Delays frustrate Park Place residents
Oliver Chronicle
Erin Christie
09 January 2014
Park Place has not been terminated yet, but it looks like a possible candidate.
—editor
When Keryn Timmerman and her husband traded in their Saskatchewan home
for a cozy condo in Oliver three years ago they thought they found the
home of their dreams. A quiet 43-suite, self-managed strata situated in
the heart of BC’s famous Okanagan Valley seemed like a perfect place
for the snowbirds to spend their golden years.
4.6 magnitude earthquake
The couple soon discovered they got more than they bargained for. On
November 18, 2011, less than one year after the Timmermans moved in to
Park Place, the Okanagan was hit with a 4.6 magnitude earthquake. It
wasn’t long after that the problems began and cracks in the structure
started to appear.
Upon investigation, a geotechnical engineer hired by the strata council
discovered cracks in the floors and drywall, as well as water problems
due to what the engineer referred to as “liquification of the soil.”
The residents also learned they were 100 feet from a fault line, and
though there was no damage to the foundation of the building during the
earthquake, it is suspected that the magnitude of the seismic activity
in 2011 destabilized the building.
notice to vacate
In June 2013, the Timmermans, along with 58 other strata owners, were
given notice to vacate the property by September 1, while a report was
completed and submitted for the strata’s insurance company to evaluate
– leaving 60 residents in search of lodging with no idea when they
would be able to return to their homes.
“People are confused, people are upset, and people are confused and upset,” Timmerman said.
“We put a lot into our home, it was the place we were going to live
in until we couldn’t live at home anymore, and we were really
happy there. It’s been six months, which to us, feels like a very long
time, but most times insurance companies wait a year.”
Timmerman said August was a difficult time for them, but the amount of support that poured in from the town “helped a lot.”
“This town has been terrific to us. People donated boxes and moving
supplies, they fundraised to help us with moving expenses and packing
material. I hate to name names because there were so many. It was
typical small town and it was great. But there wasn’t any help
from any of the insurance companies; we haven’t even been able to
access our additional living expenses.”
The strata corporation filed a claim after its engineers confirmed that
cracks throughout the building were caused by the earthquake, but the
owners will likely not receive any kind of settlement from their
personal insurance companies until Park Place’s claim is settled.
At at meeting on January 4, strata corporation president Stuart Syme
revealed that he is still awaiting a response from their insurance
company.
“It’s frustrating for my wife and I. We bought there and spent seven
months renovating. We invested every penny we had. And we were going to
die there. And the earthquake happened just a couple of months after we
moved in.”
Despite mounting frustrations, Syme said he is confident things will start to move quickly now.
Timmerman said August was a difficult time for them, but the amount of support that poured in from the town “helped a lot.”
“This town has been terrific to us. People donated boxes and moving
supplies, they fundraised to help us with moving expenses and packing
material. I hate to name names because there were so many. It was
typical small town and it was great. But there wasn’t any help
from any of the insurance companies; we haven’t even been able to
access our additional living expenses.”
The strata corporation filed a claim after its engineers confirmed that
cracks throughout the building were caused by the earthquake, but the
owners will likely not receive any kind of settlement from their
personal insurance companies until Park Place’s claim is settled.
At at meeting on January 4, strata corporation president Stuart Syme
revealed that he is still awaiting a response from their insurance
company.
“It’s frustrating for my wife and I. We bought there and spent seven
months renovating. We invested every penny we had. And we were going to
die there. And the earthquake happened just a couple of months after we
moved in.”
Despite mounting frustrations, Syme said he is confident things will start to move quickly now.
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Okanagan senior heartbroken over condo fiasco
Global News
By Doris Maria Bregolisse
19 February 2016
OLIVER, B.C. – Bharbara Klassen is heartbroken her retirement income is locked away in a uninhabitable condo.
“This is tough luck,” said Klassen, one of 60 residents who were forced
to leave the Park Place condos in the south Okanagan town in 2013.
Cracks and shifting beams were diagnosed as significant structural issues that left residents believing they had to leave.
The instability began to surface after a small earthquake south of the
border in Washington State in 2011, according to residents.
Since residents left, the building remains vacant with the strata still
looking into remedies for millions of dollars in repairs.
Insurance has denied the building earthquake coverage for the damage,
leaving the residents on the hook for the huge repair bill.
“I have given up hope,” said the Okanagan senior, who has bounced from
living with family to renting her own apartment. Klassen was mortgage
free at Park Place.
continue to pay $146/month strata fees as well as legal costs
All the residents continue to pay $146/month strata fees as well as legal costs incurred along the way.
While some condo owners have since died, some are now in care homes, said Klassen.
