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I'm moving in a couple of months, but the house I'm renting right now has a really strong sewer smell coming from the shower drain, sink drain, and the drain for the washing machine, all in the basement. It's worse when the washing machine is running, but you can smell it pretty much all the time. All the drains run really slowly, so I plunge pretty often. When I plunge this black crud comes up and the smell is incredibly bad. I've mentioned it to the landlord and asked about getting a plumber, but he says it's harmless, it's just like that because the house is old, and that hiring a plumber would not help. Is he pulling my leg? He's left a lot of other "harmless" things unfixed in the house, and I'm thinking about reporting him when I move.
Location: New York City (although currently overseas)
Posts: 322
Quote:
Originally Posted by orange
Thanks very much Tim and Moishe... now that it's settled that we're to my parent's place, I'm sure everything will work out well!
Clarification: when I said "keep us in the loop on this one", I meant let us know what happens in the future - ie.e if/when you report the landlord, we'd like to hear the rest of the story.
Yup when I said "I'm sure it will work out well", I meant with the landlord too. I was worried about reporting him because he's kind of freaky and has a bad temper, but if we're safely out of there, I won't be. I will let you guys know what happens for sure.
Incidentally, there is another slum landlord in our city who is right now being charged with negligent homicide or a similar charge, because there was a fire in one of his buildings and 2 little kids died. He had failed to update the fire alarm system. So I'm glad to be getting out of our hazardous place and getting a house of our own! And when we do look at houses, I'm definitely going to check to make sure everything is up to safety standards... the electricity, plumbing, etc. I assume that going through a reputable realtor rather than "for sale by owner" would help with this!
Chava,
"when we do look at houses, I'm definitely going to check to make sure everything is up to safety standards... the electricity, plumbing, etc. I assume that going through a reputable realtor rather than "for sale by owner" would help with this!"
By law the seller's required to report any fault that he knows about prier to the closing. Your best bet in buying a house is to hire a inspector to make a home inspection and write a report listing what he found. This is money well spent as he may find a major problem that was overlooked. Also a home inspectors report can give you some leverage in negotiating a final closing price. Goodluck and let us know what went down with the landlord. Tom,(formerly Tim)
Oh thanks TOM haha, for the extra advice. I never thought of that, but we'll definitely spend the money to have a house we like inspected. My husband is not very "handy" so he will be of little help LOL. And anyways I believe in using professionals.
Well, we're back home now, just got back, but we're staying at my parents' place as planned. I'm already looking at the MLS listings online and driving my husband crazy. I'm very excited and anxious to move.
The really good and lucky news is, our landlord is away for a week!! So we will be able to clear all our stuff out of the house and report him, all before he gets back! I'm going over later today with a couple of friends to pack up all the smaller items, and we've hired a mover for Wednesday, to haul all the bigger items. Mostly everything is going into storage for now. We also decided to hire a plumber and an electrician from the city to come and evaluate the house and give us a written report. Then we're calling the Rentalsman and giving them a copy of the plumber's and electrician's reports, along with our formal complaint. My landlord won't know what hit him!!
I'll keep you guys informed as the saga unfolds...
You may consider taking photos of any pre-exisitng damage or to show what condition you left the home in as you left it. Photos of damage or faults the contractors find may help your case in the future.
I hate to burst your bubble, but contractors, thou hopefully knowledgeable, are not the chosen experts to find all defects, causes, and remedies. I do not mean to fault you for bringing in the contractors, I see you are thinking.
Contractors are for-profit companies, and can create misleading reports, plus you need to pay them for their time. City officals are considered to be without prejudice and can offer valid reports of code violations, and the cost, if any, is minimal. Does the city also have a plumbing inspector? Along with the items they find, and report on, take photos of each defect.
Collecting too much info now is easier than trying to prove your case later without.
He's left a lot of other "harmless" things unfixed in the house, and I'm thinking about reporting him when I move.
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