[chad625]

Lisa, I own a condo in NJ. A plumbing pipe which apparently took waste from my upstairs neighbor to the sewer had a hairline fracture and was slowly leaking. The pipe was completely behind a wall in my unit. After my tenant was having coughing issues, she found some black mold on the wall. A plumber confirmed that this pipe was leaking and I paid to tear out the wall and replace the pipe. My insurance advised that since there was mold and the leak was slow, that there is no coverage. The Association's insurer appears to be taking the same stance, although this has yet to be confirmed. I have no idean how I could have advised them sooner as I did not know there was a leak until the mold was spotted. I have paid for the plumber to replace the pipe, portion of my walls to be torn, mold testing and now have an estimate of over $5,500 to remediate the mold. I will have to replace carpet and paint also. In addition, my tenant has vacated the property and now I am out rental income as well. My question is: is the pipe behind my wall which was leaking my responsibility, my upstairs neighbor's responsibility or the Association's responsibility. I estimate that my out of pocket expenses to completely fix everything will exceed $10,000. Thanks.