her condo. With insurance rates out of sight, many homeowners without a mortgage are dropping their insurance.

But when a problem hits, you need it, so be careful.