… doesn’t stay in Vegas? We have been hearing that there are a few ‘bad apples’ in HOA land, and the jury is out on this latest example in which a pipe burst in a common area of an HOA in Las Vegas, which ultimately destroyed several units.

According to KSNV-TV Channel 3 in Vegas:

The residents live at Avila Park just off Lake Mead and Decatur, two of them have had to fully leave their homes because they were deemed unlivable.The HOA is telling them they will have to foot the bill for the thousands of dollars in damages.

The pipe was described being located in a common area, which would typically be covered as part of master insurance.

“This used to be my kitchen, as you can see, it’s been destroyed, cabinets and everything,” said resident Janet Rabb. “This room used to be my music studio, as you can see, it’s all cut out, and they threw everything from my master bathroom into here.”

The HOA responded with contracted services on the clean-up.

“They came in, cut everything, ran up our gas and electric bills with blowers, dried out to make sure there was no mold because that’s why they own, but our actual units. As we are sitting, they’re trying to say they’re not responsible. Everything is coming up to $56,000,” said Rabb.

It appears the HOA is making the homeowner’s responsibility on the damages, but they have not been very communicative, according to residents. Of course, there’s a lot to interpret here. If residents have HO-6 policies, they would need to cover the deductible depending on the structure of their insurance coverage.

There’s much to unpack here so the story could be one-sided. You can judge for yourself with this story from KSNV-TV.

— Mark Luis Foster