Help Christy Simmons overcome debt from water damage.

As many of you know Christy Simmons has undergone some very stressful issues with her condo. She has crisis all avenues with the insurance companies and neighbors. This situation has left her with significant debt. Now she needs our help!

From Christy-If you have known me during the past year and a half, you may know a bit about the saga of my condo floods and my ongoing battles with the insurance companies. Here’s the story in a nutshell, so far…

In April of 2023, I came home and saw water on the floor leading to my guest bath, then turned the corner and saw water falling from the ceiling, the door jam, everywhere. My bathroom was being flooded from above. When I went upstairs, to report it to my upstairs neighbors, they answered through their Ring doorbell, telling me they had nothing to do with it, and that it “wasn’t their water”! They took no responsibility, so I filed an insurance claim with my insurance. They paid me only $10,000, and told me to take it up with the Condo Association, who said they are not responsible, per the by laws of the condo. So I then filed a claim with the neighbor’s insurance.

Meanwhile, at the end of July, 2023,I noticed that the ceiling of my master bathroom shower was leaking from above! When the ceiling was opened up, we discovered that the plumbing from the upstairs unit had become separated (one pipe came loose from the other), and the water from my upstairs neighbors’ shower was flowing freely, into my bathroom ceiling, and walls (one of which was a common wall with the kitchen, so there was someone else’s nasty shower water in my walls, and on my kitchen counter top!). Again, the neighbors refused to speak with me, face to face, and denied any responsibility. AND, they refused to stop using the shower in question, and order the repairs to THEIR pipes! I couldn’t do the repairs, because they weren’t my pipes to touch, and no licensed plumber would touch them, without permission from the owners.

I filed claims again, with my insurance and the neighbors’ insurance. The neighbors’ insurance denied the claim, and mine paid precious little, while my master bath was demolished, and my master bathtub was filled, every day, with my neighbors’ disgusting bath water. I hired an attorney to write a cease and desist letter, which yielded no results, and cost me $1500, which I seriously couldn’t afford. So far, I’ve been able to pay $500 of it.

Next, my neighbor went berserk, claiming that I was persecuting them, and ruining their life. It turns out that he had recently been discharged from the military due to his extreme PTSD. I was terrified that this man was so angry with me, that I took Sparkle, and fled my home, for a month. While I was put up in a safe place, by a wonderful friend, the first 2 nights were spent in a hotel, on my dime. During the month I was gone, the neighbor was relocated, by his family. When I moved back home, the family authorized the plumbing repair (and paid for it), but that is all that has been forthcoming.

By now, both insurance companies have closed out these claims, and I am left with a gutted master tub/shower surround, a ruined floor, and roughly $16,000 of debt. I will be filing complaints against all of the insurance companies with the state director of insurance, but there are no guarantees that I will prevail.

Meanwhile, this has been the year that my home’s ancient mechanicals (water heater, and HVAC) decided to bite the dust. I was able to have the hot water replaced (with a hefty our-of-pocket, in spite of having a home warranty. And the installer located it too close to my neighbor’s furnace, so now the neighbor (yes, THAT neighbor) can’t service his furnace. So now, the city of Ballwin is on my back to get this fixed, and the installer has refused to come back and install it correctly. Still trying to get it re-installed. When I do, I have no confidence that the home warranty will stand behind me, and pay for the second installation…even thought they should. I was able to put a bandaid on my furnace, to nurse it through the winter, and I’ll have to address the A/C when summer arrives (and again, even though I have a home warranty, there will be an out-of-pocket amount in the thousands.

I am working as hard as I can, but am just keeping my head above water, and the taxes on the condo are overdue, because of all the expenses along the way.

I never thought I would need a Go Fund Me account, but I do. If you can help, I would be so grateful! I don’t know where else to turn. I just want to get out from under this nightmare, and get my life back on a positive track. Thank you, my friends! I love and appreciate you, more than you will ever know.