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    nclandlord's Avatar
    nclandlord Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Oct 13, 2008, 06:50 AM
    What steps can we take to get tenants to repair damage they caused? North Carolina
    Hi! My husband and I own a home in Wake County, North Carolina. We live in New York. We have been renting our home to a family since June of 2007. We have a management company who oversees the property, collects the rent, etc.

    We were told in June that we had to pay $80.00 for a plumbing repair and when we asked what it was for, it turned out that the tenants were negligent and we didn't have to pay anything. Apparently, the mother let her kids play in the upstairs master bathroom and they plugged up the tub with some kind of rubber duck thing and it overflowed. They paid the plumbing bill and admitted their negligence.

    I have emails back and forth to the management company with me asking them to make sure there wasn't any real damage, that everything was fixed, tell us exactly what was involved and as soon as I heard water, I immediately thought mold in the ceiling. :eek: This was done in the dining area which is directly under the bathroom.

    I was told by the management company that there was just a tiny little hole, it was "no big deal" and everything was essentially great, no worries, all fixed. They are supposed to go there every few months to change the air filters for us and do a general inspection, make sure the tenants aren't destroying the house. When we ask about the house, we get these short, non-committal answers.

    So, last month we see another deduction from the rent for another plumbing repair and when we ask what this one is for we are told it's for the same master bathroom but this time the shower just had to be recalked. The management company has their own repair team.

    I just had this terrible sinking feeling that something was wrong and I'm usually on the money. I bothered my hubby to no end for us to go there this weekend just to check things out. We gave them ample notice and they were not home when we got there.

    We were shocked when we walked into the dining room and saw a tremendous gaping hole in the ceiling with the pipes exposed, the ceiling buckling, water damage (the brown lines) and obvious attempts at spackling and respackling. There was also damage to the adjacent kitchen ceiling with peeling paint on the ceiling, buckling and bubbling. There is greenish-black stuff all over the place (has to be mold!! ) and we were just so upset, in awe, angry and not sure what the heck to do.

    We went and got a camera and took several pictures of everything. We only had a day and half there and had to get home last night. The management company is closed on the weekends and we don't have the contact info for the tenants.

    Today we are so upset :mad: and not sure what to do first. How do people first of all live this way?! Second of all, who is lying about the damage, the tenants or the management company? What do we do? Where do we begin? We can't go back any time soon, our finances are very tight right now. We want them to get a mold inspection and fix all of the damage and get it done NOW!! We cannot afford to pay for any repairs for damage, especially ones we did not cause.

    We trusted these people at the management company. I try to keep up to date with them every month to see how thing are going. You can see no-one has been there in ages. The ceilings were filthy from where all of the air vents are and there is so much dirt and dust and who knows what else caked up in there so they couldn't have gone there in months, if at all.

    Legally, what can we do, what can we ask for and how do we get this rolling today? I want to send a letter to them by email and certified mail with the pictures we took and I just need to know how to word this and get it done now. I'm upset so I know I have to choose my words carefully but this has to be taken care of immediately. We are not experts but know there is something growing in that ceiling and need it out now! I'm trying to do online research but I really feel sick from this and just cannot concentrate. Can someone please help! Thank you so much!

    Very Worried :(
    ScottGem's Avatar
    ScottGem Posts: 64,966, Reputation: 6056
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    #2

    Oct 13, 2008, 07:05 AM

    The first thing you need to do is read your contract with the management company. This will spell out their responsibility in the matter. If they are responsible for maint and repair, then they need to fix it. Since the damage was caused by the tenants, they or their insurance should be paying for it.

    You might also think about changing mgmt companies if they lie to you like they did.
    nclandlord's Avatar
    nclandlord Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    Oct 13, 2008, 08:05 AM

    Thank you. I will review our contract with the management company and we are certainly looking into hiring a different company. I appreciate your response!
    rockinmommy's Avatar
    rockinmommy Posts: 1,123, Reputation: 82
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    #4

    Oct 13, 2008, 03:24 PM
    I'm curious if you've done anything yet? And what kind of response you got?

    I've owned property long - distance before and had similar scenarios, although nothing this bad.

    If you haven't got anything figured out I have some thoughts for possible remedies.

    Also, speaking from experience, it's going to be a difficult situation to deal with from so far away because you aren't as "real" to them as if you were there. The tenant and mgt. company both know that you're not going to show up on there doorstep unannounced. I don't know what you and your husband's work situations are, etc, but if there's any way one of you can go up there, in person, unannounced, and spend a few days during the work week I think you'd be surprised how much better results you get. Then is there perhaps a local friend or relative you can recruit to keep an eye on things?
    nclandlord's Avatar
    nclandlord Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #5

    Oct 14, 2008, 04:17 AM
    Thanks so much for your response! :) We are planning on doing the letter today. I got the pictures developed yesterday and my husband is still looking for our contract with the management company so we can at least review that and know exactly what we are talking about before we go off on a tangent with them. We've been working with them since 2006 and had another tenant living in the house before this one that we had to evict for non-payment of rent. The management company really helped us out with that and it was a benefit having them on our side for that one. Now we are at a loss as to what to do about this situation. These tenants have been living in the house for the last 16 months.

    It is hard being a long distance landlord but we honestly thought it would be so much easier having someone "there" to take care of things for us. As far as having someone to check on things for us, the two friends we had there already moved back to their hometowns so that it out. We only lived there for a short time.

    I would love to hear your ideas as I really want to do this the right way. I need to do something today. We won't be able to go there again after this last trip this last weekend. We will probably not be able to go there again before the end of the year due to work and responsibilities here, in New York.

    Please let me know what your ideas are! We really need help on this one from people who are in the know.

    Thanks so much!
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
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    #6

    Oct 14, 2008, 06:24 AM

    It is very possible that you will have to evict and sue the tenant and hope they work or have money that they can pay you.

    But in the end, you may be stuck getting everything fixed with your own money and finding a new renter while you fight with the old one for the money.
    rockinmommy's Avatar
    rockinmommy Posts: 1,123, Reputation: 82
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    #7

    Oct 14, 2008, 06:29 AM
    I guess a lot will depend on what your contract with the management company says. It sounds like it would be best to either cut ties with them, or talk to someone "higher up", like the owner of the company. If they don't turn into Johnny-on-the-Spot and get right on this I would by-pass them (while you're firing them) and deal directly with the tenants.

    Do you know much about the tenants? Do they want to stay in the house? Do they have $$ to take care of repairs, etc?

    WHATEVER you do... don't tip your hand to the tenants or the management company that you can't go back up there. I would recommend telling them that you're going to be there "next week", or whatever. If they know that there's no chance of you coming it gives them no real motivation to do anything about the problem. (Since they're not obviously motivated by the contracts they have with you.) I would make them think you're coming at any moment and they don't know when that moment may be. Then you'll most likely have to show up at some point to keep that illusion going.

    I don't know what your long-term plans or goals are with this house, but hopefully you can find SOMEone to do a better job of managing it for you.

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