CHARLOTTE — The Sardis Forest Homeowners Association in southeast Charlotte was sprucing up the neighborhood.
“They were cleaning, power washing, and painting our units,” Stacey Moore said.
She says she asked the board not to power wash her windows. “Those windows can’t take a power washing,” she said.
The HOA’s lawyer told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke that Moore did reach out ahead of time and the board respected her wishes and passed them along to the contractors. He believes the workers did avoid her property.
But Moore says she came home and found her windows covered in a film.
“These were mint condition,” she said. “It’s just ruined.”
[ MORE ACTION 9: Homeowner says contractor did shoddy work and didn’t finish ]
Various power washing companies say it is hard, or even impossible, to get rid of residue on that type of window.
“I took steps to make sure my stuff wasn’t damaged,” she said. “And then it was still damaged.”
The HOA’s lawyer says since the board did as Moore asked that it’s really between her and the workers.
The board had hired a company to oversee the entire project and that company hired another one to do the power washing specifically.
That business says it didn’t spray her windows. It says her problem is tree sap and that it even went back to her property to make sure. The company emailed Action 9 saying it would be “paying her nothing” and even considered “sending her a bill for all the time she has wasted of ours and the HOA.”
[ MORE ACTION 9: Some homeowners say builder left them in bad shape ]
Moore wishes she had been home at the time. In cases like this, it may be helpful to ask someone to watch your property during the work. If you think you have enough proof, you can always try small claims court, but just remember that can take some time, effort, and money.
VIDEO: Homeowners complain about windows in fairly new neighborhood
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