Condo owners complain of mold

EAST COUNTY — RJ and Sharon Dominic sat at their new kitchen table with Louie and Anita Podolinsky, neighbors in their River Strand condo community, and tried to talk over a buzzing dehumidifier.

The couples did not know each other before mold overtook their condos this summer, but as they sat in the Dominic’s living room on furniture that replaced all the furniture they’d lost to mold, they united around a mission to prevent similar situations from happening to others.

The Dominics and Podolinskys say an oversized air-conditioning system caused mold outbreaks to their Verandas condos. On Nov. 11, their attorney gave Lennar, the condo’s developer, and Conditioned Air, the Naples-based subcontractor that installed the air-conditioning units, 90 days’ notice of an intent to sue for reimbursement of costs associated with the mold — more than $80,000 in expenses between both couples.

The couples, who are working jointly with attorney Alan Tannenbaum, say they ultimately will not pursue litigation against Lennar because a contract signed when they bought the condos requires arbitration.
Instead, they hope to redeem costs from Conditioned Air, in a lawsuit likely to be filed this month.

“Out of all the properties I’ve ever had, this is the least one I’ve been attached to,” Louie Podolinsky said.

The Dominics and Podolinskys say Lennar has declined to reimburse them, claiming that when the couples returned to their primary out-of-state homes this summer, they failed to manage their air conditioners correctly.

Lennar did not respond to email and phone inquiries from the East County Observer by press time Tuesday.

The Dominics hired a hygienist, Bradenton-based Air Quality Management Services (AQM), and an engineering firm, Sarasota-based ESC Energy and Sustainability Consultants, to inspect their condo.
In a report filed in July, when both couples discovered their mold, AQM confirmed “widespread” mold growth on appliances, window frames, cabinets, bedding, clothing and more. It says a rise in humidity caused the mold.

The Dominics said while they were gone, they set their thermostat to 76 degrees and a dehumidifier to 55%, which is an optimal level of humidity, AQM says.

AQM reported the dehumidifier worked properly.

ESC said the Dominics’ two-bedroom, two-bath condo contains a 2-ton air-conditioning system suitable for a much larger home.

Both couples have not replaced their air conditioners, and have not had mold problems since the summer.

Nick Azzara, community outreach coordinator for Manatee County, said a building official, C.J. Dupre, visited both condos in question and inspected their AC units.

Dupre’s report, Azzara said, claimed that, “not only do the AC units keep up with Florida Building Code, but they were not too big for the homes. Other homes had the same unit but not the same problem.”

The Dominics left for Delaware in April and returned in July. The Podolinskys traveled home in March and also returned in July.

Both couples had house sitters visit their homes weekly while they were away.

After their story became public in December, RJ Dominic says other River Strand residents from Lennar-built homes complained to him about mold.

For both couples, the experience has brought expense and frustration.

When they first walked into the mold, after their house sitters noticed the mold earlier in July, the Dominics remember their throats feeling scratchy and their eyes burning.

Sharon Dominic watched her old sofa shredded with a knife, because hygienists wanted to ensure trash-hunters could not recoup the molded couch.

The Dominics, who bought their condo for about $185,000 in February 2013, have owned seasonal homes since the 1980s.

They have homeowners insurance from a company contracted through Lennar, but they say they did not receive coverage for costs associated with the mold — more than $30,000 worth — because the incident was not considered sudden in nature.

Anita Podolinsky says she won’t invite guests to her condo; she would feel guilty if a mold outbreak returned and sickened them.

Louie Podolinsky would sell the condo, but he says his conscience won’t allow it.

“I’m paranoid,” Anita Podolinsky said. “I make sure my fans are on when I shower. I constantly look at the walls for any changes in color. Even if there’s nothing to see, I wonder what’s happening behind the walls.”

The Podolinskys do not have homeowners insurance. Repairs and replacements have cost them more than $50,000.

Contact Josh Siegel at [email protected].