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Damage Due to Neighbor

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K

keeshy2

Guest
Virginia:

We live in an interior townhouse. Our neighbor's house (end unit) sits about a foot higher than ours. Back in June water started seeping into our master bedroom along the roof along the common wall. We figured the flashing was loose near our chimney & had it checked. Our contractor said the wind blew the siding off her house right above our roofline. The header board was also rotten on her house and would have to be replaced - he said it is cracked & water will come through it. This led us to believe it is her responsibility to fix the siding & board problem.

We talked to our neighbor several times, the last time in September, and she doesn't want to go through her insurance. She said she would have somebody fix the siding but it would be our responsibility to fix our house, which seems wrong to me. However, it's almost November, and the siding is still off & water is still leaking in. I have become ill (respiratory infections) from sleeping in there (I suspect mold & mildew in the drywall). The paint is peeling off the ceiling & drywall in our bedroom & the drywall is starting to buckle. She's obviously not going to bother fixing the siding.

What can we do? We can't go through our insurance because we already had to file with them for a water leak this year & they would up our rates (new rule about only one claim per year or something). Or can we go through our insurance & have them go after her to pay the bill? It's going to have to be fixed soon since winter is coming.

Thanks.
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by keeshy2:
Virginia:

We live in an interior townhouse. Our neighbor's house (end unit) sits about a foot higher than ours. Back in June water started seeping into our master bedroom along the roof along the common wall. We figured the flashing was loose near our chimney & had it checked. Our contractor said the wind blew the siding off her house right above our roofline. The header board was also rotten on her house and would have to be replaced - he said it is cracked & water will come through it. This led us to believe it is her responsibility to fix the siding & board problem.

We talked to our neighbor several times, the last time in September, and she doesn't want to go through her insurance. She said she would have somebody fix the siding but it would be our responsibility to fix our house, which seems wrong to me. However, it's almost November, and the siding is still off & water is still leaking in. I have become ill (respiratory infections) from sleeping in there (I suspect mold & mildew in the drywall). The paint is peeling off the ceiling & drywall in our bedroom & the drywall is starting to buckle. She's obviously not going to bother fixing the siding.

What can we do? We can't go through our insurance because we already had to file with them for a water leak this year & they would up our rates (new rule about only one claim per year or something). Or can we go through our insurance & have them go after her to pay the bill? It's going to have to be fixed soon since winter is coming.

Thanks.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Did you ask the Association to help? You need to file a claim with your insurance company. What is with the one claim a year hogwash? File a suit against the Association and the owner of the unit. Toxic mold can cause irreversible health related problems.
 
K

keeshy2

Guest
Our homeowners insurance says if we file another major claim with them this year they will have to up our premiums. I don't understand it, they have some term for it. The contractor we hired said it would have been $1600 to fix it all in June. Now, who knows?

Our insurance company said if we can get her insurance policy information they can go after them to pay for it, but this lady won't even give us her phone number! She keeps saying she doesn't want to go through her insurance because they'll up her rates & her house is fine. I contacted the HOA but haven't gotten any answer - I'm going to try calling the management company & see if there's a specific person on the HOA to talk to. I don't think the HOA has any liability since this is due to the neighbor's lack of maintenance.
 

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