But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

“It’s women’s intuition,” Albrecht, the president of Florida Title and Trust said. “I just felt something was off.”

“The first red flag that I received was a driver’s license from West Virginia,” she said. “When we did our research, I noticed that the property tax bills since 1978 had been sent to Nassau, Bahamas.”

Albrecht did some more research and asked for a proof of life video.

“And we started getting pushback with, you know, she’s hard of hearing,” Albrecht said she was told about the owner.

A few days later, she got an unexpected email, saying the seller was ready for a video call. During the call, she said it quickly became apparent she was looking at a fake video, instead of an actual person. The video showed a woman, sitting in a room, looking straight at the camera. Albrecht could be heard asking the woman to raise her hand, but the woman did not react.

“After the second pause, I realized this is 100% a video playing on a loop,” she said. “It is not real.”

She said the video got her thinking about how many title companies would have actually accepted it as proof of life.

“If the woman says she can’t hear and you see the face and it looks similar, ok, check, done, let’s go on to the next,” Albrecht said.

“What I am really happy about in this situation is this title company really did the right thing,” said Marty Kiar, Broward County’s property appraiser.

Kiar said this wasn’t the first time he had heard of scammers using fake videos to try to trick closing agents.

“So far, we have one case dealing with AI,” he said. “I have a feeling it’s going to be much, much more very soon and that’s why people need to be very vigilant.”

Albrecht said she never heard again from the alleged seller, but she did do some more digging. A reverse image search of the picture on the identification provided by the scammer matched the image of a woman from California who was reported missing years ago.

“I felt really bad to have her picture come up,” she said. “The family already went through enough and to see their family member possibly come up again in this type of use, it’s just really sad.”

Kiar said you should be extra cautious if a seller is only communicating over text or email since that could be a red flag.

You can sign up to receive an alert if there has been a title change associated with your property.

The quality of our drinking water has been a topic of conversation for a long time. 

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was originally passed by Congress in 1974 with the goal of protecting public health by regulating the contaminants in the nation’s public drinking water supply. 

But in the 1980s, many people in South Florida put more faith in bottled water than in their local government’s ability to provide clean drinking water. 

“I just feel like there is too much pollution in it,” a South Florida man told a reporter from our station back in 1984. 

And today, many of the people we have heard from share a similar sentiment.  

NBC6 has heard from dozens of people who have replied to our online survey regarding water quality. Roughly 88% of them say they are concerned about the quality of their drinking water. 

But to understand water quality, we must first understand what pollutes the water. 

Florida’s water supply comes from many sources like rivers, streams, lakes, and springs. But in South Florida, the water comes from just below the land surface. 

The Biscayne and Floridan Aquifers are composed of rock with small holes and cracks. Rainwater seeps through it and fills it up. 

As this water travels to the aquifer, natural minerals along with harmful pollutants or contaminants can make their way to our water supply. 

Contaminants like pesticides from agriculture and residential use, viruses and bacteria from sewage treatment plants and septic tanks, and radioactive chemicals from nearby industrial locations. 

This water gets cleaned up during the water treatment process that takes place at facilities across South Florida. Then, this water is pumped to your home. 

But even after this process is completed, small traces of contaminants remain in the water that make it your faucet. 

“What you flush today, you drink tomorrow,” said Professor Naresh Kumar, who is a University of Miami Public Health professor

Kumar pointed out that laws like the Safe Drinking Water Act regulate how much of each tracked pollutant or contaminant can be in the water. 

Traces of contaminants like arsenic, barium, chromium, and lead are in your water and your local water system tracks how much. 

“So, our drinking water that’s supplied by any jurisdiction to your home through tap is deemed to be safe for drinking for many of these legacy pollutants,” Kumar said. 

But he explains not all pollutants are filtered out or even tracked. Local water systems are still looking for solutions for what they call emerging pollutants – chemicals from everyday household products. 

“When you take shower, they go in the system. And some of them are so fine, they cannot be filtered through any filter system,” Kumar said. “The water processing systems are not designed to deal with these pollutants.”

Concerned about water quality? We want to hear from you. Please fill out our online survey here.

Please fill out the survey below and we will contact you.

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

CEO Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo, a Republican strategist, spoke to several outlets promoting his vision.

“Jobs and the economy are number one and I think it’s what’s going to be driving all voters this November”, he told the CW7 in Arizona in August of 2022.

Jobs are top of mind for Hector Blanco who says he had a part-time gig as a board operator for Americano Media from January through July of 2023. He says he saw irregularities from the beginning, like late payments, but says he needed the job and liked the work, so he stayed there until the problems got worse.

“They didn’t pay me for the last three months of work”, he says, adding that Americano Media owes him more than $5,000.

Americano Media stopped operating in its Miami offices last year after reports surfaced that it allegedly stopped paying employees because it ran out of money and Garcia-Hidalgo was unable to reach an agreement with a potential buyer to continue operating.

In June, when NBC6 asked Garcia-Hidalgo’s representatives about Hector’s case and other employees who sued Americano Media demanding lost wages, they promised that, in just weeks, he would make an important announcement. But two months went by and the announcement never came.

At the beginning of August Garcia-Hidalgo’s representative said: “we understand that employees faced difficult burdens due to the financial predicament of americano…everyone, including Ivan (Garcia-Hidalgo), regrets how challenging the past several months have been on everyone involved. We expect to be able to announce our new plans in detail, including financial matters, within a couple of weeks.”

Miami-Dade’s Consumer Protection Division received Hector Blanco’s complaint regarding Americano Media. The agency enforces the county’s wage theft ordinance.

“Our ordinance is limited to wage thefts that are claimed over $60 and no more than $15,000. They’re limited to work that was performed in Miami-Dade County. The work must have been done within a year, and it must be employees and not contractors,” says Ingrid Castillo, the county’s Consumer Advocate.

Consumers must fill out a detailed affidavit that serves as a sworn statement and include documents that show they were employed by a company or individual, like W-2’s, paystubs, timesheets, or a contract. County analysts then review those documents and reach out to the employer.

In Hector’s case, while he filed the complaint within a year of when the alleged wage theft happened, the agency says he didn’t provide them the supporting documentation on time and his complaint will be dismissed due to the statute of limitations. He’s now hoping Americano Media decides to do the right thing and pay him and the other employees if they get new investors.

If you’ve worked, haven’t been paid and want to file a wage theft complaint with Miami-Dade’s Consumer Protection Division visit their page: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser146799265229380

You can also contact the U.S. Department of Labor and file a complaint here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints.

Daiana Maza and her father Ernesto Maza run Towing Miami Express, a small towing service in Miami.

For the last four years, they have seen a steady stream of customers, in part due to the use of an online Google business profile.

“Google is the most powerful engine of the world right now,” Daiana Maza said.

For many small businesses, Google business profiles have become an invaluable marketing tool. It allows for customers to see the business’ location, customer reviews and contact information. It also helps the business show up in search results.

But the most powerful tool in their arsenal stopped working a little more than a month ago when their Google profile was shut down.

In an email from Google, they were told their business didn’t meet the requirements to have a profile.

“Nobody could find us, and we literally lost like 99 percent of our work,” Daiana Maza said.

That same email offered Daiana and Ernesto the chance to appeal Google’s decision, a process they participated in by sending emails with Google employees and sending over paperwork related to their business.

But when days turned to weeks, they started to worry.

“It was five weeks, and we were already pretty much bankrupt, so we were desperate, and we had no other choice,” Daiana Maza said.

That’s when they contacted NBC6 Responds.

“We are about to lose our house, we are about to lose our cars, we are about to lose our trucks, the employees, like everything,” Daiana Maza said.

 We reached out to Google. In a statement, a company spokesperson told us: “We reviewed this case in detail and are working with the business to help them make some necessary edits to their profile. We aim to resolve issues in a helpful and timely way and are always improving how we do that.”

Within days, the business profile was back up and searchable online, but we never got a direct answer as to why it was taken down in the first place.

According to information Google provides online, they have guidelines for how businesses should represent themselves and these rules are enforced using automation, human review and user feedback.

Though their profile is back up and is searchable, their profile currently does not have the years’ worth of customer reviews it once had. We reached out to Google about that, and Maza says they are still working to get those incorporated into their Google profile.

“It’s a huge hit,” she told us.

A financial hit she’ll be dealing with for 20 years. But that’s not the only reason why what she pays for her condo has soared since she bought her unit in Aventura 14 years ago.

“The regular maintenance, which started when I lived here at $700 or $600, now it’s $980,” she said.

A recent RedFin analysis of MLS data in 43 of the most populous cities found median monthly condo HOA dues are up more than 15% over the year in Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale compared to a 6% increase overall.

In Miami, dues jumped 5.7% over the year, the analysis found. RedFin said that was partly because the median monthly HOA due there was $835, which was higher than any other metro area they analyzed. The cost of insurance for a condo building is typically included in its monthly dues.

“We’ve been seeing a trend the last few years of average increases in cost for a master condo association policy of 100% to 500% year over year,” said Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute.

But Friedlander said there was reason to be hopeful, as the market for policies that cover condo buildings expands.

“Citizens is offering more coverage for master condo associations than before,” he said. “One of the new entrants into the Florida market is a specialized insurer in master associations, so there are some new companies coming into the market or expanding their presence to offer master condo coverage.”

“That’s a good thing and that’s really what we need,” he added.

This week, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava urged the state legislature to make condo reform a priority this upcoming session. On Monday, the mayor sent a letter to the leaders in the Florida Senate and House that said, in part, “Residents across our state are feeling the pressure, and we are deeply concerned that these challenges will intensify the affordability crisis…”

Last week, the Florida Senate leader ruled out a special session. After the Surfside tragedy, state lawmakers passed a series of reforms to enhance condo safety. The mayor said the legislation was well-intentioned but many owners can’t keep up with the costs.

Thereza said she has had to make adjustments to her budget to make up for the rising costs.

“We just have to make it work,” she said. “It’s worth it for the quality of the building. It’s a great location.”

Friedlander said you want to make sure you have enough coverage, in case there’s a major loss. He suggested having your insurance agent take a look at your master condo association’s insurance policy, to see if there are any gaps you may need to fill with your own individual property policy.

In our series Consumer Corner, NBC6 Responds takes your money questions to the experts.

