Condo owner says his Marina Inn at Grande Dunes Condo contains mold

It's generally considered one of Myrtle Beach's finest resorts. The Marina Inn at Grande Dunes is located on the Intracoastal Waterway off the 17 bypass. It earned a four star rating from AAA.

Last year, a pair of property owners contacted News13 to report a hidden problem inside some Marina Inn units, one you won't read about in any travel brochure or visitor's guide. One of the property owner said he's out nearly a million dollars.

Tom Osborne spent the past two years working to prove mold was, and still is, in his Marina Inn unit. Tom worked as a police officer in New York City before retiring. He said he wanted to retire to Myrtle Beach. He closed on his unit in October 2006. It wasn't until July 2007 he and his family spent their first vacation in the condo. Osborne says days before they left to go back home, their son started experiencing respiratory issues.

"We went to a lot of doctors and nobody knew what was wrong with him,” said Tom Osborne. “We just kept going to Dr's, Dr's and Dr's, all these different specialists. We finally came across a doctor who was treating a child who became sick in a building which had water intrusion which led to mold. And he says, these signs look very familiar to me. Was your son around construction, paint or mold? And I said no, I don't believe so."

Osborne said he tested his New York home, it was fine. His son underwent numerous tests with no answers. They even gave away their family pet thinking he was allergic to the dog. Then Tom received a tip something was going on with his condo.

"When I came down by plane at night, nobody knew I was coming down here and when I went to come into the unit here, I was denied access by security,” said Osborne. “They did not want me coming in here at all, or my wife. They actually blocked the door."

Osborne said this started a two year battle still going on. On that trip, a security guard gave him five minutes in his unit. He said he found walls removed and walls going back up so he hired a company to test for mold.

"They suggested that I did not go back in the condo unit especially with my son, if he's sick because the penicillium levels were at a 90% raw count," said Osborne. Osborne said after a dozen doctors, they found evidence of penicillium in his son. He was treated with multiple daily breathing treatments and steroids.

When we toured the unit with Osborne, there were still obvious signs of mold growing. He also provided these pictures he took of the mold. He also placed camera's in his condo showing people entered his unit without his knowledge or consent, even after telling him nobody did.

Burroughs and Chapin said they could not comment on Osborne's case on camera because of the current litigation.
They did say: "When Grand Dunes was first alerted that some units at Marina Inn might contain mold or excessive moisture, we immediately brought in recognized experts in the field of indoor air quality to investigate the situation and to quarterback a decisive plan to resolve the issue."

In the same written response, Burroughs and Chapin said they were first alerted to the possibility of excessive moisture-related conditions in certain units in July 2007. The company brought in outside specialists in early August.

After two years of work and several letters from Burroughs and Chapin to the Marina Inn and Villas HOA updating them on the project, company CEO William Pritchard sent a letter to unit owners dated September 26th, 2009. It said the restoration and remediation project was complete.

But more than four months later, Osborne said his unit is still infested and that he's out right at 900-thousand dollars.

His condo will soon go into foreclosure because he said its market value is well below its assessed value, leaving him without the money he needs to pay the taxes and homeowner's fees. Another condo owner also spoke to us about this same issue. We'll bring you his story in the coming days.