MIAMI — It may not look like much, but an empty lot in Moore Haven is supposed to be home for Wendy Aguiar.

“I’ve owned it for more than 2 years,” Aguiar said.

Not to mention she’s been paying HOA fees on the vacant property.

“They have us trimming trees because we are residents there,” Aguiar said. “Everyone keeps saying where is your home?”

It’s where Rebuild Florida was supposed to set up her new mobile home. Back in 2019, Wendy signed up for the Hurricane Irma Repair and Replacement program after her home was damaged by the 2017 storm.

“They came and did measurements, and I got my letter in January of 2019. It was a full replacement,” Aguiar said.

She says after the back-and-forth with Rebuild officials and the owners of the community where her home was damaged, the owner of the park didn’t want Rebuild to replace her home there. That’s when she searched for a lot she could afford. The lot though, is in Moore Haven, Florida. It’s hours away from where she lives and works in Davie.

“I had to empty out my 401k,” Aguiar said.

She says that it was okay if it meant having a safe home for her family. She figured she’d wait for her new home to be delivered. She waited. After years of dealing with the Rebuild program, she says a filing error deemed her inactive and kicked her out of the program.

“Which I am not. I have the paperwork to prove it. I am still supposed to be getting a home,” Aguiar said.

She’s spent more than a year now trying to get answers.

“Back in August, I was told they would get back to me, and they haven’t,” Aguiar said. “I see government officials not doing the job they are supposed to do, too.”

She turned to Seniors Versus Crime. The program started in 1989, and it was designed to educate seniors about problems that they might run into being senior citizens, like being taken advantage of or even encountering fraud.

“And it’s since morphed into 32 offices around the state, where we actually take complaints from people of any age and try to resolve them,” John Caravella, an office manager for the Gainesville office, said.

Caravella says everyone who works at a Seniors vs. Crime office is a volunteer. He says they get complaints from across the state. Some of those complaints include Wendy’s, asking for help with the Rebuild Florida Program.

“We know that it seems to be a lot of money thrown at a problem that went awry. We’ve received complaints from citizens where they’ve been waiting years to try and get either back into their house after an attempt to rebuild it or replacement. Sometimes the ball is dropped completely, and these people never hear from anyone after some shoddy work has been done,” Caravella said.

That’s why Caravella sent a letter to Alex Kelly, the secretary of Florida Commerce, the agency that oversees Rebuild Florida.

“To try and get at least the avenues of communication open with him, his office and the complainants that we have,” Caravella explained. “One of the concerns I have is if there’s fraud in this, and it potentially might be criminal fraud, but we don’t really pursue criminal matters.”

Wendy feels like she’s pursued all her options.

“Contracts are one-sided. I don’t see what is happening is okay. I see what’s happening is a fraud,” Aguiar said.

She’s hoping any help she can get will be one step closer to turning this empty lot into her home.

“I just want accountability at this point,” Aguiar said.

We did reach out to Florida Commerce about Wendy’s case and they told us:

Regarding Ms. Aguiar, as you know, Rebuild Florida policy requires the demolition of a hurricane-damaged Manufactured Housing Unit (MHU) before a new one can be placed in the same footprint. By HUD rule, Rebuild Florida cannot create a scenario in which assistance is provided to those with second homes. This ensures the program remains needs-based and supports those without alternative housing options. In Ms. Aguiar’s situation, the damaged MHU needed to be demolished before the replacement MHU could be placed onsite, preventing a scenario in which Ms. Aguiar held two MHU titles in her name. However, the Manufactured Housing Park in Davie, Broward County, where the damaged MHU is located, did not grant permission for the demolition. Additionally, the file became inactive when Ms. Aguiar declined to sign the Homeowner Grant Agreement and failed to provide written consent from the second titleholder (her mother). 

Wendy continues to deny that and says she has the paperwork to do it. She just needs someone from Rebuild to get ahold of her so she can resolve it. We also asked officials if they have a new deadline for all homes to be completed, they have yet to answer our question.