I'm in Baltimore, Maryland.
I live in a mid-block rowhouse. A house next to me was recently purchased by an LLC and is currently being renovated from the ground up. Demolition kicked off in September, just before I left town for 2 weeks. On the day that I left I noticed that the demolition crew got a bit overzealous and busted through the 2 layers of brick separating our properties and broke through my drywall. I sent an email to the owner, told him of the damage, and said that I'd discuss it with him further upon my return.
When I did return I found that my backyard was being used as a trash heap and multiple ladders were setup on the roof of my kitchen to access the upper stories of the house being constructed. Permission to use my property was never requested, but since space is tight in the city, I decided not to complain after the contractor promised to clean up my property when he finished.
Last week, however, my kitchen was flooded due to a leak in the roof caused by the workers. The ceiling drywall is damaged and my camera that was sitting on the countertop has been destroyed. I immediately emailed the owner who said that the contractor would contact me and take care of the damages. I have yet to be contacted by the contractor, though the owner responded to subsequent emails telling me that he "was told that the contractor did repair the spot in [my] roof that was leaking."
Since then I've repeatedly emailed the owner requesting his phone number and reimbursement for the drywall and camera damage. I have gotten no response.
Where should I go from here? Small claims court? My insurance company? Get a lien against the house? Is the owner liable for damages to my property or is the contractor? The owner, not surprisingly, seems to think that I should be dealing with the contractor, not him. I should probably also mention that I have photos of all incidents of neglegence and damage.
Thanks for any respones.
I live in a mid-block rowhouse. A house next to me was recently purchased by an LLC and is currently being renovated from the ground up. Demolition kicked off in September, just before I left town for 2 weeks. On the day that I left I noticed that the demolition crew got a bit overzealous and busted through the 2 layers of brick separating our properties and broke through my drywall. I sent an email to the owner, told him of the damage, and said that I'd discuss it with him further upon my return.
When I did return I found that my backyard was being used as a trash heap and multiple ladders were setup on the roof of my kitchen to access the upper stories of the house being constructed. Permission to use my property was never requested, but since space is tight in the city, I decided not to complain after the contractor promised to clean up my property when he finished.
Last week, however, my kitchen was flooded due to a leak in the roof caused by the workers. The ceiling drywall is damaged and my camera that was sitting on the countertop has been destroyed. I immediately emailed the owner who said that the contractor would contact me and take care of the damages. I have yet to be contacted by the contractor, though the owner responded to subsequent emails telling me that he "was told that the contractor did repair the spot in [my] roof that was leaking."
Since then I've repeatedly emailed the owner requesting his phone number and reimbursement for the drywall and camera damage. I have gotten no response.
Where should I go from here? Small claims court? My insurance company? Get a lien against the house? Is the owner liable for damages to my property or is the contractor? The owner, not surprisingly, seems to think that I should be dealing with the contractor, not him. I should probably also mention that I have photos of all incidents of neglegence and damage.
Thanks for any respones.
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