ARAPAHOE COUNTY - Imagine taking a cold shower everyday for a month. That's what dozens of people have had to endure at the Club Valencia condominium complex - and their frustration is growing.
Residents asked 9Wants to Know to find out why they've been forced to live without hot water for weeks.
We learned repairs are taking so long because when workers cut holes in the ceilings to fix the pipes, they discovered asbestos - which by law had to be removed.
The extensive repair work has interrupted hot water to about 80 units, roughly one fourth of the complex.
Resident Amanda Rickman says she hasn't had hot water since just after Christmas.
"It is ice cold. I'm tired of taking cold showers. I'm tired of warming my water up on the stove. There's a lot of good people living here that deserve the same things everyone else has. Hot water, clean water, no roaches, no bugs," Rickman said.
Two showers with hot water are available in the club house, but Rickman says the shower in the women's restroom didn't work until recently.
From bed bugs to bad balconies, Club Valencia has a long list of problems.
Debra Vickrey, vice president of the Colorado Property Management Group, says she is painfully aware of all the issues.
"Frustrating. We do one thing at a time. Whatever the highest priority is. You always feel like you're chasing it, like you're never getting ahead of actually getting the problem solved," Vickrey said.
The Colorado Property Management Group took over management of Club Valencia seven months ago.
"The building was self-managed for a number of years," Vickrey said.
During those years, problems kept piling up.
"It's like when you buy a used car and you have one part go out and you replace it and then the next thing you know the next part goes out," Vickrey said.
She says the hot water outage is on the top of the list of problems.
"I completely understand people waking up and being angry about taking a cold shower. It would make me very angry as well. It's a mess but it's getting resolved," Vickrey said.
Contractor Wayne Walton says a lot of parts need replacing in this building from the early 70s.
"We had about 18 points where we had to open up the ceiling," Walton said.
Vickrey says the repair bill at Club Valencia in just the last six months has exceeded $100,000.
"They took over a bag of worms. I've tried everything in my power to get something accomplished. I can't get anybody to help. They just blow it off," longtime resident Steve Remis said.
Club Valencia takes in more than $72,000 in HOA dues a month. Remis and Rickman wonder where that money is going.
"I'm glad you guys are here. I hope it shines some light on it," Rickman said.
Club Valencia's newly-elected HOA board president Tony Wall says an audit is planned to figure out how things got this bad.
"Roofs, plumbing, sewer - everything is breaking. It's all at the same time. We can only do so much with what we've got to work with," Wall said.
Vickrey says the hot water will be back on in every unit this Wednesday - one check mark off a long list of things that need fixing.
9Wants to Know plans to follow up to make sure residents get what they pay for.
"I just want to take a hot shower," Rickman said. "This is the United States of America. This is not cool."
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