"Walden Woods South lied!"
"Our dream is lost!"
"I know. So is our money!"
Just like a used car salesman, the sales rep will be all sunshine and smiles while trying to sell you a house, but after you give them your money you can forget about after-the-sale service.
It didn't used to be that way. In the formative days the sales rep was with you every step of the way. And that's the way it should be; after all, you're forking over a hundred grand or more and if that's not deserving of good service I don't know what is. The original rep used to be honest, truthful and patient, providing exemplary service both before and after the sale and complaints were a rarity and life for the homeowners was smooth and pleasant. But not any longer.
Management didn't like that style of original rep, abruptly fired him and replaced him with a much more aggressive person whose style is totally different: All she knows is how to separate suckers from their money. And the way it works now is that once you give them your money you can forget about life being smooth and pleasant.
Now prospective buyers with money to spend are greeted by the new sales rep and she's all rainbows & lollipops until she gets you to buy a house. After you become a resident is when she shows her true colors. She is as nasty a piece of work as God has ever put on this planet and is despised by many of the residents (usually those who've asked for stuff due them and/or made demands). She mistakenly considers herself to be some sort of 'Commandant over captive residents' when actually she's just a salesgirl in the office and it's the homeowners who run the place through their HOA. She displays to the residents a personality that can only be described as mean-spirited, bitter, angry, maladjusted, petty, argumentative and hostile to the extreme. Some residents refuse to have anything to do with her. Other than that she's just fine.
Here's how quickly your relationship with Walden Woods South will change after they have your money. A home was sold very recently by the salesgirl in question and between the time of the sale to the time of the closing, the buyers came to hate her as much as other residents do. In fact, they refused to have her present at the closing (contract signing and final payment - if you've ever bought a house you know what it is) and management was forced to bring in their own executive to replace her at the closing. This is not ancient history; these new homeowners are moving in (moving van and all) today as I write this. I'm sure there are more horror stories about her and they'll be added to this website as they surface.
Management uses the tactic of 'divide and conquer' with regards to its relationship with the homeowners. We homeowners, in an attempt to defend ourselves, have formed (at our own expense) a Homeowners Association (HOA) and incorporated it in the State of Florida. Actually it was the only way we could negotiate anything with them as they absolutely refuse to recognize complaints from individual owners and demand that all complaints be channeled to them through the HOA. Wait, it gets even nuttier!
There are three sections to Walden Woods and we all wanted to form one single inclusive HOA but management refused to deal with one HOA incorporating the three sections, forcing us to form three separate corporations (again at our own expense) with smaller (more controllable) membership. And things have descended to such an acrimonious level between them and the residents that at least one of the HOAs has been forced to establish a legal fund and retain an attorney. One matter has escalated to such a degree that it went to court and as I write this the HOA awaits the decision of the judge deciding the case.They have used this 'divide and conquer' tactic so effectively that this bullying has many residents intimidated, fearful of their retaliation and afraid to complain about anything, thereby giving the false impression to outsiders (prospective home buyers) that all is well.
Management even refuses to attend any HOA meetings to hear residents vent and demand the things they were promised. Instead they insist that each of the three HOAs designate a single person to act as liaison who will meet privately with a single an executive once a month in private with no other attendees. As might be imagined, this dilutes the power of the HOA and any complaints and, as a result, they usually prevail over the homeowners. They met with our liaison only one time then failed to show up as promised since then, effectively turning their back to the very people they sold homes to. And now that they're (CRF) more than $61 Million in debt and have declared bankruptcy the residents have all but lost any hope of things getting any better.
If you read but 1 page, let it be "BIG Worries Ahead!"
"The sales reps sold us all a phoney bill of goods from day one!" (I can't reveal who made this direct quote but it's someone in a high position who definitely knows!)
