Re: Home not-so-sweet home

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Home not-so-sweet home

Emeryville residents displaced by mold stuck in hotel since August 2004

_By Cecily Burt, STAFF WRITER_

(mailto:cburt@...?subject=Inside Bay Area: Home not-so-sweet home)

Article Last Updated: 12/23/2006 02:47:13 AM PST

EMERYVILLE — ita Carroll Young's family is busy with all the tasks many

people do this time of year: shop, send out cards, decorate the Christmas

tree.

Only this year, like the past two years, the Youngs and several of their

neighbors who own leaky condominiums in the Terraces at EmeryStation will be

spending the holidays in a hotel, not in the comfort of their own homes.

It's not by choice. The owners of more than 20 condos in Emeryville have

been living a nomadic — but not too spartan — existence at the Woodfin

Suites

hotel since August 2004. That was when it became clear that water leaks and

subsequent mold problems in their condos would be not be quick, easy or

inexpensive to fix.

At that point the developer's insurance company moved most of them into the

hotel, their furniture and many other belongings left behind or placed in

storage. A few people have since moved to apartments, but the bulk of them

remain at the Woodfin.

And though many of the displaced homeowners — who affectionately refer to

themselves as " moldies " — feel slightly odd when they complain about having

to

stay at the very nice and comfortable hotel, that doesn't mean they aren't

frustrated by the delay in moving back to their own homes.

" My daughter is 11, she was 8 when we moved in, " said Young about her

daughter Larissa Campana. " She learned to ride her bike in the parking lot

behind

the hotel. Nobody really has that much pity for me; somebodydoes come in and

clean my room every day, " she added wryly.

The 101-unit Terraces at EmeryStation on Horton Street is the residential

component of Wareham Development's planned 20-acre campus that includes two

office buildings and the Amtrak station, which is owned and managed by Wareham.

The condominium project was completed in 2003, but it wasn't long before

several residents started reporting drips and leaks when the rainy season

started.

Craig Winsor and his partner bought their 1,100-square-foot loft in July

2003. It features floor-to-ceiling windows and an eclectic view of urban life

that he loves.

Winsor said he first noticed the drips from his 22-foot ceilings on New

Year's Day, 2004. He said management at first blamed it on the bad storms that

winter. Then the mold happened, construction defects were discovered, lawsuits

were filed and all hopes of quick fixes and promises of moving back have

faded as the months go by.

Wareham's insurance company pays for their suite at the Woodfin while he

continues to pay the mortgage on the condo and $420 a month in Home Owner's

Association dues.

Winsor has an adjustable rate mortgage coming due in 2008. He put off

refinancing because the wall in his unit is exposed down to the studs, awaiting

repair, while the attorneys for both sides haggle over what should be done to

fix the problem and get ready for trial in case nothing is resolved.

" I go up and down, " said Winsor, who visits his condo from time to time and

has remodeled his bathrooms while living at the hotel. " Sometimes I get

really livid and frustrated, that's why I don't go to all the meetings (to get

updates on the repairs). I'd rather pretend it's not happening, I guess. "

Calls to Wareham were returned by Tim Gallen of Gallen Associates, a public

relations firm. Gallen said the lawsuit prevented him from commenting about

anything related to the water or mold problems, the proposed resolution or the

timetable for returning people to their homes.

Wareham's attorney, Buzzard of Palumbo Bergstrom LLC in Irvine, said it

is true that Wareham initially thought the problem could be quickly fixed.

and people would be able to move back in.

Buzzard said the developer doesn't own the building and the homeowners

association has control over how the repairs are done and Wareham " can't just

go

in and do whatever it wants. " The insurance companies for the developer and

subcontractors stepped in and started negotiating with the home owners'

association over the type and extent of those repairs. The two sides couldn't

agree,

and the association filed a lawsuit earlier this year, Buzzard said.

" I couldn't give you all the details on the back and forth, " he said. " There

is a process in California where the developer gets to do something before

litigation starts. That process happened, the insurance companies got

involved, now it's just a matter of the insurance companies not being able to

agree

to what the repairs should be. "

Truelove, president of the homeowner's association at the Terraces,

said both sides hired forensics experts to study the problem. Both sides

agree on the cause of the water intrusion and subsequent mold, and both sides

agree there were identified construction defects.

But that agreement hasn't so far translated into action.

" The magnitude of the construction defects, the costs and adequate funding

of the liability, exceeds the amount of insurance in the first insurance

policy, " Truelove said, adding that a so-called " wrap " insurance policy that

covers all the subcontractors been activated, adding more lawyers to the

negotiations.

" The case hasn't settled, " Truelove said. " There are insurance carriers

involved and we are moving to trial on this. "

Buzzard said Wareham has a good track record in Emeryville and has worked

hard to make it a better community for both business and its residents. He said

the company has not forgotten about the residents and the company is

" genuinely concerned " about them and committed to resolving the problems.

Unfortunately, he said, the litigation process slows things down.

" Wareham is devoted to the community and it's not leaving or abandoning the

community, " he said.

That may be, but some displaced residents aren't feeling the love right now.

" This is our third Christmas at the hotel, " Young said. " We set up a tree,

but I couldn't find the box with our Christmas ornaments this year, which

really made me mad. "

Young's family made the best of the situation, popping popcorn and weaved

strands of the fluffy kernels and cranberries to hang on the tree. Larissa

designed and cut out paper ornaments and created small cachets of potpourri

with

hot pink Silly String curlicues, popcorn and cranberries.

" Every spring and summer that comes we are very hopeful there will be a fix,

then every September that comes, it's too late because another rainy season

is coming, " Young said. " You gotta just find some humor in the whole thing. "

Contact Staff Writer Celily Burt at _cburt@..._

(mailto:cburt@...) .

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