ComplaintsforDesert Management

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Desert Management (***** *******), manages the landscape employees of the Palm Springs Villa Home Owners Association managed by ***** ******* and are not providing services yet charge monthly fees for such landscape service. I brought this the the attention of Desert Management, ***** ******* whom has refused to address my concerns of lack of service.

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My name is ***** ****** and I am the owner of **** ** *** ******* *** **** in Palm Springs Villas I which Desert Management manages. My unit has sustained water damage from the roof leaking on three separate instances during rains in the past six months. The HOA’s vendor, *** Roofing was contracted during each occasion. In the end of July, 2021 I reported the first leak to ****** *******. *** came out and found cracks on the foam roof which they repaired. At the time, I covered the damages of $120.00 for carpet cleaning and $425.00 for the ceiling repair out of my own pocket. In the end of September, 2021, the roof leaked into my unit again and I reported it to Ms. *******. *** came out and found multiple penetrations on the roof which they repaired. Finally, in mid December, 2021, the roof leaked into my unit again while my tenant was out of town. This time my unit sustained heavier damage to the living room and bedroom ceilings which caused large bubbles to form and my carpet was severely damaged. After reporting the leak to Ms. *******, *** came out and found that the leak in the living room and bedroom were caused by a broken/deteriorated drain boot. The owner of *** falsely claimed that my A/C unit was the source of the leak. I informed Ms. ******* that my A/C unit was replaced approximately six years ago and has never leaked before. Ms. ******* did not properly investigate the issue and immediately sided with ***. I also found Ms. *******'s conduct to be aggressive and unprofessional. Since the last roof leak also impacted the below unit, I was forced to file a claim with my insurance carrier, CSE. After their investigation, they have found the HOA and *** Roofing solely liable for the damages. Due to the mishandling of this situation, I am requesting to be reimbursed for my insurance deductible in the amount of $1,000.00. In addition, I am requesting to be reimbursed for the repairs I completed in my unit after the first leak in the amount of $645.00.

  Business response

  02/24/2022

  To Whom It May Concern, I am ****** ******* the Association Manager for the Palm Springs Villas Homeowner Association, which is a *** unit condo complex built in 1980 in the Palm Springs area. Regarding the complaint filed against Desert Management (the company I work for) and me, I wanted to respond with an explanation of the situation and what took place. I did not side with the roofers initially as stated by Mr. ******. I am the conduit between the Association and the Vendors. Each time a report of a leak was made to me, I immediately contacted the Association’s roofer. When the last leak occurred in Dec. 2021 the roofer did mention a deteriorated drain boot as well as voids to the polythreonine of the a/c unit which was found after inspection by the roofer; the renter at the time showed the roofer the leaking a/c return. The roofer provided pictures and a report to management (attached). I do not make the decisions, the Board of Directors does. Pursuant to the Matrix of the CC&Rs (attached), the Association is not responsible for damages to the inside of units or a/c units. However considering the inconvenience, the owner went through the Homeowners Association opted to pay for the portion of the a/c that required repair in the amount of $700. The total bill the Association paid was $3,200. Mr. ****** is upset and reported a negative report against the company I work for and me, yet we do not make the decisions as stated before. I brought the reports and Mr. ******’s request to the Board, and the Board decided to not cover the damage as they had already approved the Association to cover a bill that would have otherwise been charged to the owner. If you have any further questions please feel free to reach out to me. My office phone number is ************ or I can be reached via email at j*******@desertmanagement.com Thank you, ****** *******, CCAM® Community Association Manager Desert Management *** *. ******* *** **** **** | Palm Springs, Ca 92262 Tel: ************ | Fax ************  Email: j*******@desertmanagement.com | www.desertmanagement.com

  Customer response

  02/25/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Ms. ******* is not representing all the facts. The HOA's contractor, *** Roofing responded to the roof leaking into my unit in July and September, 2021. Had *** properly diagnosed and repaired the roofing issue, I would not have had water damage a third time in December, 2021.

  
  

  In December after the third roof leak in five months, I initially asked Ms. ******* for *** to accept responsibility and repair the damaged ceiling in my living room and bedroom. Ms. ******* immediately rejected the request and as a defense used covering the A/C unit issue as a means for not repairing the ceiling damage. As I stated earlier, my A/C unit was replaced approximately six years ago and has not had any prior leaks. The roof in the building was replaced in late 2020 and it is my suspicion that the A/C unit was not properly sealed at that time. I did not give prior approval for *** to perform work on my A/C unit and would not cover the bill for work that I did not authorize.
  

