All Forum Posts by: Deb Sala

This is true 

Hi Maria,

 As several others have said regarding renting to family, don't do it! I seen many friends go down this path and it ends up being one imposition after another. Saying "Yes" the first time is the gateway to many other imposing requests in the future, where you could potentially end up being the villain of the family if you say"No" to any of it! After all, you are the one living the good life with the extra house on Long Island. It probably doesn't feel that way to you, but others see it that way. The fact that you have let the tenants get away with so much tells me you are maybe a little bit of a pushover. Pushovers become doormats. Don't let that happen to you! Help him in other ways!

As far as the tenants go, I would try to go the win-win route. I know real estate investor recently who purchases foreclosures at auctions  and he is also the auctioneer, so he's constantly buying properties. He deals all the time with your situation of people who don't want to move. He tries to go the route of "Hey, don't be upset with me. I'm just the guy who bought this property from the bank." Then he offers the the money he would have spent on the Sheriff to kick them out and a clean up/move out crew to help them move. He says it's a lot easier this way bc he has a crew supervising them while they are moving to make sure they aren't vandalizing the place. He always is concerned with vindictive behavior like pouring concrete down the toilets, stealing appliances etc. Anyway, I thought his take on the matter was very sound. I would have a lawyer deliver this new rather than try to do it myself. They have already shown they will steamroll you given the chance.  Take yourself out of the equation.

I wish you good luck!

Lesson learned on the inspection. Who would think a practically brand new home would have this problem? 🙁

Interesting. It's a shower tray, not a tub. Does that make a difference? The first floor bathroom is a 1/2 bath so no condensation from shower.

Proof yes- I have the handyman that painted over the water damage and I have her posting on the neighborhood message board saying "someone please recommend someone to fix my leaking shower"

She wants to get a water intrusion specialist to come in and take it from there. She thinks it's a huge deal because even though the builder may ultimately fix it, the seller knowing lied.

As far as the shower goes, it may or may not be leaking but it's small if it is and hasn't shown visible damage yet.  Instead of fixing it correctly, the seller had someone place grout over the the shower tray  lip where it meets the wall tile. Since grout isn't water proof, the original caulking underneath  is still doing its job, along with the grout which may have fortified it a little . The handyman that worked on the house before told me that he had to paint the ceiling of the bathroom below this shower. 

My realtor is my daughter. She of course thinks we should take action. She says the disclosures are very specific .

I was considering small claims court. 2 separate actions. 

The sellers disclosure specifically asks if there have been present or previous leaks. The seller said NO. So that was a lie. The shower is "fixed " poorly. The old caulk was never removed and it was grouted over. Very sloppy and inefficient.

The big repair is going to be subject to a class action lawsuit by the HOA to the builder. It could take several years to settle. The seller knew about that obviously because she had the water damage painted over and you can even see the bad paint in one corner when the sunlight hits it. The staining started up again after a week of heavy rain.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

The leak was fixed improperly. It was grouted over and it should have been caulked. I am about to caulk it myself. 

We used the title company to close. In Florida the seller chooses the closing agent. 

Doesn't the seller have a ton of exposure here for nondisclosure?