ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A fire chased away dozens of people from their homes in Arapahoe County last fall. And Wednesday, they said they are no closer to getting back to normal than they were eight months ago.
They reached out to the FOX31 Denver Problem Solvers for help in getting some answers.
An entire wing of the Country Club Villas is like a ghost town. No one lives there. But there is a presence of anguish from owners such as Michael Bragg.
“What bothers me is that the more questions I ask, the fewer answers I get,” he said.
His questions have to do with the aftermath of a fire on Sept. 16 that started in the kitchen of a ground-floor unit and eventually led Arapahoe County to condemn the entire wing of 54 condominiums because of asbestos.
“Something is terribly, terribly wrong. It shouldn’t take this long, especially since we haven’t even started the reconstruction,” Bragg said.
Bragg said the homeowners association is paying a second asbestos abatement company to redo what the first company should have finished.
“I and other people, everyone should be automatically given all information about the insurance company, payments, job progress, who’s hired, who’s fired, what’s happening here,” Bragg said.
He said HOA president Bill Overheiser won’t give him information or return his calls.
The Problem Solvers stopped by Overheiser’s condo to ask him, but no one answered at his cracked-open front door.
Insurance industry expert Carole Walker said Bragg and other owners are entitled by law to information about the HOA insurance carrier.
“When you get involved in an HOA, you pay a monthly fee, an assessment that goes to pay insurance. And you need to understand if there’s damage to that building, how will insurance cover it?” Walker said.
Generally, Walker said HOA insurance is responsible for the structure of the building like the walls and roof, while individual owners’ insurance covers everything within the walls.
“I can’t see the policy, so I don’t know what the coverage is,” Bragg said.
He wants to know if it would cover his loss of rental income.
“I lose significant rent every month, after month, after month,” Bragg said.
But he knows his losses don’t compare to those who left their life’s belongings behind — now considered dangerous and cancer-causing.
The Department of Regulatory Agencies Division of Real Estate suggests owners send the HOA a letter from an attorney demanding it provide insurance information.