After condos flood, a Manassas-area resident is fed up with her HOA

Residents of a Manassas-area condo building called 911 after water began pouring from a ceiling inside a home on the third floor.

Prince William County fire and rescue crews were called to the Stratford Condominium complex in the 11000 block of Folksie Court at 11:24 a.m. Thursday, June 4, 2020.

Video shows water pouring from a light fixture ceiling at the three-level garden-style condo complex. Fire crews evacuated residents, and the water was eventually turned off.

A pest control agent who was in the attic of the condo building stepped on and broke a water pipe, causing water to flood four condos in the building, said Prince William County Fire Marshal Matt Smolsky.

Potomac Local News called and emailed the property management company for Stratford Condominiums today, but those calls were not returned.

Nanette Steinbach lives in the building.

“I had grandkids with me, and I heard some kind of high-pitched noise, and I go to open my door, to my horror water pouring through the ceiling,” she told Potomac Local News.

Steinbach says this incident is the latest in a series of maintenance mishaps at the condo complex she’s called home for the past year.

Last year, the HVAC system sprang a leak and caused damage to her ceiling, and a large tree branch fell on her sedan while it sat in its designated parking space, she said.

Emails to the property management firm dated May 2019 show Steinbach asked the property management firm to trim the trees before the branch fell. She’s since got a new car.

Also, in the emails, she’s complained about dry rot around the building. She has asked for a gaping storm pipe at the complex — across from Mullen Elementary School — to be partially covered to prevent children from crawling inside.

Three days before the ceiling collapse, Steinbach sent another an email asking the date of the next HOA meeting, listing her grievances with the property management firm:

When is the next HOA meeting?

Can you please add me to the email list for the community?

When will the hole in my ceiling and water damage be repaired and when will I be reimbursed the $150 out of pocket fees I previously sent you invoices for?

When will the buildings be repaired of dry rot, painted (exterior unfinished wood that has been exposed a year (wood is treated these days and does not need to be weathered to paint as previously stated by Angela)). The dry rot exposes wood to terminate infestations.

The trees need to be trimmed yearly. As you know we have pests (Squirrels) in the attic that you are currently trapping. They climb up the trees and make their home in the attics. The 10 foot overarching branches fell on my car last May.

Steinbach is now calling for a virtual meeting of the HOA.

“I’ve hit my limit,” she penned in an email to the property management firm.