(WSVN) - When she tried to sell her home, her association blocked it, till she made repairs to the structure. She did but they they still wouldn’t let her sell it. And that’s when the call went out to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
You may not know Alexandria’s face.
Alexandria Crossman: “I could look into that for you right now.”
But you might have heard her voice.
Alexandria Crossman: “Customer relations. Customer service.”
Whether its working at a hotel or for a credit card company, Alexandria loves people.
Alexandria Crossman: “I love to meet new people, I love to talk to new people, and I’m friends with people for life that I’ve met in the hotel.”
But when she bought her townhouse in 2017 at Hampton East, she met some people, she would never be friends with.
Alexandria Crossman: “Ever since I addressed her in the HOA, the association’s meeting, that was it. That was it. She had her eyes set on me and she was never going to let go.”
Alexandria said she felt targeted by the board president after she stood up to her. Finally, in 2022, she decided enough was enough and found a buyer for her townhouse. But the troubles continued.
Alexandria Crossman: “Well you can’t sell because we have to check the property before you sell to see if there’s any violations.”
Alexandria said the property manager sent pictures of items like cedar wood that were considered violations and needed to be repaired or replaced before the board would approve the sale.”
Alexandria Crossman: “The cedar was not rotten. Cedar is, it has creases in it. I had a license contractor come out and they said the same thing, that there was no rotten wood.”
But Alexandria says she paid $6,000 for the repairs and even sent the board pictures circling the work that had been done.
But the board was not satisfied.
Alexandria Crossman: “They gave me one set of repairs and then later on, after I finished those repairs, they sent in another set of repairs.”
Alexandria showed us her former neighbor’s houses that she said needed repairs, and the board isn’t requiring them to do it.
Alexandria Crossman: “That is selective enforcement. It’s just an issue that the president has with me. It has nothing to do with anything else.”
To settle the dispute back in October, the association let Alexandria sell her place if she put $10,000 in escrow to cover a final repair from a handyman who said he would do it for $685.
Alexandria Crossman: “We’ll take $685 and we’ll fix it ourselves. “Does this mean it’s done? She said this means it’s done.
But it wasn’t.
Accoding to the paperwork, Alexandria thought she would receive the remaining $9,315 from the escrow account but the repair work has still not been done
Alexandria Crossman: “I think I’m entitled to all my money back now at this point.”
Technically, the buyer could release the funds but they won’t. And so Alexandria sits and waits while her money.
Alexandria Crossman: “I’m tired. I want it done.”
Well Howard, can a seller be blocked from getting some of the money from the sale of their house?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “Temporarily, but Alexandria having to wait six months is unreasonable. If the two sides cannot resolve the impasse, the escrow agent can try to settle the dispute or turn the $10,000 over to a judge and let them make a decision one way or the other.”
The Hampton East board president told me this is not selective enforcement.
The property manager added pieces of wood like this needed to be replaced and were not.
The board didn’t use the handyman who offered to do the job for $685, instead they got two more bids; one for $2,000 dollars and one for $4,000.
Alexandria refused to release the money from the escrow account for that large amount, but then their standoff took a strange turn.
Alexandria Crossman: “I did. I got finally got my $8,000.”
Alexandria says $8,000 was released from the escrow account and given to her, leaving $2,000 dollars left for the repairs.
But.
Alexandria Crossman: “I’m not signing for the $2000. I already made all the repairs on the house.”
Without Alexandria’s signature, the $2,000 cannot be spent on repairs and the battle over that money may never end.
Alexandria Crossman: “I cannot be a loser. So I can never let them win, and this is just going to go on forever.”
After talking to both sides, I don’t doubt that.
And if they can’t settle this and it has to go before a judge, then the legal cost will eat up most of that $2,000.
We’ll keep an eye on this one.
In a stand off? Don’t want to budge? Let us try to repair the damage. We won’t judge. Just try to help you cash in.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.