All Forum Posts by: Abi Horton

 Regarding the appliances: if the contract states the specific appliances that were there during the showing are to convey with the property, then the seller may owe you those appliances. However, if they weren’t theirs to sell in the first place, then that changes things. The fair market value of the items taken is probably what you would be awarded if you win. The fair market value of used appliances is minimal. You should review the specific facts with your attorney and your agent to determine your legal options, nobody on here can give you good legal advice. 

 I agree here. If it was in the inspection report and the tenants mentioned that it was an issue, you can't hold them liable. Its the sewer back up. 

The only way they can be held liable is if they intentionally caused the sewer to back up and clogged the drain overtime. 

Seems like that is not the case. I would count my lucky stars they didn't try to go after you for living in those conditions. I think that they left without causing any issues is a blessing. 

Good luck with the repair. address it so it doesnt happen again. 

@Abi Horton we have found a very good inspector. He costs us $600 per property, but has saved us from several very expensive mistakes.

So e people say we are crazy to pay this much. It is just a business expense. Find a good inspector.

I would advise considering holding the tenants partially responsible for the damage. It would be beneficial to review the lease agreement for any clauses pertaining to the obligation to report damage. If you were to end up in court before a judge, proving that the tenant neglected to
report the damage could be challenging. It may be helpful to communicate with the owner and inquire about the history of work orders related to mold issues. Additionally, it would be advantageous if the tenants could provide any documentation supporting their claim of reporting the problem. There are numerous questions to address in this situation. If you would like to discuss this further, I am available for an offline conversation. Good luck, happy investing!

The mold should have been addressed with the PSA (so no)...and the appliances can be addressed based on the PSA and lease agreement (so possibly...I would think so).  I was just trying to answer your questions above and not addressing lessons to learn.

It's common/normal to inspect a house with residents in it.

The mold was revealed during the inspection...it's pervasive on the bathroom floor, which means a lot of water and/or a long time period, and would normally lead to a much deeper investigation for damage in the rest of the house as water easily travels.

Mold - the sales price should have been adjusted or the items fixed prior to closing.

Appliances - walk the property shortly before closing and don't close if it's missing things or messed up.  Your purchase contract should say what is included/excluded...and so should the lease agreement. 

@Abi Horton I would have serious concerns about what the wood looks like behind the drywall if I were you. Is there mold visible on the floor joists when you are in the basement? That’s a lot of mold to be accumulating on drywall in a living room. Looks like

You have a fairly serious moisture problem that could be more than just drywall remediation.

As for the security deposit, the answer is in the lease you inherited. If you had to pay money to get the trash removed, do extra cleaning, and other things beyond normal wear and tear you can probably keep the deposit. It’s lease and state law specific.

You should go back through the inspection report and look at the plumbing. Do you have cast iron drain lines? If so, you may have multiple leaks behind walls. You need to solve the water issue first or you are going to dump 5K into fixing drywall and spend the 5K again in 3 months.

Back up in the basement is most likely due to your main line which should also be checked. Did you get a scope done at inspection?

I would be taking a hard look at all plumbing in the entire house before I spent a penny on drywall repair.

@Abi Horton  sounds like some expensive lessons. The sale listing for the property should have said what appliances were included so if they were listed as included the place to get credit for them would have been from the owner when you didn't see them at walk through. My guess is if they were more than 7 years old they were fully depreciated and it would be hard to charge the tenant for them now but I haven't had that experience. You could search the forums to see what people have to say about missing appliances.  If you had to pay for additional trash not sure why you can't charge for that but you have to return everything in the timeline required by your state to the tenant and you probably should have photos of trash for it to be worth deducting and that is not your biggest cost.  Be glad they are gone and you can do a good rehab. If the sewer was just cleared but not fully repaired I would get a scope (camera Recording) of it before you move on. You don't want to put your money into rehab and have another backup. 

I am guessing after 10 years the LL doesn't have a move in checklist?  Yes tenants are obligated to tell you but you need to inspect properties. Do this regularly even if they have been good for 5 years because sometimes people change over time. Their health worsens, they get careless or complacent.  I had great tenants I left alone because they were sick, they did more damage in one year than they did in the entire previous five. 

Honestly, it sounds like whomever did or is going to do your remediation is taking you for a ride. I only saw the bath area but there is hardly anything there. Having that said, you can keep the deposit and they would have to go to court to get it back. You would have to follow the timelines for notification that your state requires for laying claim to the deposit. Then they would have to prove in court that this wasn't their fault and you would have to prove it was. 

As a property manager, we would probably pay less than $1000 to get it fixed AND we would give the tenant their money back. If they told you that there had a couple of backups would this have changed the outcome? Probably not...