Condo residents forced to move out for up to a year during hurricane repairs

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Walking away from the home Jennifer McKown shares with her mother is tough.

“It’s home. The memories," she said as she held back tears.

Her condo, like most in the Gardens at Beacon Square, took in water from Hurricane Helene’s storm surge. But she said the repairs shouldn’t force her to move out for as long as a year.

However, that’s just what the condo association is telling people here.

“I’m overwhelmed," Mckown said.

In a letter to residents, attorneys for the condo association said flood water infiltration is dangerous, so remediation needs to start immediately. They said flood damage is covered by FEMA, which handles the cost of remediation and reconstruction but not damage to personal property.

People are now faced with finding somewhere else to live for six to twelve months and figuring out how to pay for it while still covering their mortgage, condo dues, and electric bills.

“When I spoke to FEMA yesterday, they’ll only cover to, like, January 25th. Then after that, I don’t know what we are going to do," Jennifer said.

In a neighboring building, Marc Salton is trying to handle things for his brother Stephan, who died as he was packing to up leave. He feels getting everything out of this condo by Friday is impossible.

“I think this board has overstepped its boundaries by making everybody leave," said Salton.

There are other issues here, too. Workers put signs on the doors after walking in on residents without knocking, and there’s already been a report of at least one burglary.

Jennifer is going to pack up and leave with her mother. They don’t plan on ever coming back.

“I’m putting things in storage that can be saved on Friday, and I will be heading to Georgia and staying in a hotel until I have a plan.”

I called Qualified Property Management, which handles this condo development, to ask questions about the process but was told, "No comment."