McCormick Ranch Real Estate & Homes

A pipe bursts in the wall of a condo. Is the HOA or condo owner responsible for the resulting damage?

When a broken pipe flooded several McCormick Ranch condominiums in June, causing massive damage, homeowners figured they could count on the insurance they purchased through their homeowners association dues.

They were wrong.

Not only did the HOA fail to act on their insurance claim, but the association is refusing to install water pressure relief valves on the building to prevent future breaks, and is blocking the residents from installing the valves themselves, said Gerry Price, whose condo suffered up to $20,000 in damage from the flood.

Furthermore, the HOA has ceased communication with the residents, refusing to respond to phone and e-mail messages, Price said.

The HOA, through its property management firm, National Property Services, wouldn’t answer questions from the Tribune, either.

Price’s condo was one of four in the McCormick Ranch Villages II complex on Purdue Avenue, off 91st Street just south of Mountain View Road in Scottsdale, that suffered major water damage when a pipe behind condo owner Wendy Nickerson’s toilet broke.