Complicated Cayman Cay condo storm recovery begins

Your 1,200-square-foot slice of island paradise is a storm-soaked ruin.

How do you recover your vacation hideaway or retirement oasis?

Go to war. Battle frustration, city hall, red tape and slow-moving insurers and restoration crews.

Ten condo owners at Cayman Cay Villas in Holmes Beach faced four months of fighting bureaucracy and incompetency to begin to address damages inflicted as Hurricane Irma passed Sept. 10, 2017. Doubts crept in whether the recovery would ever be cost-effective, but they stayed the course.

“Well, we love the island,” said condo owner Michael Yandek. “That’s why we’ve been here 15 years. But if it’s going to cost me $100,000 when these insurance companies have been paid all these years. …We’re getting short-changed. It’s frustrating.”

Before Irma, the 10 condos were valued at $218,000 and up, according to the Manatee County property appraiser’s website.

Florida Southern Roofing & Sheet Metal of Sarasota installed a temporary roof two days after the storm. It is still covering the two-story south building at 4307 Gulf Drive.

Yet, work on the soggy condos did not really begin until Jan. 22 — more than four months after winds ripped the roof off the 10-unit building, allowing rains and humidity to cover the interior in mold. The eight-unit north building is undamaged.

It’s been a long, frustrating, costly haul for the condo owners, who say they still have no idea what repairs will cost.

“It’s going to depend on what they find after they get the drywall off,” said condo association vice president Thomas Knarr. “I’m sure we’re going to have termite damage. I’m sure those lil beasts had a feast.”

Condo owners also will be assessed a 3 percent fee to help pay a $45,000 insurance deductible, Knarr said.

Dillon Cramer, owner of Cramer’s Services LLC of Bradenton, took a break from gutting a condo Jan. 24 to assess the damage.

“Some were a lot worse than others,” he said. “We’ve gutted three condos in three days, but this one is the worst. Not sure how long this will take to finish.”

General contractor John Fries of Accutech Restoration of Sarasota hired subcontractor Cramer’s Services in January.

Holmes Beach building official James McGuinness said the city issued an emergency permit Sept. 20, 2017, which gave Fries permission to remove water-damaged materials from the condos.

Knarr said the city version of events makes no sense.

“There’s no way we would have left that building sit there for four months if they had given us the determination when they said they did,” Knarr said. “Accutech isn’t going to let it sit there because it’s costing them money. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s costing everybody money to let it sit, unless you don’t have a personal interest in it.”

Mayor Bob Johnson said he’s satisfied the city has done a proper job.

Keith Wilking of Holmes Beach Property Management of west Bradenton is the community association manager for Cayman Cay Villas. HBPM has done nothing to aid in the storm recovery despite being paid thousands of dollars, according to Knarr’s Cayman Cay neighbor, Michael Yandek.

After three weeks without returning calls, an unnamed spokeswoman said Wilking has been directed by the HBPM board not to comment.

Knarr said Wilking hasn’t returned calls to any condo owners since the storm.

The 18 Cayman Cay owners each pay HBPM a $350 monthly maintenance fee, amounting to $6,300, plus an annual assessment of more than $2,000, according to Yandek. The HOA fee is $1,500 per quarter.

Built in 1974, permit issues continue to dog the condo recovery.

“Still waiting for a reply from you on my question when Perez Tile & Construction can apply for permits to reconstruct the interior of the owner unit at Cayman Cay,” wrote Knarr in a Jan. 14 email to McGuinness and Johnson. “Please, respond ASAP.”

Knarr claims to have been waiting 10 days for a response from McGuinness.

With physical work underway, focus shifts to financial recovery.

“Universal Casualty Insurance of Fort Lauderdale is not cooperative,” Yandek said. “Six units are covered by them and they are not responding.”

Yandek said he is losing $10,000 in annual rental revenue.

“That’s not much, but it’s something,” he said. “It softens the blow.”

Universal Casualty Insurance is supposed to cover the interior, as well as replacement costs, such as washer, dryer, stove, fridge, flooring and roofing, Yandek said.

“I’ve been doing battle with them,” he said. “All interior structures are damaged by saltwater and freshwater. They are responsible for that. It’s brutal with these people.”