water leak

[enchantingodin]

I apologize in advance for the length...

We live in a townhouse. Late last night we noticed our carpet was soaking wet in our living room corner. Pulled the corner back to find a substacial puddle under the padding.

Had plumbers come out today, after being here for an hour and a half and checking EVERY possible source turns out the leak is not ours. It's our neighbors. They even 'snuck' into their yard to "listen to their line" and confirmed this.

Here's the BIG problem. Our neighbors are like hermits. It is a woman in her mid 40's and her son who is in his early 20's I'd guess. They keep to themselves and also have odd hours. Neither of them have a job outside of the home. So I don't know what they do for money. Which in truth is none of my business. But at the same time concerns me if they would be the ones responsible for repairs.

So I knocked on their door at 11pm last night. Late I know - but if I were them I'd want to know if there was water puddling into my house. They never answered. Ok understandable. But I knew they were up cause I heard the TV blaring through the front door before I knocked.

Today (around 11am) my husband knocked on the door for about 10 minuted before the son finally came to open it. Hubs asked if they had any water coming up to which the Son said "NO!" and slammed the door in his face.

The plumbers got to our house around noon. By 1pm it was determined that is wasn't us. So they tried to knock on their door. Again for 10 minutes. No answer. So they went through the back gate of their courtyard (I wasn't here for this - hubs was dealing with it.) and listened to their line to confirm a bubbling sound on the incoming water line. But couldn't tell exactly where it was without access to the inside of their house to listen in other places.

Our other neighbor across the culdersac is on the HOA board. We went over to tell her about what happened and asked for advice on what to do next. Turns out the next door neighbor recently (within the past month or so) had a leak already in their kitchen. Which backs up to another persons townhome to which his received significant water damage and they also got a 3k water bill. Sheesh.

Friend across the street put in a call to the HOA president around 6pm this evening. And we never heard from anyone. This is already gotten too frustrating.

Right now the water is only in the corner. We pulled back the carpet so it wouldn't get any further wet but it's already starting to have that funky smell to it. Our back storage shed (that backs up to the living room) is completely flooded with about an inch of water. Our drywall seems is fine. But the baseboards and carpet are pretty much shot.

So I need some advice. Any advice. What would you do in this situation to get the leak resolved as quickly as possible? I want this fixed tomorrow! I don't feel like I can knock on their door again. Because I don't think they'd answer. Should I call the water company? Furthermore I don't know who is responsible - the neighbor, the HOA, or the water company. I'm at a total lose here.

Thanks for reading.

 

[SandrA9810]

What's dividing the two houses?? I know some put a solid concrete wall, other's not so much. If you busted out your wall could you get to the leaky pipe?

I'd assume it's the neighbor's problem to deal with. But if they're not receiving the damage, who knows how long they'll let it go on. If you do pay for the repair on their pipes, then it'd come down to a civil court matter to get your money back. And you can also sue for the damages to your wall and carpeting if any of those need repairs or replaced.

I'd keep a shop vac and an air dryer on hand to keep the water off the walls, but I'm sure constant moisture like that is going to damage the drywall soon enough. Shop vac should run you around 35$ and up, and you can rent one of those dryers at a home improvement store on a daily basis.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I would keep your carpet and the padding pulled back for now. Use the shop vac to suck up any water. rent a blower to keep everything dry. They are loud. If it is coming from the neighbors it might come down to having ins cover the cost. But like I said the more you can keep things from being damaged from being wet the least costly it will be. we own a carpet cleaning bus and my husband sees all kinds of stuff. I would take the home owners assoc with you as you need to get to the bottom of the issue. Having these people slam a door in your DH face wont get you any where. I am so sorry you have to deal with this. Let us know what happens. Jo

 

[lovetoscrap]

Frankly, if the water is still leaking and the HOA and the plumbing/water people can't do anything about it and the neighbors won't even come to the door, I would call the police. They are damaging your property and refusing to do anything about it. I don't see this as any different then if they were standing there pouring water on your stuff, and you would call the police for that. I wouldn't go on any longer without getting help to at least get the water shut off.

Then I would send them the bill for damages/repairs certified mail and if they don't respond file a civil suit. That is ridiculous! And the HOA should be doing more to help take care of it if they are affecting the ability of others to enjoy their homes.

 

[enchantingodin]

Thanks for the replies. Here's an update:

I just went over there again and knocked. 3 times. Finally after shouting at the door, "This is Jen from nextdoor. PLEASE ANSWER THE DOOR." The son opened the door. I told him we had a leak and that our plumbers said it was them. And that I needed to speak to his Mom. He had the nerve to tell me she couldn't come to the door and asked if it could wait. I said "Are you going to have a plumber come fix this? "Ahhh...", he says. "Then it can't wait." I respond.

He goes back in and wakes up his mom. Comes back down and asked if we were having the leak "right now". I said (paraphrasing), "Yes it's been going on for 3 days. That we had a plumber out yesterday. And he determined it was your incoming line. That we tried to knock on their door to see where it was at in their system. But that they wouldn't answer. So I needed them to call someone to help determine who was responsible." He of course responded with only a blank stare. I again asked if I could talk to his Mom. "Oh well she just woke up," He says. I told him, "Ok. She has 15 minutes to come knock on my door and discuss this. Or I'm coming back."

It's been 20 minutes. I'm going back over now...

 

[klj27]

I hope you get some results from them this time. It amazes me that people would act like that.

