All Forum Posts by: Laura R.

Hi Marcus, I am not sure you get the gist of my complaint.  I absolutely am liable for the sump failure and would not in any way ask them to pay for the replacement costs.  I had two sumps in place and insurance to the max allowable.  I did not shirk my responsibilities in any way nor am I trying to blame them for the situation that started this.  

My complaint is that they were informed what the situation was and to call the plumber or water team immediately, that this absolutely was not coming from under the garage door and that water would continue to come into the basement.  At the time, there was very little water in the basement.  They then proceeded to call in a handyman to look at the seal on the garage door anyway and did not call anyone whatsoever to look at the sump issue as I instructed with phone call and email until later in the afternoon the next day.  The water continued to come in all night and throughout the next day.  If action had been taken immediately, the water could have been stopped at the point there was very little water in the basement.  At the point I called and emailed, I thought the situation was handled.  I was never informed that no one had been dispatched.  

Do you still not see any blame on their part as a management company I pay 10% a month to manage situations as they arise?  She asked me what I thought, and I told her that water was not coming under the door and the sump was flooding, it was an emergency and to have it looked at ASAP, but she still called the handyman to look at the door but not the sump?  She did not even call for sump service until the next late afternoon/early evening, and I was never informed no one was available or was coming in order to do anything about it myself.  

Hi Bob, 

Yes, the tenants called the regular number and did not get an answer, only VM, so they tried the emergency number, and no one answered that either.  This was during regular business hours, and it took them a couple of hours before they were able to reach someone to report the situation.  I assume the emergency number is for after hours, but they were trying to stop the water and calling repeatedly to get assistance, but they were unable to reach someone.  When they did, I was informed and immediately knew what was happening and asked them to dispatch an emergency team, which was not done nor was I informed, which led to a situation where, when reported, there was some wet carpet in the family room to a situation where there was standing water through the entire basement.  

Hi Scott, 

We did have two pumps, but apparently one failed some time ago without our knowledge.  It could be heard to be running, but apparently its motor was spinning but not pumping.  The water goes in a closed drain line, so hearing both pumps and water running, we assumed both were pumping water when apparently that was not the case.  

David, thanks for your response.  The tenant use a shop vac and did do other things to try to stop the water from coming in, but nothing they did stopped the water.  Obviously, they got out of there what they could.  

There is not one thing I am not being fair or upfront about???  I was informed of a situation where the person at the management company stated in her opinion was water was coming from under the garage door.  I immediately responded stating that is not the case, this is an emergency that needs immediate attention ASAP.  Although I stated such, the company did not respond by sending someone to look at the sump but did send someone immediately to look at the garage door seal, but they did not look at the sump because they were not asked to.  No plumber was dispatched (more than one on 24-hour call for them) nor was the emergency water extraction team called (which, yes, it is their business to respond immediately).  The next morning the plumber, who was only told to look at the sump and give an estimate to replace it, showed up and said it had failed and needed to be replaced and gave an estimate.  Later that afternoon, the water extraction team was called (local and respected, not sure why their name matters?), and yes, they responded immediately.  That is the first time the overflowing sump had been addressed.  I was not informed at any point that no one had yet addressed this.  My email stated that this was an emergency and to get someone immediately and that is the last I heard of this.  Although it appears as if no one was even called after I asked her to, if she had informed me that not one person with 24-hour service that they have on call had been able to respond, my husband would have showed up and installed a temp sump.  Up until that point, I thought the issue was treated as an emergency as stated from the first moment I was informed and that the water coming in had been addressed.  

Being in Phoenix, I am not sure how familiar you are with sump riders, but no, insurance companies in this area absolutely will not cover all the costs.  If you have a sump, you may pay separately for a sump rider, and there is a definite cap allowed and you get an amount that they tell you.  If their adjuster comes out for what is clearly a sump backup, you get the amount on the rider.  You cannot insure for more than their cap on the rider, which in this case was 5k, the most I found after calling multiple insurance companies.  

This happened last month.  The bills are just coming in.  The sheetrock so far has been fine, so thankfully that does not appear to be an issue in this case.  

Hello,

I had a situation with a rental property I own where there was a sump failure.  The sump is located in the garage.  With pump failure, the sump overflows and water runs down the couple of steps that lead from the garage into the basement and runs under the door.  The tenants called the management company's emergency number (during normal business hours) several times before someone answered and informed them water was coming in the basement.  At the time, water was in the laundry room (tile), bathroom (tile), and they stated that the carpet in the family room was wet.  

