Get It in Writing

That's a hard lesson learned by hundreds of angry condo owners living at Sunset Harbour in Miami Beach

A A A Comments By Rebecca Wakefield Thursday, Feb 28 2002

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David counters that when the associations canceled their agreement, it would have been stupid for the developer to keep the spa open because he would have been unable to collect the money owed him for its operation. In effect the developer would have been subsidizing the health spa. "I'm not Santa Claus," David retorts. "We are businesspeople."

Most recently, on February 1 the north tower association received a letter from Bedzow's attorneys demanding $6.8 million in damages unless residents stopped using extra parking spaces in the garage. Each condo unit is allotted one space, but for the past five years residents have been able to use an additional valet space owned by the developer. David says the developer now wants to sell them to residents -- for $17,000 each. "We're not going to [be able to] sell them if they're using them for free," he maintains. "We have the absolute right to do it."

Steve Satterwhite

Sunset Harbour's north tower: Broken balconies, broken promises, and frustration enough for all

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Further, David contends that most of the north tower condo association's legal claims are without merit and that the litigation is being driven by a handful of disgruntled board members. "In this case there are certain personal feelings that members of the board have toward the developer," he says. "It could have been and should have been resolved a long time ago. We are not going to respond favorably to an emotional wish list."

Harrington, the condo association's attorney, looks weary as he contemplates a distant end of the road. "These guys for years and years have just bullied [residents]," he says. "They stall and wear them down and most people give in. Meanwhile they're trying to make their lives miserable."

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