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gqemer
Guest
What is the name of your state? Illinois
I'm new and need advice. Unfortunately my girlfriend does not have homeowner's insurance in her condo. She believed she did since she thought it was included with her mortgage and of course you cannot close without proof. After the incident and calling around her auto insurance company and her mortgage company to find out who was her home owner's... we found out she had none.
Here was the situation.
I replaced her shower head and sink faucets in her bathroom. An easy job that required a how to instruction booklet. Then it was time to replace her shower knobs. I took off the cap and screws that needed to be taken out. After taking off the knob and backing... the water started gushing out. I screamed out to my girlfriend to call the building manager or whoever was in charge to shut down the water in the boiling room. Unluckily for us no one in the association knew how to shut the thing down. My girlfriend and another neighbor suggested to the president to call the fire dept and they would know what to do. The president just brushed off the suggestion and said that the HOA principal and janitor was on their way. This was 30 min after the requesting to shut down the water. After another 30 min passed by, no one has shown up. The first, second, and third floor hallway was getting some leakage due to the water from the fourth floor *our floor*. The carpets were getting soaked and the home owners underneath us were also getting water in their place. After all this my girlfriend just called the fire dept and in 5 min they shut down the water to the whole building. Even the fire dept was wondering why we didn't call them in the first place.
Once the water was completely shutdown we assessed the damage that happened in the floors below us. No walls were damaged and did not look like any bubbling. The floor below us had already taken action and started cleaning their bathroom and no damage done their. The only thing that was really damaged was the common areas. The rugs were soaked and the control box in the garage for pressure had water seep into it to cause it to short out. We had rented a rug doctor to wash her carpets that day. So we used the rug doctor to suck up all the water from each floor. We also cleaned the walls and anything affected during the leak. The next day we went downstairs to each floor to assess again. Everything looked back to normal.
My question is what can the HOA insurance company and the HOA do to us. I've already contacted the HOA and tried to compromise in helping out with the deductible or a payment plan. We've been cooperative and hope that the damages do not exceed 3000. We don't have much money and are willing to do payment plans to the HOA. I know we didn't have homeowners insurance and that's our fault but can anyone point us in the right direction and let us know our rights in this matter.
My personal opinion is that it was an accident that could of happened to anyone. I did not touch any of the pipes.. Only fixtures. The HOA took too long to shut off the valves and ignored suggestions to call the fire dept. PLEASE HELP.
I'm new and need advice. Unfortunately my girlfriend does not have homeowner's insurance in her condo. She believed she did since she thought it was included with her mortgage and of course you cannot close without proof. After the incident and calling around her auto insurance company and her mortgage company to find out who was her home owner's... we found out she had none.
Here was the situation.
I replaced her shower head and sink faucets in her bathroom. An easy job that required a how to instruction booklet. Then it was time to replace her shower knobs. I took off the cap and screws that needed to be taken out. After taking off the knob and backing... the water started gushing out. I screamed out to my girlfriend to call the building manager or whoever was in charge to shut down the water in the boiling room. Unluckily for us no one in the association knew how to shut the thing down. My girlfriend and another neighbor suggested to the president to call the fire dept and they would know what to do. The president just brushed off the suggestion and said that the HOA principal and janitor was on their way. This was 30 min after the requesting to shut down the water. After another 30 min passed by, no one has shown up. The first, second, and third floor hallway was getting some leakage due to the water from the fourth floor *our floor*. The carpets were getting soaked and the home owners underneath us were also getting water in their place. After all this my girlfriend just called the fire dept and in 5 min they shut down the water to the whole building. Even the fire dept was wondering why we didn't call them in the first place.
Once the water was completely shutdown we assessed the damage that happened in the floors below us. No walls were damaged and did not look like any bubbling. The floor below us had already taken action and started cleaning their bathroom and no damage done their. The only thing that was really damaged was the common areas. The rugs were soaked and the control box in the garage for pressure had water seep into it to cause it to short out. We had rented a rug doctor to wash her carpets that day. So we used the rug doctor to suck up all the water from each floor. We also cleaned the walls and anything affected during the leak. The next day we went downstairs to each floor to assess again. Everything looked back to normal.
My question is what can the HOA insurance company and the HOA do to us. I've already contacted the HOA and tried to compromise in helping out with the deductible or a payment plan. We've been cooperative and hope that the damages do not exceed 3000. We don't have much money and are willing to do payment plans to the HOA. I know we didn't have homeowners insurance and that's our fault but can anyone point us in the right direction and let us know our rights in this matter.
My personal opinion is that it was an accident that could of happened to anyone. I did not touch any of the pipes.. Only fixtures. The HOA took too long to shut off the valves and ignored suggestions to call the fire dept. PLEASE HELP.
Always cheaper to hire a plumber.