New Septic pump failure, who is to blame?

[Mike Ferguson]

Two part question: 1. Is the plumbing company liable? 2. Should I find a new property manager?

Situation:

Renting out a 3 bd, 2 bath SFH in North Carolina. Around September the grinder pump for the septic failed, the house is about 20 y/o and it's the original pump as far as I know so i replaced it with no questions asked.

About 8 months later, the pump failed again.

The PM office tells me the original installer refused to come back out, and said it “wasn’t his problem”, and then stopped returning their calls.

Property manager has new company replace the pump. New company cites improper wiring, rocks not cleared from pump area, and did not think it was caused by tenant.

PM office basically says “nothing we can do” as far as recouping cost. I tell them it’s unacceptable that they’re using lack of communication with a large company with an office in the same town as an excuse and just giving up.

After we agree to make a claim in small claims court, the property manager is finally able to get ahold of the plumbing company who offers to pay 1/3 of the cost to avoid court.

That’s where we’re at currently. Is the plumber liable? Am I asking too much of my property management to be more aggressive in dealing with this matter?

[Drew Sygit]

What does your property management contract say about maintenance responsibilities?
--If nothing, lesson learned by you!

What did you pay the PMC to handle this for you?
--If nothing, then you got what you paid for:(  Another lesson learned.

You may want to consider accepting the 1/3 from the plumber, but ask the PMC to also kick in 1/3.

If you decide you need a new PMC, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”, since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processes