JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – From a botched refrigerator installation to complaints filed against a landlord for awful living conditions, we’ve compiled the top 10 I-TEAM and Addressing Affordability stories of 2025.
Faulty fridge install
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What began as a simple home upgrade turned into a nightmare for one local family, and now, they’re warning others about the risks of free appliance installation services.
Bradley Byrd and his family say a $3,500 refrigerator purchased from Costco has cost them an estimated $700,000 in damages after a faulty water line installation caused massive flooding in their home.
Mobile home health concerns
For many, mobile home parks are one of the last options for stable, lower-cost living.
But a public health report by Human Impact Partners and Manufactured Housing Action paints a disturbing picture, accusing one of the nation’s largest mobile home park owners of transforming affordable communities into hazardous ones.
Illegal junk fees?
Attorneys have filed a class action lawsuit against a Jacksonville-based property management company, alleging it charged tenants excessive and unlawful fees in violation of Florida’s consumer protection laws.
One Jacksonville woman said $4,600 in unpaid rent ballooned into a $35,000 collection notice.
People’s Choice Apartments issues
Complaints flooded the News4JAX I-TEAM this year about one of Jacksonville’s largest landlords, People’s Choice Apartments, run by real estate investor and podcast host Jarek Tadla.
The I-TEAM visited a quadplex on Ryar Road tied to Tadla’s network of companies and found residents describing mold, leaks, and prolonged maintenance problems in units they pay nearly $1,000 a month to occupy.
Tadla, who calls himself a self-made billionaire, owns 14 apartment complexes, seven single-family homes, and nine multifamily properties or duplexes.
Two others came under scrutiny by the I-TEAM in December, related to issues with no running water.
‘Open season on the homeless’
St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Gregory Suchy posted a comment underneath an Instagram video that shows what appears to be a man who is homeless throwing a rock at a vehicle.
The comment read: “We need like a 3 day open season on the homeless. No bag limit.”
HomeStep program
A first-of-its-kind program in Northeast Florida is helping longtime renters realize the dream of homeownership.
JWB Real Estate’s HomeStep program is turning tenants into proud homeowners by offering financial incentives and support services to help them make the leap.
Addressing Affordability
For the first time in recent memory, housing has eclipsed crime as the most pressing concern for Jacksonville residents, according to polling data from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab.
As part of News4JAX’s ongoing weekly series “Addressing Affordability,” we dug deeper into the issue dominating local conversations — the rising cost of having a place to live.
Dream home nightmares
Dozens of Northeast Florida families say they were blindsided by steep increases in their monthly mortgage payments, some jumping by $600 to more than $1,000, after buying new construction homes from D.R. Horton, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders.
The issue is now at the center of a class action lawsuit accusing D.R. Horton and its lending arm, DHI Mortgage, of deceptive practices that attorneys describe as a “Monthly Payment Suppression Scheme.”
The lawsuit claims the companies misled first-time buyers by underestimating property taxes in their monthly mortgage projections, making the homes appear more affordable than they actually were.
‘Septic Tank Phaseout’ progress
JEA and the city have successfully converted neighborhoods like Biltmore and Beverly Hills East and West to city sewer systems.
The focus is now on Christobel and Riverview, two neighborhoods prone to flooding.
Construction on Christobel was slated for the fall or winter of 2025, with a project cost of $41.2 million.
Direct repair program drama
Months after a burst pipe flooded their condo, a Jacksonville couple was still out of their home, and they blamed their insurance company for the delays.
Aubrey Coyle has lived in her one-bedroom condo for 15 years. This past March, just before her wedding, she came home to find water pouring in through her front door.
Her insurance company, Chicago-based KIN Insurance, advertises “affordable home insurance made easy.”
Coyle’s policy requires claims to go through a managed or direct repair program to access full coverage. Otherwise, claims are limited to a $10,000 payout.
A managed repair program means the insurance company coordinates repairs using pre-approved contractors, rather than the homeowner selecting their own.
According to Coyle, the insurance company’s vendor passed environmental inspections. But an independent inspector she hired just days later found visible mold growth throughout the unit, reporting that improper drying had made the home uninhabitable.