Each week, we will feature a different consumer question. 

Question:  “Are my student loans on pause?”  

Expert: Hanneh Bareham, Bankrate Analyst

Answer:

Borrowers with federal student loans have seen tons of changes over the last couple of years. 

Payments have stopped, started, and stopped again for some borrowers. 

The latest pause impacts about 8 million people who are enrolled in the SAVE Plan. The SAVE plan is a new income-driven repayment program that came out last fall. It offers lower monthly payments and loan forgiveness in as little as 10 years for certain people. 

But the program is now facing legal challenges. 

“The biggest news for borrowers is that all payments have been placed on hold while this moves through the courts,” Bankrate Analyst Hanneh Bareham said. 

Bareham says it could take months or possible longer for the legal issues to be settled. 

In the meantime, the education department has put borrowers in the save plan on administrative forbearance. 

“For SAVE plan borrowers specifically right now because the plan is completely blocked, in its entirety right now, interest will not accrue, payments will not be due, and borrowers do not have to do anything. But if they are enrolled in any other kind of plan, these missed payments will not count as progress toward those plans,” Bareham said. 

Without interest accruing now could be the best tome to make payments, according to Bareham. 

“I would recommend if borrowers can make payments, make those payments, if interest isn’t accruing you are just going to see that payment reduced further and faster,” Bareham said. 

Something else to keep in mind is there is a new student loan forgiveness initiative in the works. 

The new program could impact as many as 25 million people. The education department recently send out emails allowing borrowers to opt out of the new program before it begins potentially in October. 

If you have questions about your student loan payments or if you want to opt out of the new forgiveness program it is best to reach out directly to your student loan servicer. 

In 2020, she was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer and has undergone several surgeries. But four years later, she is still enjoying time with friends and taking care of important business for her condo buildings HOA. She communicates mostly through email and text.

On the day we visited Chapman, she used a notepad to write down her responses to our questions.

“Look at me. I do not feel disabled. I do more than most people. Just can’t speak,” Chapman wrote.

According to Chapman, contacting a representative from Florida, Power, and Lights to remove unwanted add-ons to her account proved difficult with her condition.

“I signed up for surge protection and solar energy, but seriously, I do not have solar and never had power surges. Power went out, but no surges. So why pay $24 to $35 each month for stuff I have no use for?” Chapman wrote.

In an email to NBC6 Responds, Chapman explained she couldn’t make the changes through her online portal. She wrote to an FPL support email she found online and sent a certified letter. But she explained she never heard back. She also tried the company’s chat option but showed us error messages which redirected her to call.

A call she would need to make with the use of what’s known as relay services which help people with hearing or speech disabilities make phone calls. But according to Joan, several times she was redirected to the wrong department and was still unable to make the necessary changes over the phone. That’s when she decided to reach out to NBC6 Responds.

“Yes, I saw a segment on channel 6 about helping someone in the community. I said, Joni, give it a shot. What do you have to lose? But a few minutes after writing the email, then wow, I got the answer the same day,” Chapman wrote.

NBC6 Responds reached out to Florida, Power, and Lights about Chapman’s situation. 

In a statement an FPL representative told us, “At FPL, we are always working for our customers and offer various account management options including FPL.com, the FPL app and phone. Additional options for customers who are Hard of Hearing or Speech Disabled include the Florida TTY-based (Teletypewriter) Telecommunications Relay Services and the chat option found on FPL.com by clicking ‘Support’ under the navigation bar and selecting the ‘Contact Us’ option. We can’t comment on any specific account; however, we worked with this customer – as we do with all of our customers – to ensure she gets the help needed now and in the future.”

Within days a consumer advocate reached out to Chapman and helped her remove the add-ons from her account. A technician also visited her home to help her look for ways to save on her bill. With her issues fixed, Chapman hopes her story will inspire others.  

“Yes, you can’t speak, but you still have a voice. And sometimes the writer’s word is remembered longer. So, if you have my disability, don’t hesitate to demand that companies try to accommodate our disability, too,” Chapman said. Though FPL’s chat option did not appear to be working when Chapman tried using it. We recently used it and it is currently working.

“Beautiful views,” she said. “Location, beautiful neighborhood.”

It is a place she plans to live in for a long time. But she said the cost of keeping that long-term investment is increasing.

In addition to her mortgage, she pays $1,390 in monthly fees. Those monthly fees include $967.70 in maintenance dues and two assessments – one imposed just last year after the Surfside tragedy.

“We still needed more money to bring us up to the 40-year,” she said. “That’s what hit us.”

That assessment was for over $81,000 spread out over 20 years, breaking down to about $338 a month.

“The financial cost to all of us – it’s amazing,” she said. “Yes, we’re going to have a safer building, but we might not be able to eat for the next 10 years.”

nbc6 responds Aug 3

Real estate experts warn about surge of South Florida condo listings

Miami-Dade May 14

Condo lawsuit: Neighbors claim association took parking spaces to make a profit

“I’m extremely concerned,” said Jeff Brandes, a former Republican state senator out of Pinellas County.

Brandes helped pass condo reforms after the Champlain Towers South collapse in June of 2021. Last week, he asked the state legislature on X to hold a special session urgently, sharing a previous NBC6 story on the looming condo crisis.

“Right now, we’re kind of given this choice of either buildings are gonna fall down or we’re gonna bankrupt seniors that are living in these condo units,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a bifurcated choice like that. I think there is probably a reasonable and rational solution to this problem that does not create catastrophic consequences to the condo market overall.”

Brandes encouraged his former colleagues to talk to people in their districts about the financial impacts of the reforms so they can figure out ways to help alleviate the burden. 

“We set arbitrary deadlines,” Brandes said. “There is no science behind the deadlines we’ve set. We can be flexible on those deadlines until we have more information about how to resolve this.”

Thereza, meanwhile, said she has had to make adjustments to her budget to cover the increase in fees, but worries about the potential for more assessments.

“I’ll make it work because I know eventually it’ll be worth it,” she said. “I’m not moving out anytime soon but it is like a bad marriage – it’s too expensive to get a divorce.”

NBC6 asked the governor’s office about the growing concerns over special assessments and their impacts on the condo market. His office did not address our request for an interview or answer our specific questions. Instead, a spokesperson sent a link to a press conference from late July where the governor encouraged state lawmakers to explore ways to make this “more sensible for people.”

On Friday afternoon, Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo sent a lengthy memorandum to her colleagues, explaining why she opposes a special session “… to address or alter existing safety and reserve funding requirements and other related issues.” 

“I have no intention at the present time of utilizing my authority as Senate President to convene a special session,” she wrote.

“In my view, no law is perfect. Some issues arise during implementation, and there is often room for improvement. However, the legislative process best serves Floridians when there is analysis, collaboration, and input from all stakeholders. I believe the upcoming committee weeks and regular session following our post-election reorganization provide the best opportunity for this type of dialogue,” she wrote, adding “I look forward to being a part of the solution.”

You can read the entire memo below.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

“It’s affecting my mental health. It’s affecting my husband mostly. He’s retired. He’s here all day long, listening to this noise. He’s not able to sleep, he’s taking medication to sleep,” she said, adding that the generator had been there for five weeks.

Alvarez says it all started when AT&T showed up to make upgrades in the neighborhood, located at Coconut Palm Drive and 129th place.

“AT&T was in our community around June 10th installing fiber-optic cabling and it seems that they broke a line for FPL, and since the 13th of June, they’ve had this commercial grade generator running right across my home,” the homeowner said.

Alvarez told us she kept calling AT&T but was never given a repair date, so she decided to contact the NBC6 Responds team. “I called you out of desperation. Trying to find an answer or attention of AT&T to fix the situation.”

When we contacted AT&T, they immediately reached out to Alvarez.

“They told me that they were going to send someone to assess the issue,” she said. 

AT&T sent a technician the very next day, which was a Friday. That Monday, a subcontractor showed up, fixed the broken powerline and that afternoon, AT&T hauled the generator away.

In a statement AT&T told us: “This generator was used to provide power for our internet services in the neighborhood and keep our customers connected. Once power was restored, we removed the generator. We apologize for the inconvenience.”  

“I’m very happy that I got you involved. Things wouldn’t have run so quickly,” Alvarez said. 

If you’re like Alvarez and have tried solving a problem on your own but haven’t been successful, you can reach out to the NBC6 Responds team using this form: https://www.nbcmiami.com/consumer-form/

And when they do, they can make calls that appear to be coming from your number while they stay anonymous.

It’s not a new scam but experts say it’s on the rise.

Eva Velasquez is the CEO and president of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). She said that despite years of warnings about this type of scam, people continue to fall victim. 

A recent ITRC report found that 60% of the over 13,000 crimes reported to the organization in 2023, involved the use of Google Voice.

Velasquez says stopping the scam starts with people protecting their multi-factor authentication codes. 

“In terms of Google Voice, this one is dependent on you sharing that multi-factor authentication code. So the key takeaway here is, I don’t care how legitimate sounding the reason is, you don’t share that with another,” she said.

But if you do fall victim and an imposter gets access to your account, Google has made it easier to get your number off that account. 

If you go to Google Voice help on Google, you will see a tab labeled “protect your verification code” and then you will see an option to disconnect your number. 

After entering your telephone number, you will be given an access code that you can enter to disconnect your phone number. 

Velasquez says their research shows victims of all ages are being impacted by identity theft related scams.

She says this should be a reminder to be vigilant and use tools like multi-factor authentication correctly. 

“That is for you to use to log in to a website. It is not to send to someone else…What you’re essentially doing is giving away that lock. It’s a lock that you have on your account where you are the only one that has the key and once you give that to other people, you’ve essentially given them the key.”

NBC6 reached out to Google for this story and we didn’t hear back. 

But in the past, a Google representative told NBC6 Responds – that “Google takes action for abuse of its services…” and the company “has a team that investigates complaints of fraud and scams that it receives from law enforcement.” 

You can report scams directly to the Federal Trade Commission using this link:

ReportFraud.ftc.gov

“There’s always a special assessment,” she said. “You either pay for it, or you sell and leave.”

But leaving for some may not be as easy.

Since the Surfside tragedy, lawmakers in Tallahassee have passed a series of reforms aimed at making buildings safer. Those reforms include requiring that condo associations have enough reserves on hand by the end of this year. That requirement may lead some associations to impose special assessments.

