JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A Jax Beach business owner is speaking out after she says the building she’s renting has a roach infestation. She tells Action News Jax that’s only part of the reason why she hasn’t been able to open her business.
Kalista Seaman’s says her lease agreement states she would take the property as is, but says she was under the impression that the issues in the building were cosmetic.
Now, she says the words “as is” have cost her thousands of dollars.
Kalista Seaman, her husband and their three young daughters moved to Jax Beach to open her business off Third Street North.
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It’s called Seabrew Wellness Co., a facility meant to be a safe space for moms to work out, get pampered, and have fun with other moms without worrying about childcare.
But right now, the business is at a standstill.
“We haven’t been able to open due to circumstances that are unresolved,” Seaman said.
Seaman showed us photos taken when she toured the building this summer.
She said she was told it had electrical issues, but the property owner would fix them by early July.
But when she walked in, this is what she was met with.
“There was holes all throughout like the bathroom, every single room, there was a huge hole in the floor,” Seaman said.
Seaman sent us a photo of roach eggs she discovered shortly after the holes were left in the building.
She says when she brought it up to the property owner..
“It was put on me that it was at my expense because of the ‘as-is’ verbiage,” Seaman said.
Two words Seaman says have cost her thousands of dollars.
She says she paid $9,000 to get into the building and signed a five-year lease, but now she says the more she looks, the more problems she finds.
“There’s one room in here that I asked was this permitted work and who installed it, and I cannot get an answer,” Seaman said. “There’s multiple parties that play a role, and we didn’t know these things coming into it. And now we’re dealing with all of the consequences.”
Action News Jax tried to reach the property owner but was told by what appeared to be her husband that she was traveling. We gave him our card, and we hope to hear back soon.
We’ll update this story with more information as we receive it.
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