Earlier today I posted this article about a dispute, Joe Gorga has with his tenant, Kai Patterson, currently residing in the Montville home. A representative for Mr. Patterson has reached out to TamaraTattles.com with a response. It is rather lengthy and I have edited a bit to remove all of the “see attachment” notes. Suffice it to say receipts were provided in the FORTY-NINE attachments provided. There were also numerous pictures of the damage. Sadly, no pictures were provided of the BEAVERS LIVING IN THE WALLS!!! That would have been my lead story, yet it is buried well below the fact they had no hot water for extended periods of time. It’s all very Grey Gardens. Except instead of a mother and daughter, it’s a son and his step-father with beavers. Because, did I mention the beavers in the walls? Allegedly.

Basically, the tenant says Joe lied to the court about the amount of rent. Joe says it is $20,000 (ALLEGEDLY) and the tenant says it is $10,000. Anyway, here is the other side of the story.

Speaking of allegedly, despite the 49 attachments which appear to back up every issue mentioned Everything below this point is the statement of a representative for Mr. Patterson.

In response to your article related to the Gorga’s home, Mr. Patterson rental agreement was modified on November 21, 2013, which changed the price of the rent to $10,000 per month. A subsequent agreement changed the start date of the agreement executed on November 21, 2013 to February 26, 2014 and possession was taken the property on February 28, 214. The February 26, 2014 agreement pushed back the increase in rent until after October 2014, which the Gorgas failed to provide to the Court. In addition to paying $10,000 rent, an additional $10,000 per month was to be paid towards the purchase of the property,and those payments were to be used make several needed repairs before and after taking possession of the property. Although the Gorgas were initially paid $10,000 rent, and a deposit of $25,000, which was to be applied to the purchase price of the home and used to make the repairs, none of the repairs were made on the list of repairs provided. Addendum to Original Lease that Requires Repairs to be Fixed in 15 days and the requirement of the pool plans to be provided before the inception of the lease, which were never provided. Mr. Patterson was never provided with any pool plans or permits.

During the entire first month of possession of the property, the hot water heater was broken and only worked for a few hours each time it was repaired or restarted, leaving the residents of the property without hot water. The hot water heater was replaced on April 1, 2014 (the day the next month rent was due), after Mr. Gorga agreed to replace in on numerous previous dates. Although it took a month to replace the hot water heater, no credits were ever provided by the Gorgas for the numerous days the purchaser and his 79-year-old stepfather were without hot water, and took showers in hotels.The purchaser of the property also paid the Plumber who is Mr. Gorga’s construction partner $250 to replace a broken faucet in the kitchen. The Plumber cashed the check and never took the purchaser’s phone calls. The purchaser purchased the faucet and hired another plumber to install the kitchen faucet, which cost an additional $625. The purchaser of the property also paid the Gorga’s unpaid water bill of $4,416.60 on June 26, 2014 to prevent the water from being shutoff by Montville Township, which was unknown to be owed at the time the purchase took possession of the property.

Upon taking passion of the property, numerous additional problems were discovered, which remain to this day. These items include:

Mr. Gorga’s construction garbage dumped on the property, which is required to be removed by the Township of Montville, NJ

Showerhead in the master bathroom does not work properly, and makes it impossible to use to take a shower

Pipe burst on the master bathroom tub, making it unusable

The left vanity sink faucet and stopper in the master bathroom does not work and needs to be replaced

The fireplace in the old billiards room, now an executive office was stuffed with Mr. Gorga’s t-shirt attempt to reduce the cold air coming into the room, and another bird from flying into the house through the chimney (glass on fireplace needs to be replaced and the room is freezing in the winter)

All the three (3) gas fireplaces do not work, and have not been repaired; and

Guest bathroom leaks under the vanity and faucet will not shutoff, causing water to continue to run (water is turned off so the sink can’t be used; and

None of the bathrooms throughout the home have shower doors, including the bathrooms that do not have tubs (Gorgas agreed to add shower doors,but they were never added;and

Marble step cracked on the bridal staircase by Gorgas while moving was not replaced as agreed, which poses a hazard of falling and cutting one’s foot if used (See: Picture Attached); and

Outdoor kitchen has no plumbing and no electricity, which causes the sink to be unusable, and the outdoor refrigerator installed with the property to develop mold (See: Picture Attached); and

Beavers enter the house through areas not properly constructed and live in crawlspaces in the walls between the office (old pool room), which can be heard every night and morning (beavers make loud bumps against the walls in the night and morning); and

Outside stairs and window never repaired from fallen tree before purchaser took possession (Gorgas agreed to repair, but repairs were never completed; and

Design and permits for the pool were never provided to purchaser, which the Gorga’s were required to provide to the purchaser in the Lease/Purchase agreement upon the purchaser taking possession; and

Ceiling in downstairs guest office (old kids bedroom) cracked and fell due to an unknown water leak in the upstairs laundry room from a broken pipe behind the laundry room sink, which was spackled but not sanded or painted by the Gorga’s.

Summary

On the morning of the court appearance, the purchaser noticed sprinkler system was leaking water by the gallons. Having just paid the Gorga’s unpaid water bill of $4,416.60, the purchaser attempted to plug the gushing water, which caused him to be late for the appearance. The purchaser’s attorney to file a motion to vacate the default judgment of possession for appearing late, and yesterday the realtors confirmed the realtors of the parties have agreed to settlement terms that include the Gorgas making all of the required repairs of the property. If the purchaser is provided with all of the credits paid to the Gorgas, water bill and items and faucet.

The November 21, 2014 addendum to the Lease/Purchase Agreement executed by all parties, will confirm the Gorgas lied about the amount of the rent in their complaint, which was only $10,000 per month. After paying the first month’s rent of $10,000, an additional $25,000 for repairs applied towards the purchase of the home, an additional month’s $10,000 rent, $4,416.60 for the Gorga’s water bill and a total of $625 to repair the kitchen faucet, the purchaser is paid up through the end of July 2014 if all credits are applied. The laws in the State of New Jersey require a landlord pay for all expenses to fix all repairs not caused by a tenant. If a tenant pays $25,000 towards the repairs they should not be required to live in the conditions of the Gorga’s home, regardless of how beautiful the home looks.

Mr. Patterson has retained he law firm of Richard Koppenaal, Esq. to resolve the terms of the settlement and oversee the repairs of the property in accordance with the requirements of the Landlord/Tenant Statures of the State of New Jersey. All of these issues are being addressed. Mr. Patterson’s attorney filed a motion to vacate the judgement and the parties are waiting for a new court date. While the parties are awaiting a new court date, Mr. Patterson’s attorney shall be reaching out to Mr. Gorga’s attorney to begin drafting documents both parties’ realtors have stated all parties have agreed to enter into a settlement agreement.

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