“They are six figures and they’re growing,” said Craig Studnicky, CEO and broker at ISG World. “I’ve heard as high as $350,000 per unit to fix the structural imperfections in these older buildings, basically rendering that inventory unsellable at the moment. It’s even hard to get a mortgage lender to want to lend on any of those units because of the threat of the special assessments.”

ISG World’s recent analysis of active listings in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties found a surge in the number of condos up for sale, from 8,353 in the second quarter of last year, to over 20,293 a year later. Nearly 90% or 17,796 of those units are in buildings that are over 30 years old.

“I’m very concerned,” Studnicky said. “A lot of these folks that live in these buildings are older, most are retired. They’re on fixed income.  They do not want to write those checks for special assessments. They’re hoping that somebody’s going to come in and buy them, but there’s nobody out there that wants to take that risk right now.”

Studnicky also said a lot of developers and real estate professionals believe the state went a little too far with the milestone rules they’ve put in place for older condos.

“We know that people are hurting,” said State Rep. Alex Rizo (R-Hialeah). 

He said there’s been some talk in Tallahassee about finding ways to alleviate the financial burden of some of the reforms on condo owners.

“One possibility is perhaps extending the amount of time to have the fund filled,” he said. “Another one may be perhaps doing sort of a sliding scale to have that fund filled by the age of the property owner.”

But for Christy, time isn’t the real issue.

“The money is the problem,” she said. “If they keep on putting more assessments, what are people gonna do?”

So far, state lawmakers have not developed a specific plan, Rizo said, adding that the governor has expressed he is open to discussing the issue.

If you’re dealing with a special assessment you’re struggling to pay, connect with the NBC6 Responds team by clicking here:  https://www.nbcmiami.com/consumer-form/

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

“We love the house,” Joseph said. “The area is very nice. The neighbors are very nice.”

Top on their to-do list: getting their home hurricane-ready.

“That’s the whole reason why we called the Alco window and door company,” he said.

He said a representative from the Doral-based company came out to their home on Aug. 22 of last year and measured all of the six windows and two doors they would be replacing. That same day, he signed the contract and the paperwork to finance the $25,898 project through a third party.  

He started making payments on that loan in September, he said, adding the Alco representative told him the entire process would be completed before the start of this hurricane season. 

“Somewhere up to four to six months, and it would be finished,” Joseph said he was told.

But after that day, he said, it became unclear when the project would actually get underway.

“We kept calling them and calling them numerous times to try and find out, well, what is the status?” Joseph said. “What’s going on? How come you still haven’t sent nobody out here to start to work on our home?”

Joseph’s HOA signed off on the project in January of this year, a step the contract Joseph signed said was required before the windows and doors could be ordered. But he said the project still didn’t move along, so he became concerned and filed complaints with the state and his local law enforcement agency. He also contacted NBC6 Responds.

“Right now, we can’t get anything done to our windows because I’m paying this money every month,” he said, adding the situation was very stressful for him and his wife.

An attorney for Alco told NBC6 in May they were responding to Joseph “…in hopes of resolving these issues…” with him “…in an amicable fashion.”

Shortly after, Joseph said he received a letter from the attorney that said in part, “…there were some delays in obtaining your Homeowner’s Association’s approval … which in turn delayed…” the project. It went on to say the company “…does not place the order with the manufacturer until Association approval is obtained…” Joseph’s contract stated it could take up to 180 days after that approval to receive the products from the manufacturer. The company said they estimated the order would be ready on or before July 16.

Palm Beach County records showed the company filed the application for the permit on June 28 – more than six months after it obtained the HOA’s approval and weeks after NBC6 Responds got involved. The company scheduled Joseph’s installation to start on July 15. Joseph said he no longer wanted to work with the company.

“I want my money back,” he said. “I want my contract canceled.”

An attorney for Alco did not answer questions about why it took the company months to apply for the permit but he told us they were willing to issue a full refund and cancel the contract Joseph signed. Joseph said he recently submitted the paperwork to get the process started.

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

When fans rushed the entrance gates prior to kickoff, videos show many fans without tickets found their way inside.

“So, there was a point where they opened the gates and all the people rushed in. And all the people that rushed in, none of them scanned their tickets,” Dr. Manuel Fonseca said.

Fonseca spent $3,690 for a pair of tickets to the Copa America final. He said when he and his wife entered the gate, it was unsafe. 

“And I made my way inside. But when I started seeing all those people rushing in, my wife was pregnant. I said, ‘I’m definitely not going to risk this. Let’s get outside.’ Because my concern was that if a stampede gets developed there, what are we going to do?” he said. 

After escaping the wave of people entering, he said they were unable to get back inside. 

“They say, you need to go to the North Gate. They were sending you basically in circles all night long,” he said. 

Now he wants a refund, and he isn’t the only one. 

A quick scroll on X shows other frustrated fans who want their money back. One person wrote, “My family and I traveled to Miami to watch the game and spent thousands…we were locked out of the stadium while thousands of people without tickets got in. We should expect a refund.”

Another person wrote, “When will I receive a refund on tickets and parking after being refused entry.”

NBC6 Responds reached out to ticket vendors Ticketmaster and StubHub along with CONMEBOL, the organizers of the event. 

Ticketmaster’s policy states only event organizers can determine whether refunds will be allowed. In a statement from Hard Rock Stadium released on X Monday morning, they stated in part, “We understand there are disappointed ticket holders who were not able to enter the stadium after the perimeter was closed, and we will work in partnership with CONMEBOL to address those individual concerns.”   

According to Ticketmaster, if the event organizer approves refunds ticketholders will see a request refund button in their online accounts and the money will go back to the card used to purchase the tickets. 

We are still waiting to hear back from StubHub, CONMEBOL, and Hard Rock Stadium to ask if they will be giving refunds for this event.

“It’s nice that the property values are going up, but you know, when your mortgage is $1,000 more a month than when you originally got it, it’s tough because of the tax,  insurance…nobody’s happy with it,” a homeowner told NBC6 Responds. 

The 2024 estimate of the taxable values of properties in Miami-Dade County showed an increase of about 10.7%, making it the third straight year of double-digit increases in Miami-Dade County. 

Broward County saw a 9.2% increase in taxable values of properties across the county. 

The cities that saw some of the highest increases in home values were Homestead, Surfside, Oakland Park, and West Park. 

Those who will probably feel the biggest impact on their tax bill are people who recently purchased a new home or people who have a new construction home. 

“Maybe people that are actually moving in here paying top dollar for properties, they’re paying a lot of their taxes,” Broward County’s Property Appraiser Marty Kiar said. “And of course, if somebody has new construction, that can actually be taxed at a significant amount as well.”

Kiar said the amount a homeowner will pay varies on things like the market value of the home and whether the homeowner qualifies for any exemptions. 

The homestead exemption can help homeowners from being impacted by skyrocketing market values. 

The Save Our Home cap limits the amount the assessed value of your home can increase each year. Under the cap, the value can’t increase more than 3% each year, or the CPI change, whichever is lower. 

When a homesteaded property is sold, the property is reassessed. 

“So the people that see the big increases are the non-homesteaded property owners, maybe people that are actually moving in here paying top dollar for properties, they’re paying a lot of their taxes,” Kiar said. 

Real estate analyst Jack McCabe with McCabe Research and Consulting said higher property taxes impact people with second homes and rental properties the most. 

He said increased taxes and spikes in the cost of property insurance could lead to a downturn in the real estate market. 

“What’s happening right now is all really good news for buyers finally. And they haven’t had any good news in five years. So I think over the next 18 months, we are seeing this transition from a strong seller’s market to what will become a buyer’s market,” McCabe said. 

It’s a prediction Urania Melendez hopes comes true. She has four adult children looking to buy sooner rather than later. 

“But I’m more concerned about the fact that, like I explained to you, my kids, being able to purchase a home, it’s hard right now,” Melendez said. 

If you visit the Broward County or Miami-Dade County property appraiser’s website, you will be able to see how much your property value increased over the last year. 

You should be receiving your Notice of Proposed Property Taxes (TRIM Notice) in August. 

If you feel the assessed value of your property is too high, you should reach out to your county’s appraiser’s office and you can also file an appeal with the county’s value adjustment board.

“They should charge me for the water that I spent,” homeowner Marina Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez saw her bill skyrocket from around $90 bucks a month to over $1,000. 

At the time, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department blamed the issue on a limited number of new automated meters that weren’t synced with the water department’s billing system. 

The department was relying on what’s known as “estimated billing.”

Estimated billing is when the department uses information from your previous consumption to estimate what you may have used in water.   

After we reached out to the Miami-Dade WASD, a spokesperson said they would reevaluate the bills of the customers with the new meters. 

Since that story aired, we’ve heard from more Miami Springs residents who say they have also encountered issues with their water bills. 

“I have allocated funds for certain bills. I don’t mind paying for something I consume,” homeowner Miriam Rodriguez told us. 

She says the amount she owes has doubled month to month compared to previous years. 

When we reached back out to the Miami-Dade WASD, we learned more information about the issue plaguing some Miami Springs residents. 

In total around 400 meters were impacted by the previous billing issue but the department spokesperson told us all of these “accounts are now receiving bills based on actual consumption and not on estimates.” 

When we asked about how the department handles estimated billing, a spokesperson explained the department doesn’t have an estimated reading program like some other counties, but instead, they only use estimated readings that are based on a customer’s previous consumption “when a water meter is inaccessible, damaged or fails to communicate” to their system. 

If you notice the words “estimated reading” on your bill for several months in a row, it could be because of problems such as access issues, no replacement meters being available, or meter communication issues. 

The Miami WASD says these issues are not what is causing Miriam’s bill to be higher, and that her meter is working properly. 

They told us they plan on reaching out to her directly to give her more information on her billing. 

According to the Miami-Dade WASD website, you can check to see if your meter was misread by copying down the numbers on your meter and comparing them to the numbers on your utility bill under the current reading. 

The numbers on the meter should be equal to or higher than what you see on your bill.

According to the DOT, “Any cancellation or significant change in a flight is eligible for a refund, regardless of the reason for it,” including weather-related cancellations.

So, what exactly is a “significant change?”

