It's been over four months since Hurricane Irma caused widespread damage throughout Southwest Florida, and one woman living in an upscale gated community says she's still having trouble getting the property's management to approve repairs for a hole in her ceiling. Leslie Maloney said the mold build-up and water damage has made her home at Bella Terra in Estero uninhabitable.
"Even if I wanted to come back here and live, I can't with this smell," Maloney said, who has been staying in a hotel paid for by FEMA since October. "It smells really bad."
She said repairs have to be approved by Bella Terra's property management, Alliant Association Management - but Maloney said that her phone calls and emails haven't gotten her anywhere. A mold repair company did do some work in her condo, but she said they did such a sloppy job, she asked them to leave.
"Meanwhile I'm paying my mortgage, I'm paying my HOA fees...but I can't live here," she said. "This could have been done in one and a half or two weeks, and I wouldn't even have had to leave."
When Fox 4 reached out to Bella Terra management about the situation, we were told to contact Alliant Property Management. But their representative told us to call Bella Terra.
Maloney said she ran into the same issue.
"Phone calls and emails, and nothing is rattling anybody's cage to get anything done," she said.
But she said that something needs to get done soon, because FEMA told her she should plan to find other accommodations by February 12.
"As of the 12th, I don't where I'm going," Maloney said.
Fox 4 will keep pressing Alliant and Bella Terra for answers on when Maloney can expect some help with a reliable repairs on her condo.