  
  

  I attached the invoice from December 20 and it did not state my A/C unit was responsible for the leak. The invoice states the deteriorated boot drains were causing the leak. The HOA should not have paid *** $700 for the A/C work and should have instead paid me for the ceiling damages as the victim.
  

  
  

  Since I was forced to file a claim with my insurance carrier, CSE, I am now seeking reimbursement of my $1,000 deductible and the invoices for repairs I completed after the first leak in July. CSE Insurance found the HOA and *** Roofing to be 100% at fault and will seek reimbursement of all damages once the claim is closed.
  

  
  

  In addition, I no longer want to communicate with Ms. ******* as I find her to be biased in this matter and would like to communicate with the owner of Desert Management, *** *****.

  
  
  

  Business response

  02/28/2022

  To Whom It May Concern, I spoke to *** ***** about Mr. ****** only wanting to communicate with Mr. ***** as Mr. ****** feels I am biased. *** ***** authorizes me to represent Desert Management as I have first-hand knowledge of the situation. *** ***** and I want to make it clear that the Management company does not make the decisions, we only implement what the Board of Directors decides. After the Board reviewed his complaint they felt Mr. ****** is no different than the other 317 units that have to pay their deductibles per the Governing Documents of the HOA. The leak that took place in September of 2021 was not the same issue as what was found in December of 2021. Per the invoice in September, there were multiple penetrations to the roof over the living room and the roofers made repairs with a 3-course method (invoice attached). In August 2021, per the invoice, the leak found in the hallway was due to cracks in the foam roof (invoice attached). When the 3rd leak in December was called-in and Management, once again, called on the Association’s roofer. After an inspection, the roofer per his email report (attached) did find voids in the polyurethane at the transition and also under the encapsulated a/c pan. This required the roofers to inspect all areas to find the leak. Mr. ****** ’s approval for roofers to inspect A/C unit was not needed. To further correct the misinformation stated by Mr. ******, I previously informed him, when the roofs were re-done in 2020 the roofers do not remove the A/C units. The Board is not stating the damage is caused by his A/C leak but want to include, they as a courtesy did cover that issue since the owner experienced an inconvenience. Mr. ****** is filing a complaint to the Better Business Bureau against Desert Management when in fact Management has done their job by immediately sending out roofers at each report of a leak, and communicating immediately with Mr. ******. Mr. ****** is not happy with the answers Management has provided but again Management does not make the decisions nor can management go against the decisions the Board of Directors make. Desert Management has acted in a prompt manner carrying out its responsibility consistently conducting due diligence. Further more Management set an appointment for Mr. ****** to discuss with the Board per Mr. ******’s request and then Mr. ****** stated he did not want to meet with the Board. Thank you, ****** *******

  Customer response

  02/28/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  ****** ******* and Desert Management are refusing to accept responsibility of this situation. Ms. ******* stated that I denied meeting with the Board but I attended the Zoom Board meeting on January 21, 2022. Ms. ******* did not give me an opportunity to speak directly with the Board during the meeting and was instead responding to me in an aggressive tone. In addition, I gave *** ***** a last chance to speak with the Board before filing the complaint and on February 22, 2022, Mr. ***** informed me that the Board decided not to reimburse me the deductible.
  

  
  

  Ms. ******* incorrectly stated that the three roof leaks were caused by separate issues. This is not a true statement because the roof leaks occured in the same areas of the living room and bedroom. Had *** Roofing correctly identified the issue and replaced the boot drains after the first roof leak, I would not have experienced the leaks in September and December. After *** replaced the boot drains in December, there have been heavy rains and the roof is not leaking anymore.

  
  

  The invoices Ms. ******* provided seem to be doctored. The invoices I have from *** Roofing show the invoices from August and September, each in the amount of $230.00 were paid. The invoices Ms. ******* provided show that the invoices were not paid and were covered under warranty. In the invoices from December that Ms. ******* provided, they show that the boot drain replacement ($2,500.00) and A/C unit removal ($700.00) were separate invoices. However, the invoice I have is for the total amount of $3,200.00 and were not separate invoices.

  
  

  Desert Management failed to assist me in recovering my damages from *** Roofing. They sided with *** and are not even sympathetic to me as the homeowner who got damaged financially due to the negligence of ***. As I mentioned earlier, my insurance carrier, CSE found the HOA to be liable for the damages caused in my unit.
  

  
  

  It seems that Desert Management is stonewalling and protecting ***. I cannot come to an agreement with Desert Management would like a mediator from the BBB to be involved.

  
  

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