An agency spokesperson told our sister station, NBC 5 in Chicago: “Significant changes to a flight include departure or arrival times that are more than 3 hours domestically and 6 hours internationally; departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections,” and more.

In addition to significant flight changes, consumers may be compensated for delayed luggage.

The DOT explained that passengers who file a mishandled baggage report will be entitled to a refund of their checked bag fee if it is not delivered within 12 hours of their domestic flight arriving at the gate, or 15-30 hours of their international flight arriving at the gate, depending on the length of the flight.

Under the new rules, airlines must compensate passengers in cash or through their original form of payment.

Doing away with hidden fees

The Department of Transportation will also enact new rules regarding hidden fees.

Starting July 1, airlines are required to disclose all fees up-front instead of at checkout. The trade organization that represents and advocates for the U.S. airline industry, Airlines for America, has fought to reverse the new fee rule.

The group filed a petition for the U.S. Court of Appeals to review the Department of Transportation’s decision.

Airlines for America told NBC 5 Responds the fee transparency policies go beyond the DOT’s authority, saying airlines already go to great lengths to make their customers feel knowledgeable about these fees. It went on to say, disclosing all fees upfront would complicate the buying process.

As of Monday night, A4A’s request for court review was still moving through the legal system.

Airlines for America shared this statement with NBC 5 (Chicago) Responds regarding the fee transparency rule:

“U.S. airlines care deeply about the customer purchasing experience from first search to final purchase and invest heavily in their websites and mobile apps to ensure both transparency of all costs and ease of use for each customer with a purchase path tailored to that customer’s specific choices. Airlines already provide consumers with complete disclosure of all fees associated with air travel before they purchase a ticket.”

“The ancillary fee rule by the Department of Transportation will greatly confuse consumers who will be inundated with information that will only serve to complicate the buying process.”

“DOT’s attempt to regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace is beyond its authority. DOT has failed to establish that consumers are unable to obtain information about ancillary fees. To the contrary, consumers are well-aware of the existence of ancillary services fees. Airlines go to great lengths to make their customers knowledgeable about these fees. In addition to the disclosures required by existing DOT regulations, airlines engage in competitive advertising and emphasize ancillary fee discounts and benefits when they promote their loyalty programs. The DOT ancillary rule is a bad solution in search of a problem.”

Additional details from the DOT on airline cancellation policies:

“Any cancellation or significant change in a flight is eligible for a refund, regardless of the reason for it. Significant changes to a flight include departure or arrival times that are more than 3 hours domestically and 6 hours internationally; departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections; instances where passengers are downgraded to a lower class of service; or connections at different airports or flights on different planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability.”

“The final rule on refunds and other consumer protections will be effective on June 25, 2024, however the rule provides for lengthier implementation periods. The implementation period ranges from six months for airlines to provide automatic refunds when owed to 12 months for airlines to provide transferable travel vouchers or credits when consumers are unable to travel for reasons related to a serious communicable disease.”

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

NBC6 first told you about the company back in February.

Thomas and Theresa Topolski reached out to NBC6 Responds when they couldn’t get a refund after their short-term rental booking was canceled by the company last minute. 

The company’s website promises to help people with the rental process, but the Topolskis say they got the runaround when they tried to get a refund for the $3,588 deposit they paid. 

“We’re not rich. I’m a retired teacher and a secretary saving to do these things, and there are other people just like me,” Thomas Topolski said.

Now other people are speaking about the refund woes they have experienced with Houzlet.

“He was looking for a luxury condominium in Miami Beach,” Jessica Ruggieri said.

Ruggieri operates a short-term rental management company and also helps international clients find and book properties on other platforms.

“I did online research to see that they’d been in the market for a very long time. I’ve seen that they hosted over 30,000 listings, and that they had good reviews,” Ruggieri said. 

She says she helped a client book a two-month stay at a luxury condo in Miami Beach she found on Houzlet’s website. The client paid nearly $40,000 up front at the time of booking. But a week before the reservation, she says the company canceled on her client.

“They offered us to search for another property. They weren’t able to find a replacement property in the vicinity,” Ruggieri said.

Therese Silicato and her husband also were left with a canceled reservation. Their reservation, booked through the VRBO website, was canceled a month before they were set to arrive in Bradenton, Florida for vacation. 

“They said that you had to, because of their programming, that they could not return money after 180 days of the original booking. And of course, they waited till the 11th month,” Silicato explained. 

Both of the viewers NBC6 spoke to say Houzlet told them to dispute the charge with their banks, which didn’t work. In Ruggieri’s case, Houzlet explained they couldn’t refund the money to a third party. Both viewers eventually filed complaints with the Florida Attorney General’s Office after multiple attempts to get the money from Houzlet failed.

So far, the AG’s office has received more than 60 complaints against Houzlet. Most of the complaints are related to the company canceling refund and failing to give refunds. 

VRBO, which started working with Houzlet in 2022, cut ties with the company, telling NBC6 Responds in a statement, “We are no longer working with Houzlet and are not offering their properties on our sites. If a traveler’s stay has been canceled by Houzlet and they have not received a refund, we recommend they file a chargeback request with their bank in order to recoup any outstanding funds. In the event a chargeback request is not successful, the traveler may reach back out to VRBO customer support so that we can assist with next steps.”

Silicato reached out to VRBO’s customer support for help and she was able to get a refund.

Ruggieri says her client, who booked directly on the Houzlet website, is blaming her for the mishap, and she now worries this will tarnish her company’s reputation.

“He wants to come after us for the whole total of that cost that he lost. So, us as a small business, it would put us at a financial loss for a type of transaction like that,” Ruggieri said. 

Houzlet didn’t respond to our questions about these cases and other complaints about their refund policy, but they previously blamed their merchant’s refund policy, saying it doesn’t allow them to issue refunds for transactions made for over 180 days.

“More than 19 manufacturers, more than 40 million cars nationwide,” said Patrick Olsen, Editor-in-Chief at Carfax.

Now, about 10 years later, there are still millions of vehicles with a potential danger lurking inside.

“Nationwide, there are 6.4 million vehicles with unfixed Takata airbags,” Olsen said. “It’s just alarming that after 10 years, there’s still so many left.”

One big reason why involves how recalls are sent. Notices are typically delivered right to your mailbox. You may see the notice, think it’s junk mail and toss it without realizing what it was all about. Or maybe you did see it, but simply forgot to take care of it.

“They wait weeks, they wait months,” Olsen said. “And after all, they’re like, well, nothing’s happened to me so I must be OK. And sadly, nothing can be further from the truth.”

Olsen said a recent Carfax data analysis shows 62,000 of these unfixed airbags are in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The record heat we’re experiencing could be especially problematic for the impacted airbags.

“Over time, moisture builds up inside that airbag inflator and the more moisture that gets in there, the greater the explosive force when the airbag ignites,” Olsen said. “It turns the metal ring around the airbag into shrapnel, literal flying pieces of metal that are sent into the cabin.”

Olsen said at least 25 deaths and hundreds of injuries have been linked to defective Takata airbags.

“Even if you’re a great driver, someone could hit you, set off that airbag and if you have the wrong airbag, you could be in trouble,” he said. “A lot of these cars are all the way back to the 2002 model year. So these are 20-year-old plus cars. They’re on their second, third, fourth owner. A lot of them are in the hands of teen drivers who may not even think that they’ll look for recalls.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an entire page dedicated to the Takata airbag recall. You can check it out by clicking here.

You can also check to see if your car has any open recalls on NHTSA’s website, using just your license plate number or VIN.

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

In our series Consumer Corner, NBC6 Responds takes your money questions to the experts.

Each week, we will feature a different consumer question. 

Question:  “How can I avoid scams while booking summer travel?” 

Expert: Leyla Bilge, Director of Scam Research Labs at Gen Digital 

Answer:

When searching for the cheapest flight, hotel, or short-term rental for an upcoming trip it is important to be careful. 

Travel scams typically rise during busy travel seasons. 

“So we have to try to understand before we book. What does the average normal pricing for the place you are going. Scammers will target that,” Leyla Bilge with Gen Digital said. 

Bilge is a scam expert and says the first step to avoiding scams is to research your destination and what the trip will cost. 

This will help you recognize deals that are too good to be true. 

Next, she says, try to book directly on the booking platform. This will ensure you get the added protections offered. 

“The second thing is you should never book things outside of the booking platform, when you are trying to book something like on Airbnb, you shouldn’t start talking to someone who will tell you ‘I am going to make you a better deal if you send me the money directly’. It might sound better to you, you might not have to pay the Airbnb fees, but the likelihood of you getting scammed is really really high,” Bilge said. 

Lastly, be on the lookout for what’s known as an imposter scam.  

It can start when someone calls on the phone and impersonates a person working for the airline or hotel. The scammers is often seeking out your personal information. 

“This is becoming really key, because a lot of scammers and attackers that are actually impersonating known brands, you will think you are getting travel insurance from someone you know already, but they are actually impersonating. Sometimes when you are doing travel booking through your mobile phone it is even harder to see where you are going at, so you have to be really sure,” said Bilge. 

Remember, scammers typically try to pressure you to make quick decision or ask you to send money through wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency. 

These are typically signs something isn’t right. 

If you believe you have been the target of a travel scam you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

“I entered my PIN number on the website and it showed me $0.04 and I’m like, I got 4 cents?,” she said. “Something can’t be right.”

She says she logged onto her SNAP benefits account and found someone had drained the $300 that had been deposited. The suspicious back-to-back transactions, happening at locations in Philadelphia just minutes apart.

“I mean it’s frustrating because my income, I don’t have none right now,” she said. “My unemployment just stopped. I have to buy food for my daughter.”

And Tenise isn’t alone. Across the country, more than 124,000 households have lost over $61 million in stolen benefits since last year.  Criminals often use hidden skimming devices to lift the card data. Then, they use the information to create fake payment cards and steal the money from the victims’ accounts.

The Florida Department of Children and Families says the state has a plan in place to address this type of SNAP benefit fraud. Under the plan, potential fraud victims have to submit a claim. The department then has 10 business days from the time they receive the form to review it and if the claim is approved, the department will replace the benefits by the 10^th business day.

“They need to give us a voucher,” Tenise said. “They need to give us something.”

