Susan Samarakone &
Nicholas Garcés
2 Picazo
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
May 23, 2020
Las Flores II Home Owner’s Association
Executive Board
C/O
Powerstone Property Management
Alena Norman, Community Manager
9060 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 200
Irvine, CA 92618
Re: Homeowners – 2 Picazo, RSM, CA 92688 – HOA Complaint & Reimbursement Request
Dear Las Flores II HOA Executive Board,
My wife and I are submitting this complaint and request for reimbursement for the major disruption in our lives, beginning on July 1, 2018, and ending during January 2019.
On June 4, 2018, my fiancé at the time, Susan Samarakone, and I closed on our first home. Our purchase was a significant accomplishment and step in our lives, amidst planning our wedding, which was set for a little later in the year. We purchased in Las Flores II with excitement about starting our new life and family and we looked forward to settling into our new home. We relied on statements and disclosures by the HOA to make a purchase here, initially confident and comforted that we were moving into a wonderful community and a great home, and would soon be fully part of the community.
We then planned to move into our new home by the start of July. Prior to moving in, we thought it would be useful to perform some minor renovations and upgrades. As those improvements were underway, we discovered, unfortunately, what ended up being substantial health and safety hazards, in the kitchen, both bathrooms, both bedrooms, and the living and dining areas. Mold was pervasive throughout the entire unit, making it unsuitable for occupancy or habitation, and roof leaks were later discovered, which we were previously informed, prior to purchase, had been fixed. As water takes a path of least resistance, the leaks in the roof ended up contaminating each room and kitchen area of our condo as well as the mold from the constant soaking of the outside wall from sprinklers directed at the wall/soil interface. Substantial mold was found at the level of baseboard and traveling up the walls in our bedrooms.
This discovery led us to realize that we could not move into our unit by July 1, as planned. By that time, we had given up our respective places of domicile, and were forced to move and incur costs to store furniture, belongings, and everything we own from our two separate domiciles at the time into storage, find alternative pet care arrangements, and seek temporary housing while working with the property management firm to remediate these issues.
We began to work with the property management firm, Powerstone Property Management, in good faith, thinking this would be something that would be resolved within a month – maximum. As we began discussing fixing our condo, we discovered in that first month a complete lack of professional oversight of various repair crews or individuals, record keeping, and communication, which extended work that should have been completed in a month to actually taking seven (7) months.
I say this “lack of oversight” because at least 4 times when the HOA management, contractor’s, and/or agents, announced that work was done, it was NOT. For example, the first time the HOA contractors and testing company declared it was done: finished, we asked an expert/inspector to review the remediation completed. While he was merely clarifying information from his previous inspection before the exposed walls were returned to their previous condition, he alarmingly discovered obvious things the HOA contractors did not fix, including remaining mold and issues. To make matters worse, we pointed out to the property management firm, and HOA, these lack of results again, on at least 3 additional occasions and they tacitly agreed because they sent the repair crews back in on each occasion. This lack of professional oversight, reasonable workmanlike conduct, and compliance with normal building standards, has led to massive costs for my, now, wife and I during these 7 months and HUGE inconvenience, frustration, and complete lack of the “quiet enjoyment’ of our purchase of our condominium within the Las Flores II condominium complex.
My wife and I have been paying a mortgage payments & HOA payments since July 2018, and were not able to live in our new home, until January 2019. In that time, our lives have been completely disrupted, requiring us to live out of suitcases and move from hotel to hotel, incur costs for and store the majority of our belongings for months in storage, scramble to find and incur costs for alternative pet care arrangements, live off irregular diets and meal arrangements, nomadically launder our clothes, and other extreme hardship and inconvenience. These circumstances added to our frustration overall and compounded anxiety because we were forced to expend costs set aside for our wedding, and plan our wedding, while simultaneously coordinating to meet living arrangements and needs for each new day and week, with our wedding fast approaching.
We realize the Home Owner’s Association didn’t set out to do this to us. At the same time, the Home Owners Association has hired at their own discretion the property management firm, and respective contractors. The complete lack of professionalism and reasonableness by this management firm has harmed you as the Home Owner’s Association, and my wife and I as purchasers in Las Flores II. We regret that we are compelled to submit our demand for reimbursement of the various costs that we incurred because of the length of time this has taken. Attached you will find a more detailed, month by month discussion, detailing how this saga unfolded. Attached behind that you will find copies of records as well as dozens of receipts for various costs that we had to incur from not being in our home in a timely manner.
You likely notice this is May 2020. You may wonder why this is only being presented now? The answer is simple and straightforward. We returned home from our wedding in January 2019, to a construction zone with maxed out credit from the past 7 months of expenses, and a lack of normalcy or time to adequately prepare and present this information to you. With a job in LA I am on the road over four (4) hours a day, and most spare time we had was often used making our condo habitable with the limited time each weekend. Moreover, it has taken over 100 hours of my time to locate, review, organize records and information here to present this information in adequate form. I am not seeking reimbursement at this time of my $275 hourly rate as an attorney incurred in this preparation of this board packet and presentation ($27,500+ value, performed at no charge).
As discussed with the HOA and its management many months ago, who requested we submit our costs, we are, however, seeking reimbursement of our costs in the minimum amount of $81,762.92, which was caused as a result of a lack of reasonable care and professionalism by the HOA and its agents, concerning the problems at our condo, resulting in. many more months delay than necessary.
We are willing to discuss this matter with the HOA, but request a swift and quick resolution, by mid-July 2020 at the latest. It is our hope a resolution can be reached promptly and avoid further delays, other action, or more costs to us, the HOA, or others.
Respectfully,
Nicholas Garces, Esq.
Dapeer, Rosenblit, Litvak, LLP
Associate Real Property Attorney
&
Susan Samarakone
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