The management company informed me still during business hours what was happening.  We were having a LOT of rain, and they thought the water was coming in from under the garage door.  I VM and emailed them that the water was not coming from under the garage door, and the only time water would come into the basement would be if the sump pump failed, it was an emergency situation, and to please call the plumber ASAP on an emergency call.  Well, the plumber did not come until the next morning and still did not put a new or temporary pump in.  The water damage team that came later in the afternoon/early evening installed a temporary sump pump, which means that the water continued to come into the basement throughout the night and all during the next day (we had a LOT of rain), resulting in standing water throughout the entire 1600 sf of  finished basement.  The bill from the water damage team is just under 9K.  New carpet throughout around 3K.  

IMO, the management company could have mitigated much of this damage if had they acted as I stated they should, that this is an emergency situation and warrants an emergency call to the plumber.  At the time they were alerted, only the family room carpet was wet, with no standing water, and the other rooms that had water in them were tiled.  I think they management company should pay for half of the damages and new carpet.  Does this sound reasonable under the circumstances?  

I don't think they will be amenable to paying $6,000 to help cover these costs.  I do have sump insurance, but it only covers 5K (the max they would allow), and I don't think the damage would have been nearly as extensive nor should the fact that I have some insurance relieve the management company of it's failure to act in a timely manner.  The water extraction services pumped thousands of gallons of water and had multiple dehumidifiers and fans, which, along with removing the old carpet and padding, were the bulk of their charges.  Otherwise, the management company has handled my two rentals without issue, and I like the rental team, but I believe they dropped the ball in this case.  

Does it seem reasonable that they pay for half of the damage?  If that doesn't seem fair, how much of the 12k should they be liable for?  

Getting and maintaining my license has definitely been worth it IMO as an investor. Having access to not only the MLS listings, but the other info MLS provides and ability to run accurate comps has been invaluable. Having other investor agents in the office has been great to bounce ideas off of and for the occasional lead on a deal and sales meetings that keep me up on the ever changing market.

Having instantaneous access to properties is probably my favorite perk. No more calling an agent and setting up a time to see something. I can be in the MLS, click right on the online appointment schedule and set myself up with an appointment and be looking at the property in often 1/2 hour. Writing and negotiating my own deals, doing the back and forth without a middleman and closing them myself with commission payout is another perk. I just can't imagine doing any real investing without my own RE license.

Thank you! I can see her setting up a couple of these options and making them work out. Appreciate the detailed post. 

Hi All, 

I am a flipper, so I do not know the answer to my daughter's question as to the best way for her to pay her rent.

She and 2 roommates rent a cute little home from an elderly couple that is walking distance to their college campus. Each pays their portion of the rent separately. The first month, the owner came by and collected their checks. At that time, she dropped off a deposit slip with her banking info on it and asked the girls to wire funds to her account from then on so she doesn't have to come by and collect the rent. My daughter checked with her bank, and it is $25 or $30 to wire the funds each month, so this past month she drove over to the lady's bank and deposited her rent check directly into her account. I don't think she should have to do this, but I don't know a better way for her to pay the rent. She can do an external linking of the bank accounts, but I am not sure if the other account would be able to access her account if she does that. Suggestions? 

Hi Jade, 

I'm just a little south of you, and everything your agent says about the market in your area is 100% the same here. 

Our first deal took almost a year to get. Multiple, multiple offers were outbid. A good property in a decent area and priced with a good margin will have 20-30 offers. 

One house that we saw sitting because it had a close margin that we made an offer on, we waited 2 1/2 weeks to hear anything. Then we got the email stating multiple bids and asking for final & best. Obviously even being the 1st and only bid didn't even help. The way the market is, the bank just sat & waited for a better offer. 

We finally went into a couple of areas that weren't that desirable and had great success, but I am seeing A LOT of flipping activity in these areas now, prob because the more desirable areas are so competitive. 

Try to think of a way to do something different than everyone else. Condos, areas a little further out, etc., & know it will take a lot of offers for one to hit.

Hi Jade, 

I'm just a little south of you, and in this area, everything your agent says about the market in your area is 100% the same here. 

Our first deal took almost a year to get. Multiple, multiple offers were outbid. A good property in a decent area priced below even other foreclosures will have 20-30 offers. One we saw sitting because it had a close margin that we made an offer on we waited 2 1/2 weeks to hear anything. Then we got the multiple bid email asking for final & best. Obviously even being the 1st and only bid didn't even help, the way the market is, the bank just say & waited for a better offer. 

We finally went into a couple of areas that weren't that desirable and had great success, but I am seeing A LOT of flipping activity in these areas now, prob because the more desirable areas are so competitive.