Tenise said she submitted her claim and then reached out to NBC6 Responds for help. After our team contacted the department, she said someone did call her to say they were looking into her case. She said her replacement funds did not appear in her account until about two weeks after the account was drained.

“I was like, I’m glad it’s there,” she said.

Tenise was relieved but said more should be done to help those who may find themselves in a similar situation.

“It’s too long,” she said. “They know it’s a crisis throughout South Florida, they need to move fast.”

If your SNAP benefits were stolen, you can submit a claim directly on the department’s website by clicking here:  https://www.myflfamilies.com/reportstolensnap#no-back

You can also report the theft by calling the EBT customer service line at 1-888-356-3281.

“My bill usually is from $58 to $90 something dollars every month of water. And what I spend in the water, a thousand something dollars,” Gonzalez said.  

In April, her water bill skyrocketed with charges over a thousand dollars. 

“Well, it hurts me because I had to pay so much money, and it’s not right. It’s not right that they should charge me for the water that I spend,” Gonzalez said. 

She said last April, she had another higher-than-normal bill. 

A yearly look at Gonzalez’s usage history showed low consumption all year long, except for April of the last two years. 

“And I complain, and I complain about the meters, and the meter is nothing wrong, nothing wrong with the meter. We’re taking your meter, and we’re going to check it, and nothing wrong with your meter,” Gonzalez said she was told. 

But she isn’t the only one describing higher-than-normal charges in the area. NBC6 Responds heard from two other people in the Miami Springs area who say their bills have also skyrocketed from one month to the next. The culprit, they think, is estimated meter readings. 

If the water department does not manually read your meter, they are allowed to estimate your usage, and they bill you that amount. 

According to a statement from the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, estimated readings were a part of the problem. 

In a statement, a spokesperson told us the following, 

“Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD) regularly replaces meters as part of a scheduled standard operating procedure. A limited number of new automated meters installed in the Miami Springs area contained serial numbers that did not sync with the department’s billing system. The meters provided to the department by the vendor had a nine-digit serial number and department’s billing system utilizes an eight-digit serial number. This issue prevented the information from the meters to be transmitted to the department’s billing system. Without a transmitted reading, the department’s billing system automatically calculates an estimated bill based on historical consumption for the customer’s account.” 

“Once department staff realized this disconnect in the system, it was corrected. Staff is now reevaluating the bills for customers who received these new meters and received estimated bills. As an added safeguard, department staff will be notified when an account has two consecutive estimated bills to take further action – including verifying that their meter serial number is synched correctly in both systems.

WASD customers can always contact the department’s customer service section at 305-665-7477 if they have questions about their bill.” 

For Gonzalez, she said she has been credited back $1,000 to her account but she wants her meter manually read to safeguard from any higher than normal charges. 

“But this has been going on already for a long time, and I don’t want them to come and estimate my bill,” Gonzalez said. 

According to the Miami-Dade County website, you can check to see if your meter was misread by copying down the numbers on your meter and comparing them to the numbers on your utility bill under the current reading. The numbers on the meter should be equal to or higher than what you see on your bill. If they aren’t you can contact the water department and request a corrected bill.

The consumer watchdog group analyzed all 313 food recall announcements made last year by the FDA and the USDA and found e-coli, salmonella and listeria were the reasons behind about 26% of those recalls

U.S. PIRG’s analysis also found nearly half of the recalls were the result of an undeclared allergen. The number of items recalled because of an undeclared allergen jumped 27% in 2023 compared to the previous year.

You can read the report by clicking here: https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/food-for-thought-2024/

“A lot of these products, they have three and four and five undeclared allergens in the same product,” said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for U.S. PIRG and author of the report. “It’s just outrageous and they need to do better.”

There were 88 recalls in 2023 from pathogens, Murray said.  In 2023, outbreaks killed 6 people and sickened 1,100 others, the report found. Murray said to protect yourself, you should make sure you handle food safely once you have it in your home. You should also stay informed about the latest recalls.

“If you do pay attention to recalls and you’re noticing some of the same brands that are getting recalled over and over, or some of the same stores seem like they’re having recalls that maybe it’s caused by the store, maybe it’s caused by their distributor, maybe they don’t work with very reliable companies and maybe you need to go buy your groceries from someplace else,” she said.

Those with very young children, people with food allergies, those who are pregnant or who have a compromised immune system should pay more attention to recalls, she said.

Murray suggests getting a phone app that will alert you to any new recalls, like Food Recalls & Alerts and FoodKeeper.

You can also check out the latest recalls at www.foodsafety.gov/recalls-and-outbreaks.

“My car, oh my god, I really got lucky,” she told NBC6 a year later.

The Fort Lauderdale resident considered herself lucky because she had comprehensive coverage, the type of insurance needed to fix her damaged car.

“They replaced the whole flooring,” she said. “It wasn’t a total loss. I was still able to run it.”

Kim Palmer of NerdWallet explains if you only have basic car insurance, you may find yourself in a difficult situation if your car is damaged by rising flood water.

“You’re going to have to pay for whatever it costs to … fully replace your car yourself, so you want to have extra savings,” Palmer said. “Think about how you can have an emergency savings fund that can step in in this situation to help you out.”

According to digital insurance agent Insurify, the Florida average for a full coverage policy is $2,917 a year, which is much higher than the national average of $2,019. The average premiums paid in South Florida are even higher, with $3,463 in Miami and $3,278 in Fort Lauderdale.

“Typically, in the aftermath of a natural disaster, the hardest hit areas do see the largest increases in insurance prices because insurance companies need to adjust their risk profile for that area,” said Chase Gardner, a data insights manager at Insurify. “However, rate increases are still approved at the state-level, so there is some level of risk that gets spread across a state’s entire population.”

After last year’s historic flood, Wanda saw a change in her premium.

“It did go up,” she said. “I wound up switching. I got another insurance.”

If your car insurance premium jumps at renewal, shop around for coverage. There is a good chance you will be able to find a better rate, like Wanda.

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

“The first thing that goes through my mind is, ‘Am I going to be able to afford my house?’” Veronica said.

Two years later, she still has those same worries.

“As far as my homeowner’s insurance and what I’m doing with this house, things have gotten worse,” the Miramar resident said. “Nothing has gotten better. There’s been no relief.”

Since 2020, Veronica says her premium has jumped from about $3,500 to almost $7,700. She told NBC6 Responds she was concerned about how much more her premiums would jump in the next few years.

“And that’s not easy,” she said. “That’s not an easy pill to swallow.”

She told NBC6 she was unsure about what she would do if the increases continue.

“I don’t know,” she said. “To be honest with you, I don’t know. I’m almost at my limit.”

Veronica is not alone.

In an informal NBC6 survey of dozens of viewers, everyone responded they are very or somewhat concerned about being able to afford their home because of what they pay for property insurance.

Over 66% said they are considering moving out of Florida because of the premiums.

An analysis earlier this year by Insurify, a digital insurance agent, found the average annual insurance cost for Florida homes with $300,000 in coverage is $9,213 – the highest in the country by far.

“And we know Southeast Florida homeowners have seen the highest average changes compared to the rest of the state,” said Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group.

Friedlander says they expect those increases to start to moderate this year, as the market stabilizes after state lawmakers passed sweeping insurance reforms in December 2022.

He says no insurance company has gone insolvent in over a year and that seven companies are now going to be writing new business in Florida, though it’s unclear how many of those new policies will be written for homeowners in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

When asked, Friedlander said there is no state requirement for these companies to write policies in every county of the state.

“The requirement is to operate in the state,” he explained. “It’s up to them to determine where they’re going to write the coverage.”

“We need competition and competition will lead to competitive quoting and hopefully better pricing,” he added.

Nearly 88% of the people who responded to the NBC6 survey said they feel they don’t have more options for coverage. About 12% said yes.

Veronica says she doesn’t feel she is better off now compared to where she was two years ago.

“Not one of those reforms is the ‘Veronica Solomon reduce her homeowner’s’ act,” she said. “Not one. So, whatever those reforms are, they have no bearing on me.”

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable. 

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people. 

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. 

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process. 

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness. 

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria. 

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals. 

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system. 

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home. 

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water. 

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels. 

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

Gwendolyn Krantz managed to pay off her federal student loans during the pandemic, “I didn’t want to be in any sort of debt.” But after President Biden announced his student loan forgiveness plan, she requested a refund for those payments.

In 2022, EdFinancial, her loan servicer, refunded her $13,381.92. Krantz planned on using it as a down payment on a house. However, last year, she received an email from EdFinancial saying she had to start paying her student loans again, along with interest.

“I was just like, where did this amount come from?” Krantz said, adding she tried to get answers from EdFinancial but was getting nowhere. “Nobody had an answer for me.” So she turned to NBC6 Responds for help.

An EdFinancial representative told us they couldn’t provide information about Krantz’ case due to privacy but would contact her to “discuss the issue raised.”

“I quickly got an answer. It was the refund money that they wanted back,” Krantz said.

EdFinancial told her in an email, in part, that under the CARES Act, “…servicers were required by the Department of Education to honor requests for refunds for any payments during the payment pause.” Adding that Krantz’s account balance was reinstated for the equivalent of the payments she requested to be refunded.

Even though she qualified for that refund back in 2022, the Supreme Court rejected the President’s plan, and the payment pause ended. Therefore, she has to pay the money back.

Experts say she is not alone.

“Unfortunately, some people are currently running into that situation where they got a refund and now, they’re struggling to pay it back. Now they’ve got to pay interest on it, and they’re probably kicking themselves and wishing they didn’t get the refund in the first place,” said Jacob Channel, a student loan expert at LendingTree. 

Channel stresses the importance of reading the fine print, explaining, “The government, when they refunded it to you, was not actively forgiving it. They were just sort of giving you the money with the idea that you knew that eventually pay back whatever you borrowed.” 

Krantz hasn’t touched the money she got back. “Once again, I am in their debt. So, if I had known that it was going to be another loan, per se, I would have never taken the refund.”

If you’re struggling to repay a pandemic loan refund, the Department of Education tells NBC6 the initial step for those facing difficulty is to immediately contact their loan servicer. Loan servicers can explain the range of options available, including enrolling in an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. These plans calculate your monthly payment based on your income and family size, making them more manageable based on your financial situation.

