Viewer Contacts KARK for Help with Moldy Apartment
By: Bakari Savage, KARK 4 News
Updated: December 4, 2011
A leaky roof and black mold that won't go away prompted a viewer to contact us for help because she wasn't getting it from the management company. KARK stepped in and visited Kramer School Lofts in Downtown Little Rock.
It's a problem the viewer says started almost as soon as she moved in and hasn't been able to get the landlord to do anything about it. With no other place to turn, she contacted us to find answers.
"The apartment was, it was nice. And, everything was fine at first," explains resident Miranda Pettus. But only a week after Pettus moved in, June of 2010, she began to see these spots on the wall, black mold.
Looking at the problem, Pettus says it's gotten worse and her leaky roof, which there is video of, was shot with her cell phone isn't helping. She says, "It scares me because I don't know, again, how much I don't see. And I have asthma, which I've conveyed that to Rosemary several times. And, I don't know how this is affecting my health."
A month after moving in, Pettus claims she was diagnosed with asthma and contacted the landlord about this. She says emails and letters were sent, and voice messages were left but nothing has been done. Now with a warped floor from flooding and a bedroom that she can't sleep in because of the smell left from sitting water, she contacted KARK for help because moving is not an option. "Financially, I can't afford to move right now. But if I could, I would," says Pettus.
After her many unsuccessful attempts we contacted the building's management company, First Capital Residential for answers. After three phone calls and leaving two voice messages, John Shiver issued this statement on their behalf:
"Nevertheless, the resident has a valid complaint and we have been assured by the roofer that the equipment is to be delivered tomorrow and repairs will begin immediately upon delivery or no later than Saturday morning. Any damage to the interior of the unit resulting from the roof damage will be handled at the property's expense and repaired as expeditiously as possible."
Shiver says that while they work to make the repairs, they will also look into alternative accommodations for Pettus.