 

[scrapquitler]

Thanks for the replies. Here's an update:

I just went over there again and knocked. 3 times. Finally after shouting at the door, "This is Jen from nextdoor. PLEASE ANSWER THE DOOR." The son opened the door. I told him we had a leak and that our plumbers said it was them. And that I needed to speak to his Mom. He had the nerve to tell me she couldn't come to the door and asked if it could wait. I said "Are you going to have a plumber come fix this? "Ahhh...", he says. "Then it can't wait." I respond.

Notify the HOA, and your homeowners insurance company. The HOA should be able to help you determine what to do next, and your insurance company will battle it out with the neighbors homeowners insurance. You shouldn't have to pay any deductible or anything since it's not your fault. HOA should go to bat for you, and probably has the neighbors insurance info on file (just assuming). I'd also give the water company a call to see what they have to say.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Any update? Did you go back over?

 

[jen0610]

Any update? Did you go back over?

I'll bet she did and that reply wasn't any better than the first one.

I feel for her.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Any update? Did you go back over?

I feel so bad for her. Hopefully she is making progress. So frustrating.

 

[dis-happy]

Is there a water shut-off for their place at the street? If so, I'd insist that the HOA contact the water company (or their own maintenance people) and have it turned off until the leak is fixed.

 

[trip]

Is there a water shut-off for their place at the street? If so, I'd insist that the HOA contact the water company (or their own maintenance people) and have it turned off until the leak is fixed.

This what I was going to suggest. Have the water shut off. You don't want mold!

 

[ameraumi]

Is there a water shut-off for their place at the street? If so, I'd insist that the HOA contact the water company (or their own maintenance people) and have it turned off until the leak is fixed.

That is a good idea!

 

[LindaG4458]

Unfortunately we have had several incidents of water damage from leaks in the adjoining unit here in NH. We found the insurance of the owner of the damaged property is responsible for repairs. The most you can get from the neighbor who is the source of the water is the deductible and out-of-pocket expenses.

We also know people in FL whose condo was totally flooded by a leak in the unit upstairs over the summer months. They had to claim on their own insurance too.

It doesn't seem right, but that is what our agents have told us each time we had a claim. They said there is no way to know the value of adjoining property and furnishings and to charge for the exposure.

 

[ZachnElli]

The HOA should have their insurance info, ask them for it.

 

[tvguy]

The HOA should have their insurance info, ask them for it.

I used to live in a Condo, the HOV rules said we only owned the "area within the walls". Everything in the walls, floor and ceiling and anything in those areas (plumbing, wiring) were owned by the HOV and were the responsiblity of the HOV to maintain and repair. Check your HOV bylaws.

 

[SandrA9810]

Condos and townhomes are different with the ownership. With a townhome, you own the walls, roof, and foundation. Condos, you just own what's inside your four walls, some one else owns the actual building is responsible for the repairs.

My aunt lived in a townhome, and there was like a 6" concrete wall that separated the homes. So she had to insure everything between those walls.

 

[enchantingodin]

Sorry I haven't updated until now. It was a hellish day.

Went back over to talk to Terry. Turns out she is in foreclosure. The sale is on the 21st of this month. So there is no money to get from her since she hasn't had a job in 3 years and is on food stamps. Terrific. She even had the nerve to tell me that if we wanted to call the plumbers back and have them come into her house and do the repair that that was fine. But that we would have to pay for it since she had nothing.

Finally got a hold of the HOA president. She said that our bylaws state that we are responsible for the paint in. However that plumbing was the homeowners responsibility. (And to answer PP question we only have wood frame in between our townhomes.) After brainstorming with Becky for a while she to put in a call to the HOA attorney to see if I could go after the bank who owns Terry's mortgage to fix the repairs. As of 7pm this evening when the hubs spoke to her again the lawyer had not yet called back.

After getting off the phone with her this morning I called the water company. The rep on the phone told me if they had a leak, they could turn their meter off. I thought HURRAY! Finally I'm getting somewhere. So the tech comes out and looks at the meter. It's not registering a leak. He explained (as I'm standing over it with him) that if there was a leak that the dial on the meter would be constantly moving. It was not. He concluded that it probably only happens when they are running something. (This didn't make sense to me - since our plumber heard noise in the line.) And since it's "not leaking" he couldn't turn the water off if they are still living there. Even though they haven't paid a bill in months. Fantastic.

As for homeowners insurance. We don't have any - as I doubt does she. And we put 20% down so are not required to get it. The HOA covers the structure of the home. Including the drywall. So we would only need a something for the contents of our home. We live in south Florida - hurricane's galore. Frankly if we could even get a company (Many went out of business after Francis and Jean went through a few years back.) to write us a policy - it would be so astronomical that it would cost less to replace anything that was damaged than what the policy would cost us for even one year in the first place.

We don't know what to do. Basically we're stuck with this problem and are gonna have to find someway to shell out the cash and hope that ether the HOA or her bank will reimburse us. So we sent an email to the plumbing company to come back out and that once we figure out exactly WHERE the leak is we'll go from there.

However if anyone has any further advice or thoughts - I'd be glad to hear them.

 

[Friendly Frog]

I would call a different plumping company, one that specializes in leak detection. We had a leak and the first company did not locate it correctly, the second company did.

 

[dis-happy]

Wow. You know what, I'd just call the plumber and pay to have it fixed. Maye the HOA will pick it up (since the leak is doing damage to the common area).

Just wanted to mention that not having homeowner's insurance leaves you at risk if someone (anyone) is injured in your condo.