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Water damage caused by next door unit!!

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steved5892

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Arizona

Ok, this might take awhile but here we go. I own a Condo with one Common wall. On May 26 I noticed some water on my kitchen floor but thought nothing of it. I thought it may have come from the dog. Next morning there was still water, at this point I looked under the sink and dishwasher but couldn't find a leak. I called my home warranty company and they sent out a plumber that same day and he also could not find a leak. I was going out of town for 10 days the following day so I turned off my Main Line so as to stop any further leaks. When I got back in town the following Sunday there was a large amount of residual water in my kitchen and my carpet in the dining room was wet like a sponge. At this point I called my HOA manager and he sent out a plumber for me that same afternoon. He couldn't detect a leak but suspected a slab leak. So the next day his boss came out with leak detection equipment and also could not find a leak on my side. So he started pushing on the drywall underneath the sink and it caved in. He was able to see water dripping and bits and pieces of food in the wall. At this point we went next door to my neighbors unit to inspect under their sink at which point he discovered that the drain pipe from the sink/dishwasher leading into the wall that connects to the main drainpipe in the wall was loose inside the wall and not secured to the main line. Everything coming from sink/dishwasher was ending up in the wall and eventually into my unit. At this point the HOA manager got them to fix the leak issue but I had a lot of water damage at this point. I contacted the owner of the unit next door who resides in Washington, they bought the condo for the college age daughter to live in. They filed a claim through their insurance, Country Insurance and financial services, who proceeded to deny the claim citing no negligence on their insured's part. The next door neighbors had recently purchased the unit from an investor about a month or two before end of march early april. They asked for the dishwasher to be replaced prior to occupancy which was addressed on the buyers inspection. So at this point I went to my insurance, Allstate, filed a claim and met with the adjustor who proceeded to cut me a check for $120, minus my deductible. I was outraged at this point. I had damage above $10k, but all they claimed responiblity for was the carpet, cleaning the tile floor and paint. I was instructed by my insurance to get the "rest" from the master HOA policy. So I went back to the HOA manager and informed him that he needed to get this dealt with. Claim was filed with Auto Owners insurance, adjustor came out, determined liability was for common wall only. So they are paying the close to $10k for Mold remediation/abatement and to reconstruct the common wall. Well after a 3rd party mold inpsector's test the unit has been declared unlivable because of high count of airborne mold. So I'm living in a extended stay hotel at this point, paid for by Allstate. Problem is, they only allot $5k for any mold related loses. I've been informed by the contractor and mold inspector that the cost to clean and replaces articles throughout my whole condo will probably run into the $25k+ range. So it's now MY responsiblity. That's pretty much it to this point. I'm not sure how to get the neighbors or their insurance to pay for the damages caused by THEM. Thanks in advance for your input and sorry for the long post.

steve
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
steved5892 said:
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Arizona

Ok, this might take awhile but here we go. I own a Condo with one Common wall. On May 26 I noticed some water on my kitchen floor but thought nothing of it. I thought it may have come from the dog. Next morning there was still water, at this point I looked under the sink and dishwasher but couldn't find a leak. I called my home warranty company and they sent out a plumber that same day and he also could not find a leak. I was going out of town for 10 days the following day so I turned off my Main Line so as to stop any further leaks. When I got back in town the following Sunday there was a large amount of residual water in my kitchen and my carpet in the dining room was wet like a sponge. At this point I called my HOA manager and he sent out a plumber for me that same afternoon. He couldn't detect a leak but suspected a slab leak. So the next day his boss came out with leak detection equipment and also could not find a leak on my side. So he started pushing on the drywall underneath the sink and it caved in. He was able to see water dripping and bits and pieces of food in the wall. At this point we went next door to my neighbors unit to inspect under their sink at which point he discovered that the drain pipe from the sink/dishwasher leading into the wall that connects to the main drainpipe in the wall was loose inside the wall and not secured to the main line. Everything coming from sink/dishwasher was ending up in the wall and eventually into my unit. At this point the HOA manager got them to fix the leak issue but I had a lot of water damage at this point. I contacted the owner of the unit next door who resides in Washington, they bought the condo for the college age daughter to live in. They filed a claim through their insurance, Country Insurance and financial services, who proceeded to deny the claim citing no negligence on their insured's part. The next door neighbors had recently purchased the unit from an investor about a month or two before end of march early april. They asked for the dishwasher to be replaced prior to occupancy which was addressed on the buyers inspection. So at this point I went to my insurance, Allstate, filed a claim and met with the adjustor who proceeded to cut me a check for $120, minus my deductible. I was outraged at this point. I had damage above $10k, but all they claimed responiblity for was the carpet, cleaning the tile floor and paint. I was instructed by my insurance to get the "rest" from the master HOA policy. So I went back to the HOA manager and informed him that he needed to get this dealt with. Claim was filed with Auto Owners insurance, adjustor came out, determined liability was for common wall only. So they are paying the close to $10k for Mold remediation/abatement and to reconstruct the common wall. Well after a 3rd party mold inpsector's test the unit has been declared unlivable because of high count of airborne mold. So I'm living in a extended stay hotel at this point, paid for by Allstate. Problem is, they only allot $5k for any mold related loses. I've been informed by the contractor and mold inspector that the cost to clean and replaces articles throughout my whole condo will probably run into the $25k+ range. So it's now MY responsiblity. That's pretty much it to this point. I'm not sure how to get the neighbors or their insurance to pay for the damages caused by THEM. Thanks in advance for your input and sorry for the long post.

