Gardens of Forest Lakes residents endure a year of repairs and increased costs because of water damage. Some packed up and left.
By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published April 4, 2004
OLDSMAR - Things were so bad at one condominium community two years ago that engineers advised residents to sell their units as quickly as possible.
But when they did, there were few buyers.
Water and termites had damaged many of the homes at the Gardens of Forest Lakes. Balconies were on the verge of collapsing and engineers estimated repairs could cost more than $5-million.
Condo owners were unsure how they would pay for the fixes. Residents worried about living in a construction zone.
"It was a nightmare," said Vanita Hall, president of the condo association.
But in the past year, things have changed. The work to fix the soggy exterior is nearly finished, residents know how much the repairs will cost and life is returning to normal at the Gardens of Forest Lakes.
In that sense, homeowners in the Gardens of Forest Lakes have gotten off much easier than their counterparts in the pricier Nature's Watch development in East Lake. There, repairs have been estimated at nearly $16.7-million. Until an appeals court ruling in January, the 182 Nature's Watch homeowners faced repair assessments estimated at $92,000 for each unit.
But the Gardens of Forest Lakes didn't turn the corner before residents went through their own share of hurt, some of which still lingers in this modest community behind the city's Winn-Dixie.
"What they've done is incredible," said Oldsmar Mayor Jerry Beverland, a former condo owner who toured the complex this month. "They actually took a lemon and made lemonade out of it."
Built north of Tampa Road and west of Forest Lakes Boulevard, the Gardens of Forest Lakes was constructed in phases from 1985 to 1988. In all, there are 160 two-bedroom, two-bath units measuring 915 square feet each.
The condos were built by Ryan Homes, a Pittsburgh company that left the state in 1990.
The first signs of water damage appeared in September 2001, when a resident reported that her wall had swollen. Inspectors found that similar problems were rampant throughout the complex.
Water had seeped through the stucco exterior into the studs and drywall surrounding many units. The window frames were falling apart. So were some of the condo balconies. There were also problems with mold in the buildings.
"They were getting close to falling down from what we understood," said Dennis McDonald, a condo resident and a member of the association board. "We needed to do something."
Engineers estimated that repairs to the complex could cost more than $5-million, or $31,250 per unit. For people who earn, in many cases, less than $25,000 a year, a $31,250 repair bill was hard to swallow.
"That sort of money was impossible for many of the owners to come up with," said Hall, the board president.
So Hall and others filed a $5.4-million claim with Southern Family Insurance, the condo's agent. That claim is still pending. Hall said condo owners will take the insurance company to court if it denies the claim.
The group also went to banks looking for a loan. They were turned down several times, including at their own bank, before a community bank lent them $1.8-million for repairs.
Scott Boyle, the president and CEO of the Pinellas branch of First Community Bank of America, said the condo association came to him in dire straits last spring.
"Their homestead was at stake," Boyle said. "We are somewhat in tune to lending to condo associations and we felt comfortable with them where other banks would have walked away."
The loan must be repaid within 10 years - sooner if the condo association receives an insurance settlement.
The condo association has so far turned to residents for the rest of the money. In 2002, condo owners were assessed a $1,050 fee to help pay for the renovations. They are also paying an additional $90 a month in maintenance fees, more than a 50 percent increase, to offset costs. That fee could be reduced if the insurer picks up the claim. Since last June, workers have been overhauling the outside of the complex's buildings, forcing residents to live with the exterior stripped away for as much as a month.
During the work, residents received a new outside of their homes, down to the stairs and doors. Parts of damaged drywall on the inside of several units were also replaced.
Today the condos are vastly changed, residents say.
"It's like they are brand-new," said 55-year-old Sam Hassan, who has lived at the Gardens of Forest Lakes for seven years. "They did a lot of work on the building, I can tell you that. It's much improved."
Also, the final cost of the repairs turned out to be a fraction of the original estimates. Instead of $31,250 per unit, the actual cost was closer to $12,000 per condo, Hall said.
Residents saved a lot of money in repairs by replacing the condos' stucco exteriors with less-expensive yellow siding, she said.
By the time all repairs are complete, she said, the total project will cost close to $2-million, $3-million less than the original projection. The condo association plans to submit a revised insurance claim. Hall said she hopes to have an answer from Southern Family Insurance sometime this spring.
But whatever money the insurance company returns, Bette Lamb won't see a dime.
A condo owner since 1999, Lamb, 50, was kicked out of her home last December after she was unable to make her monthly maintenance fee payment. A receptionist at an Oldsmar business, Lamb said she takes home about $1,100 a month.
After her $504 mortgage payment and living costs, Lamb was unable to pay $255 in maintenance fees each month. Now she rents an apartment in Hillsborough County.
"I tried to hang on as long as I could," Lamb said. "But in the end, it just wasn't feasible for me."
Lamb said she understands the need for the repairs. The end result just grew out of her price range, she said.
"I hoped they fixed as much as they could so it makes it more profitable for the homeowner," Lamb said. "It's just that was my home and I had to let it go. I couldn't afford it."
McDonald, an association board member, said as many as five other condo owners were forced to leave because they were unable to contribute to the remodeling. He said another family that was renting a condo left because of all the construction.
"If you're living with plastic on your walls for three or four months, I could see why you would want to leave," McDonald said.
Selling a unit during the past three years also was difficult, according to Pinellas County Property Appraiser's records. In 2001, 19 condos were sold for an average of $48,878. In 2003, the number of sales had shrunk to eight and the average sale price was $48,637, a slight loss in a booming real estate market.
But so far this year, the market seems to be rallying. Through March, there have already been six sales for an average of $53,500.
Hall says it can only get better.
"When this whole problem came up, nothing was selling," Hall said. "We've been through a lot, and it's been very difficult, but I think we can see the end in sight."