The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan is the most affordable program, it bases payments on a smaller portion of your adjusted gross income, offers forgiveness for borrowers who originally borrowed $12,000 or less after just 10 years, and includes an interest benefit to prevent the increase of loan balances from unpaid interest. 

A 2021 report from the EPA found more than 200 fires reported at waste facilities across the country have been associated with lithium-ion batteries. The report notes the number of facilities affected is “likely much higher” because these fires are “severely underreported.”

Dawn McCormick of Waste Management, a company that handles residential trash and recycling pickup for many communities in Florida, says they are seeing an uptick in fires across the state.

“About one fire a week here in Florida in our trucks and also about one fire a week in our recycling facilities,” McCormick said.

McCormick says products with lithium-ion batteries are to blame in many cases.

During our visit to the Reuters recycling facility in Pembroke Pines, we saw several potential fire hazards among the recyclables, including a propane tank, a power washing machine, and battery-powered toys.

In the past three years, the city’s fire department has responded to nine fire incidents at this facility. 

In Miami, a fire broke out at a waste management site that recycles construction and demolition material in December. It was started by a lithium battery and some flammable roofing glue, which helped fuel the fire, according to the company’s own investigation.

Lieutenant Mike Adams, a fire investigator with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, says that while they are not seeing a significant increase in this type of fires, there is a growing concern because of the widespread use of lithium batteries.

“They are seeing those show up in the landfills and the recycling plants,” he said.

In Palm Beach County, the Solid Waste Authority told NBC6 there have been 10 fires at their facilities and in trucks from December 2021 to March 2023. Most incidents were small and controlled early, preventing larger fires. 

But the consequences of such fires can be very costly and put a hold on trash and recycling pickup.

“Across the country, we have had facilities, recycling facilities be total losses, millions of dollars in infrastructure. We had a fire at our Tampa facility about three or four years ago. That plant was down for about three months,” McCormick said. 

That’s why prevention is key.

McCormick says innovative systems like fire rovers are being deployed, offering 24/7 monitoring and immediate action to douse hot spots before they flare into full-blown fires at these facilities.

But it can be avoided if we do our part.

“If residents and businesses do the right thing in the first place and don’t put household hazardous waste or batteries in the recycling or garbage, then we’re preventing those fires and the safety and cost associated with it,” McCormick said. 

To do the right thing, you need to know where to dispose of lithium-ion batteries, devices containing them, or hazardous materials. You can find that information on your county’s website. McCormick says you may be able to drop some of these items at big box stores, but you have to check with them first.

First up, if you’re driving somewhere far or even staying close and checking out local spots, if you’ve racked up some mileage over the winter, your vehicle may be due for routine maintenance.

But before you call for an estimate, Kevin Brasler, the executive editor of Consumers’ Checkbook, says to be careful what you ask for.

“A lot of consumers when they call shops to get these, you know, periodic maintenance packages done, they just say ‘I need 30,000-mile maintenance or I need 60,000-mile maintenance,’” Brasler said.

In a recent study, the team at Consumers’ Checkbook, a consumer nonprofit, found repair shops were more likely to give you a higher estimate if you asked for mileage-based maintenance.

Instead, Brasler says look up what your car manufacturer recommends at different mileage intervals and ask for those specific services instead.

“I’m not really sure why shops charge so much more if all you do is say, ‘I need 30,000-mile maintenance or 60,000-mile maintenance’ than they do if you tell them which jobs you need. I think it’s likely that they know that that most customers don’t know what work needs to be done at those service intervals and assume it may be a lot of work when in fact these days, cars don’t need nearly as much maintenance as they used to,” he said.

If you’re traveling by air, Consumers Checkbook’ suggests you can save money by skipping out on travel insurance.

“None of them are worth buying. They’re good deals for the companies that sell them. They’re enormous profit centers for retailers. But they’re bad deals for most consumers because they say they contain so many policy exclusions that they’re just really not worth much at all,” Brasler said.

NBC Responds contacted the US Travel Insurance Association on that take. We didn’t hear back.

But a Spring Break tip article on its website says, “Travel protection can help give you peace of mind, knowing you’re covered if something unexpected happens” like emergency medical expenses, or lost or stolen luggage.

Whatever you choose, make sure you read the fine print.

And if you’re looking for a place to stay, Brasler says it doesn’t necessarily pay to take the time to shop around for the lowest hotel price.

“The reason is, is that the hotels themselves and all these different hotel booking websites, spit out the same rates over and over again, for the same stays,” he said.

Consumers’ Checkbook says for the lowest hotel prices look for ‘ Pricebreaker’ or ‘Hot rate deals’ offered by Priceline or Hotwire.

But those come with a surprise, they don’t tell you the name of the hotel or exact location before you book, but you could save up to 20%.

“We’re testing it. We’re starting very small. That’s why we only have twelve states participating right now. We want to know how it goes, if it works for taxpayers and we’ll analyze it and take it from there,” said Alejandra Castro from the IRS. 

The Direct File is for individuals with simple tax scenarios. However, it’s not available for taxpayers working in the gig economy who have 1099 forms.

To qualify, you must have earned income in 2023 from a job (Form W-2), unemployment (Form 1099-G), Social Security benefits (Form SSA-1099), or up to $1,500 in interest income (Form 1099-INT), and you plan to take the standard deductions. 

The program specifically caters to people with certain or no health insurance, excluding those who purchased insurance through a marketplace like Healthcare.gov. Eligible credits under this service include the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and credit for other dependents. 

High-income taxpayers may find they do not qualify for the Direct File pilot due to its limitations in handling complex tax situations. Eligibility can be checked at directfile.irs.gov.

Castro also pointed out a convenient feature of Direct File, saying, “The good thing about direct file is that you can actually start your tax return, and if you don’t finish it that day, you come back tomorrow and you can actually pick it up where you left off.”

An IRS account is necessary to use Direct File, and after entering their information, taxpayers will learn whether they are due a refund or if they owe taxes before submitting their return to the IRS.

While spots are expected to fill quickly, the IRS plans to fully open the service by March 12th.

It’s important to note the difference between IRS Free File and Direct File; IRS Free File partners with tax software companies to provide free filing for individuals making $79,000 or less.

If your debt is higher, you’re not alone.  A new Bankrate survey found that 36% of Americans are in the same situation.

But building up your savings is a crucial step to improving your finances once and for all and the little things matter when it comes to spending and saving.

“Saving money is tough in any economy, but it’s especially tough right now,” says Bankrate Senior Data Reporter Alex Gailey.   “Less than half of Americans can afford an emergency expense of $1,000 or more from their savings.”

According to a new Bankrate Emergency Savings Survey, nearly 1/3 of Americans who fell behind in their emergency savings say it will take them one to three years to feel on track. 

Nearly two-thirds of Americans have either the same amount or less emergency savings than they did at this time last year.  

So where do you start?  Creating a budget is key to getting your finances under control. 

“It’s not fun to itemize your expenses,” says Jill Fopiano, the CEO and President of O’Brien Wealth Partners. 

“It’s not fun to go back through credit card statements or bank account statements,  but you really need to start by getting a handle on how much cash is coming in and where it’s going. That will help you plan to take some control over it.”

Large purchases are easy to see but pay attention to the small stuff too.

“Check your ATM receipts,” says Fopiano.   “Because a lot of the smaller items that you buy, you might pay for in cash rather than with a credit card, which makes it more difficult to track and even to remember.”

She says it’s harder to keep track of the smaller things because you don’t see their impact as dramatically. 

“It just it’s like death by a thousand paper clips. It just erodes away the money.”

Fopiano recommends scrutinizing any recurring payments that you’re making, and canceling any unnecessary or unused subscriptions, cutting back on delivery food services and tightening up your grocery expenses by shopping sales.  And once you’ve created a budget, stick to it and start working on an emergency fund, which provides a safety net for unexpected expenses.

“The emergency fund really is important,” says Fopiano.  “And when we saw that in practice was during COVID when so many people lost their jobs, and yes, there were government supplements to help people, but that didn’t necessarily go all the way to covering expenses.  So, the world is an uncertain place right now, and there’s many variables. So having an emergency fund three months or so of expenses is pretty critical.”

Be disciplined about directing money into savings on a regular basis, even if it’s a few dollars.

“You can start small and you can put $5 away every week in a savings account.  That’s $20 a month. That’s $500 in two years. And that’s halfway to $1,000,” says Gailey.  “You’ll start to build momentum by taking those baby steps towards saving and will motivate you to keep saving even more.”

Gailey recommends setting up automatic contributions to a savings account and paying yourself first every time you get a paycheck.

“You don’t really notice that that money’s gone initially, especially if it is like $10, $20 that you’re slowly but surely putting away in a high-yield savings account. It’s something that, again, it just makes the process easier. You don’t have to think about it too much, and you’re paying yourself first by automating your savings,” she says.

If you’re expecting a tax refund this year, use it wisely.  Putting that money directly into your savings account is a good way to jump-start your emergency fund.  Using it to pay down some debt or putting it toward your retirement savings are also smart money moves.

This story originally appeared on NBCBoston.com.

Nearly 13,000 Floridians recently learned their federal student loans had been canceled. President Biden touted the relief as he campaigns for reelection, stating, “And it’s good for the economy as a whole.” He added, “By freeing millions of Americans from the crushing debt of student loan programs, it means they can finally get on with their lives instead of their lives being put on hold.”

This group is the first to benefit from debt forgiveness under what’s known as the (SAVE) repayment plan, which allows those who borrowed less than $12,000 to have their debt forgiven after ten years of payments.

“Given that this is an election year, that will probably see more attention put on student loans by the Biden administration,” said Jacob Channel, senior economist at LendingTree and a student debt expert.

Since the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s initial student debt relief plan, his administration has canceled nearly $138 billion in student debt for almost 3.9 million people through executive actions. The administration is now developing a new plan that, according to higher education experts, could lead to debt forgiveness for up to 10 million people.

The Department of Education and its negotiators have identified five main groups who might benefit from this aid. They include:

• People whose total federal student loan balance is higher than what they originally borrowed.
• Those who have been making payments for 20 years or more.
• Individuals who went to career-training programs that didn’t provide good value for the money, leading to unreasonable debt or poor earnings after graduation.
• Individuals who qualify for forgiveness who haven’t applied yet.
• Borrowers facing financial hardships.

