ARVADA, Colo. — A man who has been out of his home for nearly 16 months contacted Denver7 for help, and now he has answers as to when we can move back in.
When we first checked in with Ted Bauer, he was fed up with the lack of progress at his condo at Mountain Vista Village Condos. He bought it in April 2022. A few weeks later, a fire from a neighboring condo spread to his, leaving behind extensive damage. His insurance has been covering his stay in hotels ever since.
More than a year after the fire, his condo is still in desperate need of repairs. Bauer told Denver7 he never got a clear answer from his HOA about when he can move in, until we got involved.
"What happened? Well, News 7, that happened. All of a sudden they were like, 'Yeah, you know what? Maybe we should start fixing that condo up,'" said Bauer.
Denver7 reached out to the HOA to get answers. After our first story aired, a spokesperson for the contractors, Reconstruction Experts, sent a statement saying Bauer would be able to move back in October.
"I really want to believe it. But unfortunately, I've been shafted before with those words. And I'll believe it when I see it," he said.
When pressed by Denver7, RE's spokesperson insisted that October is the final date for the work to be complete. While he's glad to hear of possible progress on the horizon, Bauer said the whole situation left a bad taste in his mouth.
"I never got to live here. I don't want to live here, but I need it back so that I can get a good price when I sell it," he said of the condo he paid $300,000 in cash to own.
He hopes his story raises awareness and hopefully encourages some change to better protect homeowners.
"There needs to be some state guidelines that say there's a certain amount of time that something must happen as far as repair work starting. You can't just let it go into limbo," he said.
Editor's note: Denver7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need we can address or have a story idea for our consumer investigates team to pursue, please email us at contact7@denver7.com or or call (303) 832-7777. Find more Contact Denver7 stories here. You can also use the form below to request help from Jaclyn Allen and the Contact Denver7 Team.