steve
**A: at this point you need to hire an attorney to deal with the HOA and the neighbors.
 

steved5892

Junior Member
punative damages???

I am in the process of contacting an attorney, I'm just trying to get some opinions. Do you think that I have any legal recourse against the other owner's insurance for bad faith? They denied the claim based on the fact there was no "negligence" but at the same time I have a letter from the adjustor stating they found their insured to be negligent or liable for the damage that occurred. Also at this point I'm building a house which will be ready by mid October. So at that point I'll have the new mortgage payment plus my Condo mortgage payment...who pays for the fact that I can't either sell or rent out the Condo for however many months this takes to get handled??? I appreciate your response to this issue.
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
steved5892 said:
I am in the process of contacting an attorney, I'm just trying to get some opinions. Do you think that I have any legal recourse against the other owner's insurance for bad faith?

**A: yes.
*******
They denied the claim based on the fact there was no "negligence" but at the same time I have a letter from the adjustor stating they found their insured to be negligent or liable for the damage that occurred. Also at this point I'm building a house which will be ready by mid October. So at that point I'll have the new mortgage payment plus my Condo mortgage payment...who pays for the fact that I can't either sell or rent out the Condo for however many months this takes to get handled???

**A: you do of course.
******
I appreciate your response to this issue.
**A: ok............
 

steved5892

Junior Member
HomeGuru said:
**A: ok............
I'm assuming I'm responsible to keep up the payment in the meantime, I just meant can I sue them for either loss of income if it was to be a rental or for the payment before I have a chance to sell it?
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
steved5892 said:
I'm assuming I'm responsible to keep up the payment in the meantime, I just meant can I sue them for either loss of income if it was to be a rental or for the payment before I have a chance to sell it?
**A: yes you can sue but do not count on winning.
 

Ummonx

Member
I ran into this when I flooded out my neighbor due to a hot water heater. The problem is I dont think you understand what insurance you have. (most people dont)

a) you have a condo homeowners insurance (you pay for separately) which is not much different then apt insurance. It insures the belongings and usually the paint In. Hence the reason why they would only pay for your belongings.

b) Your neighbor's has the same type of insurance, your claim was denied because there was no negligence on his/her part. It was an accident

c) Your HOA insurance acts as a regular homeowner policy would. You pay for that in your dues. If the coverage is not enough your beef is with the HOA for not having adaquate insurance

d) your condo homeowners might pick up the bill for cleaning your belongings I am not sure.
 

steved5892

Junior Member
Ummonx said:
I ran into this when I flooded out my neighbor due to a hot water heater. The problem is I dont think you understand what insurance you have. (most people dont)

a) you have a condo homeowners insurance (you pay for separately) which is not much different then apt insurance. It insures the belongings and usually the paint In. Hence the reason why they would only pay for your belongings.

b) Your neighbor's has the same type of insurance, your claim was denied because there was no negligence on his/her part. It was an accident

c) Your HOA insurance acts as a regular homeowner policy would. You pay for that in your dues. If the coverage is not enough your beef is with the HOA for not having adaquate insurance

d) your condo homeowners might pick up the bill for cleaning your belongings I am not sure.
I appreciate your answer, and yes I understand how condo insurance works. The problem is the neighbors insurance denied the claim outright and the HOA's insurance is only taking partial liability. At this point I don't know who the responsibility lies with since everyone is pointing fingers. Does anyone have a good lawyer in the Phoenix area they could point me towards, I'd appreciate it.
 

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