“But then the question becomes, who? What does that hardship look like? Especially how does that hardship relate to your student loan debt?” Channel said. “The moral of the story, the thrust is, is that this student loan forgiveness is designed to specifically help people who are struggling the most with their student loan debt.”

However, there’s a chance that it could face legal problems. Republicans have opposed these type of measures in the past, calling it an overreach.

“We’re going to have to wait a while before we know exactly what form it’ll take. And on top of that, unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait even longer because once they try to implement it, who knows? There may be new legal challenges that appear,” Channel said.

If you are struggling with your loans, experts recommend considering the SAVE plan, which can significantly reduce payments based on income and family size. For those in short-term financial binds, deferment or forbearance may offer relief. Keep in mind, each of these two options come with its own pros and cons.

“It’s been on my bucket list and I’ve been trying to go for over a year and I’ve been canceled three times,” Vicki said.

In February of 2023, she booked a tour and purchased a round-trip airline ticket to Egypt for the end of the year. She also made sure to buy insurance, paying over $500 for coverage.

But in October, when war broke out between Israel and Hamas, Vicki said the tour company canceled on her and refunded most of her money, except for the $500 deposit she paid. Because the airline was still flying to the region, Vicki said she was unable to get her money back for the flights.

So she thought her trip insurance would help her recover those expenses.

“If you’re booking trip insurance for a specific tour, you expect to go on that specific tour,” she said. “If you’re not able to go on that specific tour, then trip insurance should kick in – that’s why you buy insurance.”

But Vicki soon learned her claim was denied.

“I was surprised,” she said. “It was confusing and disappointing and annoying.”

That’s when she decided to ask NBC6 Responds for help.

“I thought, ‘please help me because I’m at my wits end,’” she said. “It’s a lot of money to me.”

In an email, Allianz, the insurance carrier, told NBC6 Vicki purchased a “named perils” type of insurance policy, which “…provides coverage for a list of “covered reasons”.  The company explained: “In this case, the reason for the trip cancellation, “regional instability,” is not a covered reason for cancellation coverage under Ms. Lowe’s policy…”.  The company also said: “The list of covered reasons and exclusions was included in Ms. Lowe’s travel insurance policy and sent to her when she purchased the policy.”

It turns out Vicki became sick around her scheduled departure and went to the doctor to get checked out. The doctor provided her with a letter that said she was not able to travel anyway.

NBC6 shared this information with the insurance company spokesperson, who said if Vicki wanted to, she could “…update her claim and provide us with her medical information.” That’s exactly what she did.

“I had no idea that I could re-file,” she said. “I thought, once denied, denied.  Because everything happened so fast, I didn’t even think about it. So, I appreciate that you figured it out.”

Vicki was thankful when she learned this time, her claim for $2,202 was approved.

“I’m so impressed with the way you just took it over and you helped me,” she said. “You’re just like my heroes.”

If you are buying trip insurance, make sure you understand the details of your policy, what’s covered and what’s not.

You may also want to consider buying a policy that allows you to cancel for any reason.  While typically more expensive, those types of policies will likely ensure you get a majority of your money back under most circumstances.

According to Tom O’Saben from the National Association of Tax Professionals, “it’s just the number that the government gives us that says, okay, here’s your total amount of income, subtract this off and pay tax on what’s left.” 

O’Saben says the IRS adjusts the yearly standard deduction to keep pace with inflation, and it’s a flat amount based on one’s filing status—be it single, married filing separately, or jointly, among others. 

“Let’s call it free money. It’s a deduction that’s going to reduce your taxable income,” explains O’Saben. 

This year the standard deduction is $13,850 for someone filing as single or married filing separately. That’s an increase of $900 from last year. 

Most people take the standard deduction but O’Saben tells clients before you do, do the math to see what the deduction would be if you itemized.

Itemized deductions can encompass a wide array of expenses, including charitable donations, mortgage interest, property taxes, and out-of-pocket medical expenses.

 “Let’s see your actual expenses and then compare that to the standard deduction. And we take the higher of the two. You don’t get both. You get one or the other, not both,” O’Saben explains.

For more information you can visit IRS.gov

Sharice Nwankwo, who found herself with over $20,000 in credit card debt.

“I was using my credit card, and after a while, I couldn’t pay the minimum payment,” Nwankwo shared, emphasizing the difficulty in managing her debt due to high interest rates. Despite her efforts, “the balance wasn’t going down.”

Emanuel Rivero of Money Management International, a nonprofit debt counseling agency, noted a significant uptick in requests for help.

“We’re actually seeing a significant increase in phone call volume, folks that are reaching out to us for help,” Rivero stated.

In 2023, Florida ranked second in the nation for the number of people asking for assistance with their credit card debt, witnessing an increase of 63.4% from the previous year.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that Americans’ total credit card debt has now reached $1.13 trillion.

Moreover, the number of people falling behind on their credit card payments went up by more than 50% in 2023.

Rivero attributes this trend to economic pressures, with many turning to credit cards for daily expenses, like groceries, utility bills and student loan payments.

“There’s just so much payment pressure going on to people’s budgets,” he explained.

For Nwankwo, who once resided in Miami and now teaches preschool in Hong Kong, felt the strain on her own budget.

“So I got really frustrated,” she recalled.

Nwankwo turned to Money Management International (MMI) for help.

“They contacted the credit card company and negotiated a lower interest rate. So when I made the payments to MMI, it covered the lower interest rates and then my balance started going down,” she explained.

After five years, Nwankwo successfully paid off her credit card debt, describing the experience as “very freeing and very rewarding.”

Her journey taught her the importance of living within her means. “Now, every month I make a budget, and I try to stick to that as best as I can,” Nwankwo said. 

If you choose a debt management plan with MMI, there’s a monthly charge and a one-time setup fee for its debt management plan.

“There is no fee for the credit counseling session,” Rivero explained. “They’re going to conduct a full financial assessment.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises that reputable agencies will provide free information about their services without requiring personal details upfront.

If an agency doesn’t do this, consider it a red flag and look elsewhere.

For those unsure, check the company’s history and complaints with the Florida Attorney General’s office and local consumer protection agencies is recommended.

“It’s the epicenter of short-term rentals,” said Sep Niakan, a broker for BlackBook Properties. 

Niakan says Miami has been embracing the trend for years.

“Certain buildings are designated to be allowed for short-term rentals and actually are built for that purpose,” he said.

In fact, he says construction for several of these buildings in Miami are already underway.

“Most of those projects are already sold out,” he said.

By 2027, Niakan says he expects about 15 short-term-rental-friendly buildings to be ready in the greater downtown Miami area.

“From Brickell to Edgewater,” he said.

According to AirDNA, a short-term rental data analytics company, in December there were over 22,000 available listings in Miami-Dade county – a 19% jump from 2019. Broward County saw a 71% increase from 2019, with over 17,700 available listings that same month.

“We’d be hard pressed to find a market that has absorbed or taken on the concept of short-term rentals more than Southeast Florida,” said Ken H. Johnson, a real estate economist and professor at Florida Atlantic University.

He explained the trend isn’t just confined to Miami.

“Anecdotally, you can just see it in virtually every neighborhood,” Johnson said. “I walk out front and there are short-term rentals right across from my home.”

He added, “This has always been in the marketplace, just never to this magnitude.”

State lawmakers are taking notice.

Earlier this month, the full Florida Senate approved Senate bill 280, which would allow local governments to create vacation-rental registration programs.  It would also cap maximum overnight occupancy and would establish a uniform set of regulations throughout the state. You can read the bill here: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/280

Last year, New York made headlines after new rules went into effect, requiring short-term rentals to register in the city. The rules also require hosts to be physically present in the home for the duration of a rental.

Some cities in South Florida already have their own restrictions.  Fort Lauderdale requires a vacation rental registration fee.  Coral Gables bans short-term rentals in residential areas altogether.

“Miami has areas that it’s allowed, areas that it has not allowed types of units,” Jamie Lane, chief economist at AirDNA said. “It’s a very dynamic market.”

Johnson said he does not see the trend slowing down.

“As long as the economy is strong, I actually think we’ll see significant numbers, no matter what we do legislatively,” he said.

A similar bill was filed in the state house.  You can read House bill 1537 here.

HB1537 would make county tax collectors responsible for administering registration programs. Both bills would require platforms that advertise short-term rental listings to collect state and local taxes.

It started when she had an accident in October 2022.

“My insurance took forever to approve the claim,” Ayala said. “Initially, it was like $7,000 and they say it’s going to be $2,000. So at the end of the November, I think they decided to approve.”

Turns out, waiting on her insurance would not be her only delay. 

Ayala told NBC6 the shop ordered the parts needed to make the repairs back in December of 2022.

“They said it’s going to arrive in January and six months later nothing arrived,” Ayala said.

In an email to NBC6, the owner of Atlantic Coast Collision explained the reason for the delay.

“Unfortunately, due to supply chain issues there were multiple parts unavailable and on backorder, some being structural parts that would cause us to not be able to begin repairs until the manufacturer provided us with those necessary parts…this is an industry wide problem that we have been having since COVID,” the email said.

Ayala said “by July or June a friend told me, why don’t you contact NBC?”

NBC6 Responds then start communicating with the shop owner who said he understood Ayala’s concern after she said she was paying for a tag, insurance and a car without having the actual vehicle.

The shop owner told NBC6, “We understand the customer’s frustration being that we see other customers…being without their vehicle for an absorbent amount of time due to the lack of availability of parts that our industry has been fighting through due to the supply chain issues…”

Ayala said once our team got involved “all of a sudden, everything started working out. It was amazing.”

Just over a year later, Ayala got her car back. 

Given the shortage, experts say owners can consider buying used parts, which are usually cheaper. 

However it is important to ensure that the parts are in good condition and work property in the vehicle.

“I think she might have been tickled that she passed away on Halloween for some reason,” Adam Lapidus said.

Adam says he was her only son. He lives in the Northeast but he said he stepped in to help his mom as much as he could, especially toward the end of her life.

“I had access to her bank account and took care of all her bills,” he said.

But that access suddenly stopped when Rochelle died.

“After a few days of just dealing with everything, I went back into her bank account … and found out it was locked out,” he said. “I couldn’t get any information.”

That’s why he called Wells Fargo.

“They said they found out she’d passed away,” he said. “And they locked out the account.”

