I was a tenant at 28 E. Wild Briar Rd., Unit C in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, a property managed by Mathews Development, from January 2023 through January 2026. During my tenancy I maintained the property and was never late on rent. Unfortunately, my experience raised serious concerns about indoor air quality and tenant safety.
While living in the home, we began experiencing ongoing HVAC and indoor air quality issues. Over time, members of my household developed persistent health symptoms including frequent nosebleeds, chronic sinus irritation, coughing, headaches, dizziness, and respiratory issues to name some. Because these symptoms continued, we sought medical evaluation and eventually obtained independent environmental testing of the property.
The environmental testing documented mold presence inside the home and raised concerns regarding indoor air quality. Medical testing also showed elevated mycotoxin levels compared to normal reference ranges, which raised additional concerns about possible environmental exposure. As a parent, the situation became especially alarming when medical providers recommended further testing related to mold exposure. One of my children has since received an asthma diagnosis.
Before vacating the property, I attempted to work with the property management company to address these concerns. Maintenance visits occurred, but the issues continued, which ultimately led us to obtain independent environmental testing. During the inspection, the professional conducting the testing spent several hours in the home and also documented signs of significant rodent activity in the attic and reported of becoming sick.
During the process of raising these concerns, I had a phone conversation with Max Mathews Jr. regarding the conditions in the home. The conversation was aggressive in tone and I was told that we needed to leave the property and that attorneys would be involved. The interaction left me feeling intimidated and fearful of retaliation while trying to address serious environmental and health concerns affecting my family.
Due to these conditions and the related health concerns, we ultimately provided notice that we would be vacating the property and had to make emergency arrangements to relocate. Because of contamination concerns, we were advised that many of our belongings could not safely be moved into our new residence, and a significant portion had to be discarded. We also hired a remediation company in an attempt to clean and salvage items that could safely be brought into our new home, which created a substantial and unexpected financial burden.
Shortly after we vacated the property, I observed an HVAC company removing the HVAC system from the home. During my tenancy, the only cleaning I personally observed involved surface cleaning around the HVAC area using bleach, and there were multiple occasions where I returned home to a strong bleach odor following those cleanings.
I later became aware that previous occupants had also reported similar indoor air quality concerns prior to my tenancy, including issues such as but not limited to walls being covered in mold-like growth, deteriorating wall conditions, reported health concerns associated with the property.
During this process, I also became aware that the tenants in Unit A & B on the property had reported similar concerns. One neighboring tenant reportedly experienced significant health issues and ultimately vacated the adjacent unit due to mold-related concerns. Shortly after that tenant moved out, the property management company gutted the interior of that unit.
I am sharing my experience so prospective renters understand the importance of asking detailed questions about HVAC maintenance, mold history, and indoor air quality before renting a property. Independent testing reports, remediation recommendations, photographs, and documentation related to the conditions are available.
This review reflects my personal experience as a tenant and the documented conditions observed during our tenancy.
For additonal context, photographs and supporting documentation referenced in this review are available in my Google review of this property.
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