A year and a half after Wilma, S. Florida buildings remain unli...

[Inverrary Gardens]

Do other condominiums have board meetings they can go to? Ours had to have met to talk about our problems but we weren't told where to go. Is there still a sunshine law in Florida?

[DRS]

Wait till the BIG ONE COMES..........

And BELEIVE ME IT WILL.......

[Diane]

Wilma was nothing in Miami. It was NOT nothing in Broward, I've lived here for over 20 years and this was the worst storm to hit Broward in that time. You saying Wilma was nothing would be like me saying Andrew was nothing,

Carl wrote:

Wait until a real hurricane hits--Wilma was nothing.

[Patrick in Tamarac]

Bob,you are right, exept that not only republicans, but also democrats are in charge and catering to special interest groups. This mess didn't happend in the last eight years. You mentioned since the 50's. The whole system of election campain, lobyists and contributions is corrupted.

Bob Rosenthal wrote:

Let's keep in mind what is happening here.
We have the insurance companies and banks who funded, promoted, and supported the vast construction of South Florida from the 50's till now, raking in huge profits. Contractors, mortgage brokers, insurance companies, building and residential supply companies all profited handsomely, as did small businesses serving the new residents.
Now we have national insurance companies such as Nationwide, Allstate, and State Farm to name a few; cancelling policies by the thousands, leaving residents to be insured by smaller companies without the resources to pay should a storm like Wilma hit.
Worse still we have a State Government run by a party, the republicans, funded and wholely owned by the above, who hate government and think the marketplace will take care of itself whom will never do anything about the insurance nightmare about to descend upon this state.
If these people really were looking out for us, they would stand up to the big insurers and say, oh! You do not want to sell homeowners and windstorm policies in this state, well guess what, than you can't sell any other polices (like the really profitable ones) here either.
You will see how fast Nationwide, Allstate, and State Farm and the others will be back writing policies.
Wake up Florida residents. We are being robbed.

[Congo Tom]

Before Wilma, my wife and I were shopping for a winter home in Florida. What we learned after Wilma was that the state has been shortcutting building codes and licensing requirements for years. That fact plus the property insurance problem has convinced us not to buy. Instead we have rented, leaving the headaches to the landlord.

[Joe Blow]

Who are Marilyn and Heidi and Co.?

Marilyn and Heidi and Co. I too have been f___ed by First State Developments Steve Kiser.. I sold roofs for him and he still owes me over $40K in commissions on work that I did.

I'd like to chat with you some more and see if we can't find the crazy Texan Steve Kiser and bring him to justice..

[Marilyn]

Hi Joe Blow...I mean Bernie Benaim. I know you sold roofs for First State Development...at the same time you owned HLRS Claims Services. Talk about a huuuuge conflict of interest! I guess Steve Kiser screwed you over like the two of you screwed a lot of people over. It's about time.
Oh, wait...that's right. You might be in jail for GRAND THEFT and INSURANCE FRAUD now. Or did momy and daddy post your bond? And your bestest pal, David Dietz? He's no longer a licensed adjuster either. And was sued in federal court by the IRS for not paying his taxes. Someone said he "found God", too. What a joke. But I guess all that "sovereign citizen" crap didn't work, eh? And when is the IRS coming for you? You do have that tax lien sitting down there in Miami-Dade County...
What goes around, comes around. It's just too bad so many people got jerked around in the process.
Now where is Steve Kiser and David Perry? Did they screw Houston over with Ike? Are they still yanking South Florida around?
Are any law enforcement people watching? Follow the money, follow the name trail.
Have any of you readers been screwed over by HLRS Claims Services or David Dietz and Bernie Benaim in handling your insurance claim? If you have, contact the county insurance fraud office in Plantation and file a complaint. Don't hesitate.

[Cornflower]

The stimulus money should fix everything. ROTFLMAO

[MrTibbs]

I know this Benaim guy. He's a true con artist. Innocent face. Makes you really want to believe he's going to help you. Helps you with your insurance claim, then when the insurance company issues the check, it's got his name on it as well because you've hired him as your public adjuster. He gets you to sign the check first and give it to him - promising that he'll get it right back to you. But he never does. Then he cashes it, and skates on to the next client.
He and his partners have been working hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters since 2004. Lucky for me, I didn't get ripped off by him, but the dirtbag roofing company he was selling roofs for after Wilma ripped me off. Me and a lot of other people, too it seems.
So Bernie Benaim, David Dietz, Steve Purtic, First State Development, Steve Kiser, David Perry, Ron Green: to hell with all of you for all the people you've ripped off.
And I know at least one of you has had previous comments on this topic from someone else deleted before, but naming names is not illegal or libelous since all of your names are publicly available because of the businesses you own (or owned) and things you have either notarized or recorded in the public record. Everything is documented and anyone can see it with a simple search. I'm just pointing it out here. Don't believe me? www.broward.org and search for yourself.
And Steve Purtic - you may want to hold yourself out as innocent, but you can't (continue to do) do business and be friends with criminals like Bernie and Dave and not expect to get any on you. You will be judged by the company you keep and the deeds you have done. Even if you haven't been arrested like Bernie, you're just as guilty for going along with him, David, and First State Development in the past.