Fallen fence at LTR property: Who is responsible?

[Alain Chautard]

Hi. I'm a remote investor owning a LTR property in Houston, TX, while being based out of California. I was contacted by my PM company a month ago about "70 feet of backyard fence that had fallen down".

I received a quote and was asked if I approved the repairs, but I was of course wondering about a few things:

1) Why would I have to pay for those repairs and not the neighbor sharing that fence? Shouldn't the cost be split? I certainly didn't break anything.

2) Does the HOA have a say in this?

3) Also, how did that fence fall down? Did someone break it? Was there a weather event? Should insurance policies be involved?

A month later, the PM company hasn't helped in any way. They couldn't reach out to the neighbor. The HOA doesn't have any rules on that matter.

I still don't see why I would have to pay 100% of the repairs without knowing more about what happened there, who's responsible, and what my options are.

So my question is: How would you handle it? What do you think I should be doing? Anyone else encountered a similar scenario before?

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

Since you state that your property is in an HOA, you MUST review your HOA Declaration and House Rules. The Declaration will tell you whose responsibility it is. The House rules may also address general responsibility for maintaining your property. Nothing else matters. And yes, I would HOPE your PM company knows the answer and can provide you a copy of the Declaration to confirm. If they do NOT know, fire them.