Nightmare on Broom Street

October 16, 2006

Condo owners hit with $50,000 repair fees

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20061016/NEWS/610160321/1006/NEWS

MY COMMENT:

Seems funny no one is mentioning the word mold. Since I am very ill

from dangerous mold, I know a lot on the subject and this sounds

like a mold problem to me.

It is a shame that people that just bought their place about a year

or so have to pay this large sum of money to fix problems that were

there before they bought the place.

Water damage has been going on for years according to the article.

It seems like this information should have been given to the people

buying property. Disclosure I believe they call it.

Mold is very dangerous, and if there are water problems for several

years, there will be mold. Of course insurance does not cover water

leaking from a slow leak--insurance companies learned about mold long

ago. Unfortnately everyone ignors this very toxic problem and it is

going on all over the country, and our government is not doing

anything to help. Trent Lott is sueing his insurance company for his

flood damage from Katrina. There should be laws protecting people,

well there are some, but no one is listening. And they should

have several companies give a bid to remediate the mold-- and do it

right. There is a wrong way and if they do not clean up the water

damage properly--these poor people will continue to pay. It never

ends--believe me. Even Bush had mold in the governor's

mansion in the 90's. When are they going to do something about water

damage that is ignored and put off until it is very dangerous and

expensive.

By MAUREEN MILFORD, The News Journal

Posted Monday, October 16, 2006

Krigstein (center) and other residents of The Broomall were

floored when they received bills from $49,000 to $64,000. The money

is needed to repair the walls of the Wilmington condominium building.

(Buy photo)

The News Journal/RON SOLIMAN

Broomall residents Deborah and Krigstein, who are both

disabled, say they can't afford the assessment.

(Buy photo)

The News Journal/RON SOLIMAN

Kirby was so eager to unload her two-bedroom condominium in

The Broomall in Wilmington that she answered advertisements for

companies that promise to buy " ugly houses. "

Once they heard about the situation with the building at Ninth and

Broom streets, they responded, " No thanks. " They didn't even want to

look at it, Kirby said. Now, she's considering walking away from the

property and letting the lender take it.

" I have been crying for months, " said Kirby, a 36-year-old

teacher. " I kick myself all the time. Of all the buildings, all the

houses, all the condos I looked at, why did I buy that? It was my bad

luck. "

What Kirby describes as " this thing on my back " is a $53,000 bill for

a special assessment on a condo she paid $110,000 for in 2004. The

special assessment was levied this year against all owners of the 40

apartments in the building by the condominium association, the

Broomall Condominium Council. The special assessment is designed to

correct a moisture problem that's damaged the exterior walls. Owners,

many of whom are elderly or disabled, received bills from $49,000 to

$64,000, depending on the size of the residence.

Condo owner Marilyn Harwick, 76, returned from a monthlong vacation

in Florida to find a bill for $64,000 slipped under her door. Harwick

paid $130,000 for her three-bedroom condo in mid-2004. Florence

Bleiberg, 84, went to the hospital with heart palpitations over her

$53,000 assessment.

The crisis has pitted neighbor against neighbor, generated lawsuits

and led some residents to wonder how they will survive.

Residents' anxiety is understandable, real estate experts said. The

bills are off the charts in an area where a $5,000 special assessment

is considered high. Even national real estate experts familiar with

metropolitan markets with much higher housing costs are taken aback.

" It floors me, " said tte Chapman , chairwoman of the

real estate department at Wharton School at the University of

Pennsylvania. " Fifty thousand dollars anywhere is a huge assessment. "

said the amount is comparable to assessments some condo

owners in Florida have faced after devastating hurricanes.

" This is 'Nightmare on Elm Street,' " said E. Ward, a

Wilmington real estate attorney.

'Who's paid the assessment?'

Nightmare on Broom Street is more like it, residents said.

Not only do the condo owners face a serious repair problem, the

community has been ripped apart by how it should be addressed.

Tensions simmer in the hallways and elevator, some residents said.

