Article Courtesy of The Ocala Star
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By Austin L. Miller
Published May 16, 2010
Barring a miracle, an 85-year-old woman will be
evicted Monday from the villa she has lived in at On Top of the World
for the past 20 years.
Eleonore
Berg's failure to pay homeowner's association fees led to foreclosure
of the property, which has been sold. She is under court order to
evacuate and is receiving assistance with relocation.
When
Berg moved into the villa in 1989, the monthly homeowner's association
fee was $115. Since then, the cost has gone up to $397 a month. With
fees and other court costs included, she wound up owing about $8,000.
Andrea
Wolfkill, with the Fifth Circuit Guardian Corp., told the Star-Banner
that Berg had paid the HOA fees up to two years ago.
Gerald
R. Colen of Largo, an attorney who represents On Top of
The World, told the Star-Banner in a telephone interview
Friday that the OTOW Owners Association tried to work with
Berg, but was unsuccessful. He said the association's job
is not to put people out, but to try to persuade them to
pay. If they don't pay the fees, he said, everyone suffers
because others would have to pay more and maintenance
could deteriorate.
Berg's
home, in the 9000 block of Southwest 83rd Avenue, was
assessed at $50,837, according to the Marion County
Property Appraiser's Office website. It was offered for
public sale to the highest bidder on April 20, and was
purchased for $100. |
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Eleonore
Berg, 85, left, talks with Olivia Baird, Berg's private guardian.
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Court
documents show the buyer was Danny Robertson, an associate in the law firm
of David E. Midgett.
Colen
said the association got a judgment against Berg and that prior to the
foreclosure sale, Midgett called him and agreed to purchase the property.
Robertson
could not be reached for comment.
A
woman at the law office directed all inquires to Berg's attorney, Kathy
Ackerman, who also is executive director of the Fifth Circuit Guardianship
Corp.
On
Wednesday, Wolfkill's agency was granted emergency guardianship of Berg. It
was discovered, however, that she did not meet one of three criteria and her
case was turned over to private guardianship.
Ackerman
said that, to be eligible for her agency's services, the client must:
-
have
no friends or family;
-
have
no money to pay for care; and
-
be
mentally unable to care for herself.
Ackerman
said she could not reveal which category was at issue for Berg.
Ackerman
said the guardianship program receives funding from the state Department of
Elder Affairs, United Way and private donations. Her agency helps a number
of people in similar circumstances.
She
said the staff is looking into Berg's case to see if they can get her home
back.
There
was a co-owner on the property, Aung Thein, 87, who lives in New York and is
a part-time professor at a college. Officials trying to contact him have
been unsuccessful.
He
reportedly occasionally visits Berg, who is a widow.
Berg,
who is from Germany, has a master's degree in health sciences and teaches
yoga. Her only income is Social Security.
On
Friday, officials from the private guardianship and the Fifth Circuit
Guardianship Corp. took her to visit assisted living facilities.
If
she does not find a place to live by Monday, a Marion County Sheriff's
official said they will not put her things out on the curb.
The
agency would be charged with evicting Berg if she does not comply with the
court order. But sheriff's Chief Tom Wilder said because of her age, and his
agency's community policing philosophy, they will assist her in finding a
place to live.
He
said the Sheriff's Office's mission is to ensure that she is taken care off.
"We're
going to work with her to make it amenable to both parties," he said.
Berg
told the Star-Banner that she does not want to leave her two-bedroom,
two-bath home, and that she has no family or friends in the U.S. to help
her.
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