They are not really plugged into their markets on a day in, day out basis and think their market is changing when it really hasn't and they are basing their opinions on 2nd hand knowledge or headlines they read about the economy and assume the same applies for housing.

@Jourdain FrancineHonestly, it sounds reasonable to me, although I’m curious to know what his hourly rate was.I was ready to criticise the contractor when I read your headline but then upon finding out he charged only 2% of his tool value, it seems acceptable enough.

there are many many many tenant advocacy groups that look for cases like this where they can make splashy headlines and earn a bunch of cash in a settlement. tenant pays nothing up front and atty gets 50% of the settlement. how do i know? 

To make a long story short I am going to give you the headlines - We live in Atlanta, GAWe had a pipe burst in a rental property, which we found out about l last night but must have been going on for a week or more as the tenant went on vacation and didn't notify anyone, which may cause 2 feet of drywall to be torn out from the entire house. 

Maybe you get a month judgement or something like that [at best] and a week in the headlines...hit "reset".

The headline number is the size of the backstop, not the amount accessed.

Fast forward a week and she’s reading every headline.  

@Mike Bolen Did you read the article you posted on Sweden or just the headline?

Don't expect metro Phoenix housing market crash due to COVID-19That's the headline in this morning's Arizona Republic from real estate reporter Catherine Reagor.As she says, "Metro Phoenix fares better in economic downturns not led by the real estate market, but that doesn’t mean the Valley’s housing market will be unscathed by the COVID-19 crisis. 

Lesson in this for all of us… careful with those headlines!