" It's a small building, and it's like: Who's on that side? Who's paid

the assessment? Who's mad at us because we haven't paid the

assessment? I just can't stand it, " Kirby said.

So far, slightly more than half of the condo owners have paid the

assessment, according to Vaudry, the council's vice president.

Those who haven't paid are being charged interest of 10 percent on

their balances. All residents also have to pay legal bills for months

of litigation.

Supporters of the council's proposed restoration maintain that the

moisture problem is the result of years of problems dating to when

the building was converted to condominiums in 1979. Now, based on

engineering reports, the building is in danger of having exterior

wall panels tear off during high winds, supporters say.

" It all boils down to either you pay and get the building fixed, or

lose what you have in it. The sooner we get it done the better, " said

owner Ed Stokes, who with his wife, Ada, paid a $64,000 assessment.

Opponents agree that significant repairs have to be made and that

previous councils relied on makeshift fixes.

" We all know it has to be done, " said Isabel , 84, who got a

bill for $64,000.

But they believe the current council went about the repair process in

the wrong way by basing the special assessment on costs developed by

the architects and engineers. Bids should have been sought from

construction firms, they say. Repair options outlined by the condo

council range from $1.77 million to $2.6 million.

" It's like buying a car and only looking at one, " said Isabel Salmon,

79, who with her husband, , 88, got a bill for $64,000.

The dissident owners want a new board installed that will consider

alternatives to what they consider the " Taj Mahal " of condo repairs.

They have been fighting the condo council in Delaware's Court of

Chancery since March.

Board President Lucia Schietroma and Vaudry referred questions to the

council's lawyer.

Some dissident owners say they simply don't have that much money.

Deborah and Krigstein, who are both disabled, said they

couldn't even qualify for a mortgage, much less a home equity loan.

" We're barely making it now, " said Krigstein, 57.

The Krigsteins have not paid their $53,000 assessment. They and other

owners who have not paid are watching interest accrue on their bills.

The Krigsteins' bill, for example, is now up to about $55,000.

Harwick's bill has climbed to about $67,000, and the Salmons' bill to

$66,780.47.

" Every month we get a bill with the normal dues, the special

assessment and the accrued interest. The interest charge is more than

$500 a month, " Salmon said. " It's disgraceful. "

Not just about money

Making matters worse, the disagreement has turned personal.

Opponents are upset with what they perceive as the arrogance and

heavy-handedness of certain members of the board.

" This is not a democracy. This is a dictatorship, " Harwick said. " The

council is elected to represent all 40 units, and they are not.

They're playing papa. We want to have some input. "

The council's lawyer, Goodrick, said he could not comment on

people's perceptions about the behavior of the council.

" I don't know how to address issues of a more personal nature. Three

lawsuits have been filed. Clearly, people are not happy, " Goodrick

said.

When the special assessment was levied earlier this year, some

residents stopped speaking to each other in the elevator, said Ada

Stokes.

She and her husband bemoaned the split in a letter to their neighbors

in May.

" Some people have started calling each other names, pointing accusing

fingers, spreading slanderous gossip and not speaking to or looking

former friends in the eye, " Ada and Ed Stokes wrote in a letter to

their fellow condo members in May. " Perhaps the expression, 'once an

adult and twice a child' is a true expression after all! "

The Stokes, who believe the tensions have eased somewhat, are among

the group of owners who support the council. They believe the repairs

will benefit the entire building.

" We didn't like paying the big bill, " Ada Stokes said. " I almost had

a heart attack when I wrote the check. "

But if the improvements aren't made, " the value of each unit is

almost zero, " Ed Stokes said.

" When it's all done, it will be the best condo building in

Wilmington, " he said.

Structural issue

The dissident owners are holding out hope that the condo council will

see reason and listen to all the owners, said Harwick, who is the

plaintiff on the latest lawsuit.

If not, they hope Delaware's Court of Chancery will grant them relief

by allowing for an election of new condo board members.

Goodrick, the attorney for the council, said the council has

proceeded in the most appropriate manner possible after it became

apparent there was serious damage to the building.

