Leak in unit - who is liable?

[Wiley Strahan]

Hi All,

I recently purchased a quadplex in Long Beach, CA and to start off, the other side in the transaction has been less than cooperative which is why I am seeking advice.

So to the details, we closed on this property last Thursday and officially took over the building at 12pm on Friday afternoon after it was recorded. Before this occurred, one of the tenants alerted the current property manager/sellers broker about a leak from the apartment above them. They sent a maintenance guy out who screwed around with something and promised to return (this is per the tenant). Surprise he didn’t return. Then my property management company shows up after the title was recorded and guess what...it is still raining from the ceiling. To add insult to injury, the sellers people were dodging phone calls so we don’t have keys to the apartment after the recording. The tenant also wouldn’t let us in the unit either. In the meantime, the leak stops so it isn’t raining in the apartment. The following day, we get the keys and are able to get in the unit and fix the leak (bad fitting on the sink). I am just wondering who is responsible especially considering we don’t know the extent of the damage just yet and we didn’t own the building when the leak initially occurred. Thanks for your responses!

Wiley