'It's been a nightmare': Plantation community left with leaky roofs after HOA, contractor dispute
FORT LAUDERDALE - On a sunny weekday afternoon Waseem Khawaja stood with CBS4's Joe Gorchow as the pair looked over the lake at Wimbledon at Jacaranda.
The smile on Khawaja's face quickly faded as the two entered his condo.
"It's frustrating and sad to come home and look at the leaks all over the place," said Khawaja.
The ceiling shows water damage in every room. He points to the worst of it in the living room. Khawaja says water seeps into the home through an unfinished roof covered by a blue tarp.
"Home is where you come and relax," said Khawaja. "It's depressing. It's like, what do we do here?"
He cut out part of the ceiling to cover the hole with plastic to prevent extended damage. Khawaja counts 16 different leaks resulting from what he says is water intrusion.
He says his building is one of more than 20 within the community without a proper roof since late last year.
"It's been a nightmare, to be honest," added Khawaja.
A neighbor reveals water damage in his attic from water seeping through the blue tarp.
"This is wet," said Gilmar pointing out the damage. "This is very wet. This is no good on my floor."
On Halloween, a frightful skeleton decoration held a sign reading, "All I want is a roof!" Homeowners are left feeling terrified when storm clouds hover over their homes.
"The smell is bad," said Roberto, a unit owner at WAJ. "When it rains outside, you want to get home and be protected and covered. No, it's raining inside your house, as well."
So why are all these homes still without a roof?
CBS4 went to find out.
The "Project," as it's called, was put in motion in April 2021. The Condominium Association agreed with a contractor to start an estimated 1.6 million dollar neighborhood improvement project, which included replacing all the roofs on the 27 buildings at Wimbledon at Jacaranda.
Four months later, the Condonmium Association hired a property management company, Jackson Lastra, as its new property manager - and many homeowners told us by November 2021, they had shingles ripped off in preparation for a new roof.
One that never came.
"From the beginning, it's been a hassle," emphasized Khawaja. "It was ongoing chaos."
Khawaja and others unit owners say property manager Jackson Lastra suspended the project multiple times until the contractor was terminated in May. A lawsuit filed on September 6th of this year states work was suspended "due to alleged workmanship issues" before Jackson Lastra fired the contractor.
"You were never given an explanation for why they halted the work here," asked CBS4s Joe Gorchow to a unit owner.
"Nope," exclaimed Andrew Johnson.
"Wow," added Gorchow.
Johnson showed us his younger brother's damaged ceiling.
"My brother doesn't even spend too much time in here anymore because we have to make sure in the middle of the night if there's a rain storm, it does not leak," added Johnson.
We contacted Jackson Lastra numerous times to learn more about the decision to fire the contractor, leaving more than 20 buildings without a finished roof since late last year. It did not respond.
I spoke with now-former Association president Chandra May about what went wrong with the project when she was leading the HOA.
"They were not following the schedule that we asked them to do," explained May. "We asked them to finish the roofs. The ones that they already papered. We asked them to finish doing the shingles. They continued to rip off the roofs because of the change orders."
"We would advise Jackson Lastra [that] these guys aren't doing a great job," May continued.
She said the contractor was paid around 1.2 million dollars for the uncompleted project. When we reached out, the contractor told us they would not comment-citing pending litigation.
Jackson Lastra's contract includes project management fees. It states they receive up to a 5% take on new projects costing $50,000 or more.
May said the board approved a $130,000 project to put blue tarps over the exposed homes in May. The board president also approved a new roofing contractor estimate in June 2022, with the scope of work expected to cost the community another 1.35 million dollars.
We asked Jackson Lastra if the community could afford the new high price tag and the five-percent fee on multiple big projects, but they did not respond.
The delays meant no movement on new roofs, leaving homeowners like Roberto very concerned during Hurricane season.
"The water leaks inside the wall, running all the way, and wets the carpet," said Roberto. "You have to clean and dry because you don't want mold to form."
"If you have a problem with a contractor, the first thing you should do is try to resolve that problem," said Joe Garrity, a lawyer.
He represents Wimbledon at Jacaranda community members angered by the damage to their units, wanting to elect a new board to find a path forward.
"You can't just throw somebody off a job and expect to walk away unscathed," said Garrity. "There's a lien on this property now for a sub-contractor that was not paid."
"All the complaints about the roof work that was in place destroyed the ability to show it was wrong by taking all the material off and putting it on the tennis court, where it has remained for a year now. All of which is no good to anyone, so it's a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of materials."
Khawaja and other community members no longer trusted the board or the management company. They wanted to hold an election to change leadership, but a hurdle emerged.
On September 6th of this year, a single-unit owner in the neighborhood filed a lawsuit against the Association, asking a court to appoint a third-party receiver to run the property. The Association's board agreed to relinquish control, which meant no election. Days later, the court granted a receiver.
The decision was quickly reversed in a November 20th court judgment.
The presiding judge cited members were denied the right to an election and "were not provided notice, or an opportunity to participate in, the decision of the Board of Directors to agree to the appointment of a Receiver."
The ruling paved the way for a new board, which Khawaja now serves. Hope drives him to find a way forward for his family and all families hurt by the failed project.
He says although there's tremendous uncertainty in the community regarding the current finances, he's optimistic about the future.
"It's a relief knowing we are the new members and know what we want to do in this community," said Khawaja.
Garrity, the lawyer, explains in all likelihood, property insurance will not cover the damages because the previous HOA board and project manager stopped the project. He says the best path forward is to limit litigation within the Association to secure a loan to begin a new roofing project.