" This isn't cosmetic or somebody trying to pretty things up. It's a

structural issue that needs to be addressed, " Goodrick said.

The seriousness of the problem came to light in January 2005 when an

air conditioner came loose from brackets that were deteriorated by

water penetrating the outside wall, Goodrick said.

A yearlong investigation was launched. The owners were sent about a

dozen updates, Goodrick said, and five owner meetings were held.

In February, the architects gave a report that said there was a

serious problem with all four exterior walls. The report said the

problem had to be addressed at one time, not in phases. The cost

estimates were outlined.

Goodrick admits it's a large assessment. He said the council has been

exploring ways to get financing or grants.

" They continue to explore the possibility of getting assistance,

somehow, " Goodrick said.

He said the council is open to discussing the financial circumstances

of each of the households.

At the end of May, Wilmington's Department of Licenses and

Inspections directed that " the structural stability of all four wall

panels be addressed immediately. "

Rago, city communications director, said there were informal

discussions to see whether the city had an obligation to help

financially. Because it's private property, the city concluded it

does not.

" We really feel for the folks. But, unfortunately, our role is from

the code enforcement standpoint. We will stay with it until it is

resolved from the standpoint of structural deficiencies, " Rago

said. " Financially, we don't get involved because these are private

property issues. This is the same as an individual homeowner. "

History of problems

The building has been a problem to the city from the time it was

built in 1976 as an apartment building.

The building was constructed by Crew and his wife, M.

Crew. In 1979, Crew was identified as a Glenmore, Pa., real

estate developer.

Crew, who had bought a property on Delaware Avenue in 1973,

borrowed $1.9 million against the Delaware Avenue property to build

The Broomall.

From the start, it was consistently in violation of the city's fire

code, including having doors that did not close properly. At one

point, the city shut off water to the building because the owner had

not paid the water bill for two years.

By 1978, the Crews were in default on the construction loan,

according to newspaper reports.

Several months later, the Crews decided to convert the building to

condominiums and sell the units.

The real estate agent marketing the condominiums called the apartment

building the " white elephant of the city of Wilmington. "

A report issued by Homsey Architects for the condo council last year

found that high levels of moisture were being introduced from the

interior of the building without proper ventilation.

Homsey found, for example, that dryers throughout the building vent

to the apartment space. What's more, none of the bathrooms was

ventilated to the outside.

Rago said no one who worked in the city's code enforcement area 30

years ago is still with the city.

Records having to do with The Broomall are archived.

" It's difficult to comment on what happened 30 years when we don't

have direct knowledge of it, and nobody on staff in code enforcement

who was here 30 years ago, " Rago said.

Making residents sick

As the matter drags on, some owners say it is taking a toll on their

health.

Several owners report taking anti-anxiety medication.

Salmon, who has a type of Parkinson's disease, needs to be in a

relaxing situation, his wife said.

" Right now, we're just numb, " Isabel Salmon said.

Bleiberg said she feels bad that her children will have to help her

pay her $53,000 assessment, which has climbed to about $57,000.

" To me, parents take care of children. Children don't take care of

parents, " Bleiberg said.

Dorothy Fenimore, 85, who has lived in the condo building since 1980

when it was newly converted, said she doesn't have children to ask

for help.

" It's a worry, " Fenimore said. " All I have is me. "

Kirby, who tried to sell her house to a buyer of ugly homes, said she

took out a $55,000 home equity loan to pay her share, but, as yet,

has not paid it. The home equity loan is in addition to the $100,000

she owes on her first mortgage.

She is now paying $800 a month on her first mortgage, $450 a month on

her home equity loan and $237 a month for her condo fee.

Recently married, she moved into her husband's home and rents the

unit for $1,200 a month. Every month she's short nearly $300.

" I was 26 when I bought my first house. I was always financially

independent, " Kirby said. " This is not what I thought my life would

be. "

Contact Maureen Milford at 324-2881 or mmilford@....

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