DEFOREST, Wis. -- Our Call for Action team is taking your consumer issues and getting answers. As a condo owner faced code violations and other issues upon moving to her brand new home in DeForest, she reached out to our team hoping to get an answer from the developer.
Mary Karsten moved into her home at the Church Hill Condos in October 2022. When she signed the dotted line at the property, the homes hadn't even been built yet.
“It was a contract and a piece of dirt," Karsten said. "They hadn’t even dug the hole yet. I fell in love with the idea of a condo."
However, Karsten says the promise of a new home didn't live up to any of the expectations. She says the unit experienced some code violations and many other issues that she believes were just plain-and-simple poor craftsmanship.
“There's water problems due to the landscaping, we can’t grow grass. We can’t grow grass, it’s basically rocks and weeds, we had a thistle problem," Karsten said.
News 3 Now spoke to other owners at the Church Hill Condos to see if the issues were happening elsewhere. Multiple residents shared photos of holes in their window screens, messy landscaping and water leaking through pipes.
Karsten says the landscaping issues were supposed to be covered in her contract.
“We’ve talked to landscapers and they’ve said, really, to get it up to par would cost us 80 to 100 thousand dollars. And as a new condo complex, we just don’t have the funds saved up in our reserve yet," Karsten said.
News 3 Now asked for a response from the developer, Dwight Ziegler, who said owners ran into a couple post-occupancy Building Code issues with the Village of DeForest Building Inspector. Ziegler said the relevant contractors have been contacted and have organized the needed modifications.
Ziegler told News 3 Now the condos are 100% acceptable to the building code and the contractors have been very responsive to the discovery.
However, Karsen and other condo owners say the builder still needs to fulfill their promises.
“You feel so disregarded," Karsten said. “We feel like we’re being duped, we were bullied, and it’s just not fair. The response on any type of repairs was very minimal. There’s still people that still have issues that were never resolved.”
News 3 Now also asked the Village Administrator for more information about how the condo owners will be supported. Bill Chang at the Village of DeForest said the following in his response:
"The Village was made aware of these issues late summer of last year. We took action to reinspect the condos and upon the reinspection and finding violations, we issued correction orders. Since then, the Village’s building inspector has been in contact with the builder and Mr. Ziegler regarding a mitigation plan. To date, we are working with the Homeowner’s Association, building inspector, builder, Mr. Ziegler, and our attorney to bring closure to this issue. The Village continues to review all options that it has at its disposal to bring the homes into compliance with the building code."
“[The Village} has been working with us since we brought the code violations to their attention," Karsten said. She is still frustrated that some issues have not yet been addressed by the developer.
Karsten says her advice to people looking for a future condo includes looking up the developer, and making sure people are aware of the properties they have built in the area.
News 3 Now’s Call for Action team is taking action for you and getting answers when you can’t. If you’re having problems with a business or getting the runaround and don’t know where to turn, contact our Call for Action volunteers today to get results. More information about the team is available here .
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