A new engineers report is due to be delivered to Klassen this weekend,
but any understanding of the technical terms is difficult.
“Nobody understands it, because it is so technical that nobody has a clue what it’s all about,” she told Global Okanagan Friday.
Klassen originally didn’t want to leave, but said the strata president
told her she would be arrested by RCMP if she didn’t vacate on time.
Having agreed finally to leave her home, she now wonders if the
residents should have acquired a second opinion on the true structural
condition of the building.
“We have been like a herd of sheep.”
Klassen has vowed to never move back. If repairs are completed, she
will attempt to sell the condo at Park Place, “if anybody wants to buy
it, which is questionable”.
The senior said she is trying to move on to avoid letting the stress further impact her own health.
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Engineering reports show vacated Oliver residents could have moved back home
Global News
By Neetu Garcha—South Okanagan Reporter
21 December 2016
Oliver resident Bharbara Klassen said she’s not just battling an
illness, she’s battling the pain of having been forced from her home
and on top of that, finding out she could have moved back in.
Klassen is one of 60 residents who were ordered out of Park Place condos in 2013.
“A lot of people got sick, a few died, others are in [care] homes,” Klassen said.
They were told it was no longer safe to live there because of damage
from a 2011 earthquake, 85 kilometres south of the border in Washington
state.
However, retired engineering specialist David Perehudoff, who was hired
by the strata council, now says damage to the building wasn’t caused by
the earthquake and was only cosmetic.
the building is fine to occupy
“Six engineering reports clearly state that the building is fine to
occupy… these poor people are under a spell and they could be back in
their building today,” Perehudoff said.
Insurance has denied the building earthquake coverage for the damage, leaving the residents on the hook for the repair bill.
“I was kind of dead inside about this subject… it cost, not just me,
but many others alot of money which we didn’t have,” Klassen said.
Sympathizing with their situation, Perehudoff said the company he’s
with, Canadian Wetlands, has offered to fix the building up for
$125,000.
“We said you know what, we can cover this on our own buck… I thought I
was going to get a hug from the strata manager… in two weeks we could
get the building occupied,” Perehudoff said.
But the strata council has declined the offer. Global News was not able
to get a hold of anyone from council who could explain why.
continuing to pay strata and other fees
In the meantime, three years have passed and those like Klassen have
had to find a new home, while continuing to pay strata and other fees.
“It’s a very sad story because it has divided a lot of people who lived there,” Klassen said.
Despite it all, she’s waiting for the day she’ll be able to move back to the home she bought.
“It would be nice to call your home your own again,” Klassen said.
offer still on the table
Perehudoff said his offer is still on the table and hopes a solution is
found that will ensure the vacated residents will soon be able to
return home.
~ With files from Doris Maria Bregolisse
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Strata council says possible light at the end of the tunnel for Park Place owners
Global News
By Neetu Garcha—South Okanagan reporter
Is their condo complex safe to live in? Members of a strata council in
Oliver said it depends on who you talk to. In a follow up to a story we
brought you earlier this week, representatives of Park Place spoke to
Global News about why residents have been out of their homes for three
years. They thought an earthquake had left their building unsafe but it
turns out that couldn't be verified. That led to a long nightmare
involving lawsuits and insurance companies.
Members of the strata council for a south Okanagan condo complex that
was vacated in 2013 said they’re doing the best they can to get all of
the owners back in their homes.
Linda Gergely and Stuart Syme were elected to sit on strata council but
they’re also among the 60 residents who were advised to leave the
complex three years ago.
An engineering report, which they paid for, concluded damage from a 2011 earthquake compromised the building’s safety.
“We opened an insurance claim. We had no idea at that time, in April of
2013, the extent of the damage or the cause, we just knew there was
something, according to the engineer, to investigate,” Syme said.
That’s where the nightmare started to drag on.
“Four different engineers were sent by the insurance company and we had
to wait for all of the reports to be done,” Gergely said. The engineers
reports show that it couldn’t be verified that the damage was seismic
and the insurance claim was denied.
One report suggests that the damage could have been caused over time due to poor construction back in the late 1980’s.
The strata council took legal action against the insurance companies.
In the meantime, one local developer, said the owners could have moved back in long ago.
“These people could be back in their building today,” David Perehudoff with a company called Canadian Wetlands said.
But having been burned before by an engineering report’s claims, the strata council isn’t convinced it’s safe to move back in.
So instead, they’re putting out a request for proposals, one of which
has come from Canadian Wetlands and Syme said another is in the works
from longtime Okanagan company Greyback Construction.
They’re hoping to put an end to the three year battle, that’s left those like Syme and Gergely paying strata and legal fees.
“My wife’s dying and we need to spend time together… we need to get out of this, we need to see an end to this,” Syme said.
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