I have a hoarder. Need advice please.

[Cheryl C.]

Hello everyone. I had a HWH blow out over the weekend and cause significant damage to the unit below mine. Now for the bad news. It turns out that my tenant of 11yrs is a hoarder. The plumber would not enter until the police and fire dept cleared the unit (for dead bodies or whatever). Once in, the plumber could barely reach the HWH to shut of the water and drain it.

It turns out that there is a serious mold problem (my tenant was only gone a few days), most likely from prior leaks. Nobody can enter until a full mold remediation is completed. In order to do that, everything has to be removed from the unit and it is packed with crap. Then even the carpets have to go. They found mold spores all over the place.

I am getting the feeling that Allstate is not on my side (or I'm not in good hands or whatever). They are asking pointed questions about the age of the HWH, when it was last serviced, etc. I have never had a repair request from this tenant. I now find out how bad the condition is and that, somehow, black mold is growing in the back of his bedroom closet - unrelated to the HWH. I was also told that the HWH was very rusty and collapsed on itself.

I'm concerned about a claim denial/dispute/fight with Allstate. I haven't been inspecting this property. I viewed his prior apt where he had lived 5 yrs and all was fine. Any advice? I plan to give my tenant a notice to vacate under my health and safety clause.