A rental property owned by Petaluma Councilmember Samantha Freitas was listed as being in default under a legal notice published in the Argus-Courier recently.

The property on Easton Drive was purchased by Freitas in 2003. The “amount of unpaid balance and other charges” listed in the notice is $295,870.77.

The home is one of several rental properties she owns, Freitas said.

“It has, unfortunately, been a problematic property since the time I purchased it,” Freitas said.

“Over the years I have had to continually pour money into trying to fix some of the shoddy construction work from the original builder,” she said. “I’ve replaced siding, windows, decking, sprinkler systems, etc. You name it and I have probably had to replace or fix it.”

Given the cost of maintaining the problematic home, “I made the conscious choice to let this property go,” Freitas said.

Freitas, who served since being appointed to the council in February 2007, lost her bid for a second term in the November election.

— Argus-Courier