Adam was not a co-owner or a designated beneficiary on the account. Still, he was surprised to learn he would have to hire a lawyer and potentially spend hundreds of dollars in legal fees without knowing for sure how much money was left in the account.

“I thought it’d be like, hey, let us know who you are, send us her death certificate, prove that she’s passed and we’ll send you the money,” he said. “That’s what I thought it would be. I was very wrong.”

In a statement, Wells Fargo said:

“We extend our sincere condolences to our customer’s family for their loss. We understand probate and estate matters can be a complex process to navigate, and we remain committed to supporting and assisting our customer while following applicable laws and regulations.”

“Florida’s small estate affidavit procedure requires a court order to disburse funds in a sole owned account after the owner’s passing,” the company said in an email, adding: “Once we are notified that a customer has passed away, we secure the accounts to prevent unauthorized use. Online banking access also is disabled to prevent unauthorized users from using the decedent’s log-in information.”

“You have to think, the whole system is designed to prevent any fraud,” said Candice Palte, a probate attorney at Dunwoody, White and Landon. “It can’t just be the first person that gets their hands on a death certificate gets the money that’s in the account.”

Palte said she frequently hears from people facing a similar situation.

“And there’s only so much you can do once somebody has passed away to avoid it,” she explained. “The better thing to do is planning during life.”

That includes making sure your accounts have a designated beneficiary. You could also add a loved one to an account as a co-owner.  If you do either one, Wells Fargo told NBC6 that would typically allow that person to access the money using only a death certificate.

A will could also help facilitate access, but Palte explained the process would still involve going to court.

“He’d have to have the will admitted to probate,” she said.

Adam believes the account likely had less than $2,000 in it when his mom passed, so he likely won’t spend the money in legal fees to get access to it.  That means the money will eventually end up with the state of Florida as unclaimed property.

“Which infuriates me,” he said. “That’s not where it needs to go. It should go to her grandchildren.”

A spokesperson for Florida’s Department of Financial Services told NBC6 accounts are typically turned over to the state after a 5-year dormancy period. The funds will be in the name of the deceased owner, so to claim it someone would need to “provide proof of death and a probate court order designating the legal heir, or a will or trust that establishes them as a beneficiary of the estate of the deceased owner,” they said, adding: “If we have a beneficiary designation on an account, that person (the beneficiary) only needs to prove his or her identity and proof of death of the owner to recover the funds.”

DFS said about one-third of the funds they recover are owned by someone who died. Many of those accounts have a beneficiary designation, but the beneficiary simply doesn’t know the account exists. Other accounts do not have a beneficiary named.  

According to DFS, there is a one in five chance you have unclaimed property that is being held by the state. For more information, including how you can search to see if you are eligible for any unclaimed funds, click here:  https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/unclaimedproperty/home

“I’m a retired teacher. My wife is a secretary. We saved for this,” Thomas Topolski said. 

They booked a nearly three-month stay in the city of Bradenton through Vrbo with an initial payment of $3,588.

“The amenities were fantastic. It was a great condo,” he added.

But their excitement was cut short about a month before check-in when Houzlet, the company listing the property, canceled their reservation.

“They told us that the owner sold their place. They had some financial problems and I guess I understand that. But with one month to go, there are some very few choices we had,” Thomas said. 

The couple says Houzlet, which lists an office on Miami Beach on its website, offered other property options, but he says none were comparable to what they originally booked, and some were even more expensive. “They gave us a property that was pulled out from under us,” Thomas said.

When they asked for their money back, the couple was told by a Houzlet representative in an email the merchant they used “to process the payment no longer allows us to do so since they set the rules about refunds for transactions made for over 180 days.” She added the best option the company could do was to offer a refund as a gift certificate for booking any available properties on their website or they could try to get a chargeback through their credit card company.

The Topolskis were not happy with those options.

“They should have given our refund back immediately and they didn’t,” Thomas said. “We’re asking for it.”

They are not alone. 

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently flagged Houzlet for “a pattern of complaints concerning service issues,” with consumers saying their “bookings were canceled by Houzlet and in some cases, they were offered to re-book at higher priced properties.”

The Florida Attorney General’s Office told NBC6 Responds it has received 30 complaints about Houzlet since last year, with some similar to the Topolski’s. One person wrote, “Houzlet stated they can’t refund our deposit for rental property that they cancel on us…because it’s beyond the 6 month timeframe.”

Another person cites the 180-day policy. “…They cannot refund our deposit because it was made more than 180 days before cancellation.”

The Topolskis also filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General’s Office and Vrbo, but weeks went by with no refund. 

“We’re not rich. I’m a retired teacher and a secretary saving to do these things and there are other people that just like me,” Thomas said. 

NBC6 Responds asked Houzlet why the couple’s money was not refunded if they cancelation was not their fault. The company again blamed it on their merchant’s refund policy and wouldn’t tell us if or how customers are informed about this policy during the booking process.

Houzlet added that “The AG(’s) office has not contacted us regarding any complaints,” and “It’s challenging for us to verify the authenticity of the comments on the BBB,” calling it an “unreliable” source.

We also contacted Vrbo, who told us in part, “…The traveler service fee is the only portion of the payment processed by Vrbo,” and “that was already refunded,” adding Vrbo has been monitoring the reviews specific to Houzlet and recognize that this partner is not meeting their marketplace standards and are addressing it with Houzlet directly.

Vrbo didn’t answer if it will continue doing business with Houzlet.

“They have hoops and hoops and hoops… and it’s like it’s your fault,” Thomas said.  

After weeks of waiting and several emails from NBC6 Responds, Houzlet changed its tune, offering a full refund to the couple, who found another rental and are now enjoying their Florida stay.

“I was really lucky to find you,” Thomas said. “If this can stop it happening for another person or another couple, I think we did, we did a great job. Thank you so much.”

The Topolskis had already submitted a request to get their money back through their credit card company. Houzlet recently offered to send them the money through a wire transfer or check and they’re now waiting for it.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office says the complaints are “under active review.”

In response to Houzlet’s criticism, the BBB said, in part, “BBBs policies do not permit anonymous consumer filings and businesses are asked to review and share information prior to any data/information being publicly posted. If a business challenges whether customer content is valid, BBB asks for additional information to confirm a marketplace interaction exists between the business and consumer.”

“To peas, chickpeas, lentils, as well as dairy,” Sherry said.

When it came time to start kindergarten, Sherry enrolled him in the before and after school program at his school.

“Thinking that would be the safest option for him because the EpiPens are already there and he’s at school,” she said.

But on the first day of school, Sherry realized that wouldn’t be the case when she asked about the program’s protocols for dealing with children who carry epinephrine.

“They’re like, ‘no, we don’t do EpiPens here’,” Sherry said she was told by the after care provider. “She’s like, ‘we don’t have the training on that’ and I was like well, what are you going to do if he goes into anaphylaxis?”

Sherry said she was told the staff would call 911.

“I was like, he could be dead by the time 911 comes,” Sherry said she told them.

Sherry found another after care provider for her son, but the experience got her thinking.

“Training should be the standard, not the exception,” she said.

When she did some digging, what she found concerned her.

“Nobody has to be trained on EpiPen administration per any statutes or guidelines and a lot of people think that the schools all have a school nurse,” she said. “Florida does not require a school to have a nurse.”

She took those findings to State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).

“A lot of our educators never have to deal with such a situation until it happens,” Eskamani said.

Eskamani co-introduced HB 65. The bill highlights include requiring school districts statewide to adopt an anaphylaxis policy and providing requirements for the policy, which should include training requirements for school personnel on preventing and responding to an allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis.

The requirements must include training in the use of an epinephrine autoinjector not just for employees, but for a percentage of the staff providing before and after school care.  To read the bill text, click here: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/65/BillText/Filed/PDF

“It’s a bare minimum and it’s not being done,” Eskamani said. “We need to hear from more parents to help get it to move through the process to the finish line.”

“I never knew how much politics played into every aspect of our life, but it definitely does,” Sherry said.

Sherry and her son have visited Tallahassee to meet with state legislators, hoping to get them to understand the importance of this bill.

“When I say, children have died from anaphylaxis at school, they’re like, in Florida?” Sherry recalls from her conversations with some lawmakers. “I’m like not yet, and they’re like not interested yet. They’re waiting for it to happen in Florida before they’re going to do something about it.”

Broward County Public Schools told NBC6 they were aware of the bill and were monitoring its progress. A spokesperson also said the district offers training to staff that “…includes how to recognize anaphylaxis symptoms and emergency medication administration…” if the school principal asks for it. 

The state health department, the state board of education and Miami-Dade County Public Schools did not respond to our request for information. But MDCPS told NBC6 last year they offered education and training to both students and employees, which includes how to administer epinephrine.

“It’s important for consumers to do a thorough investigation and understand the difference between tax preparers and also a certified public accountant,” said Cinthya Lavin, a spokesperson for the South Florida Better Business Bureau. 

Tax preparers come in different forms.

Enrolled agents, certified public accountants (CPAs), and tax attorneys, for instance, can represent their clients in front of the IRS, but others might only assist with basic tax forms.

This distinction is crucial, especially when facing IRS audits or dealing with complex tax situations.

Lavin suggests starting your search by asking friends, family members, or employers for recommendations based on their positive experiences with tax preparers or CPAs.

She warns, however, about the danger of ‘ghost tax preparers,’ individuals who might leave you in trouble.

“If the person preparing your taxes asks you to sign the tax return, but they themselves are not signing it, then that is definitely a red flag,” she cautions, pointing out that such preparers avoid liability for any issues that may arise with an audit.

When choosing a tax expert, be cautious of those who promise unusually large refunds, a potential sign of unethical practices.

Also, it’s wise to steer clear of ‘refund anticipation loans’ as they often come with hefty fees.

Read the contract closely and understanding the fees for e-filing state, federal, and local tax returns online.

“If you’re going to be entering into a payment plan with the IRS, the person preparing your taxes has to let you know, and you definitely have to agree before signing anything or submitting anything,” said Lavin.

She recommends visiting IRS.gov to find a list of qualified professionals and to conduct a general Google search for reviews of the tax preparer you are considering.

Remember, the tax expert you choose will have access to your private information. It’s crucial to pick someone trustworthy to protect against fraud.