Grande Finale???...I sure Hope so!!!

Just when I thought things would quiet down a bit because most of our clients have already returned to Florida for the winter months, I was met with an unpleasant suprise when I checked a unit in Forest Glen the other day. I turned the key, opened the door and was met with what looked like a swimming pool that was obviously in the wrong place. Water, water, water...everywhere. See photo #1. Needless to say my heart dropped to my feet!!! How could this happen? We always have the water main turned OFF so I knew we had done our job so it had to be coming from outside the condo. After doing some preliminary investigating I was unable to determine where the water was coming from so I immediately contacted Tropical Isles Property Management and the Association Building President and advised them that we needed to get a plumber, Fire Sprinkler people and lawn maintenance people there ASAP to help determine the source of the problem. Once they arrived it was the plumber who discovered that a water main supply pipe to the upstairs unit was in fact leaking from under the building slab/foundation and was rising up through an inside wall in the guest bedroom. See photo #2. I notified the owner and contacted a Disaster Restoration Company and they are currently in the process of getting the unit back to it's original condition...removing all the carpeting, drying the place out with no less than 16 commercial blower/dryers. See photo #3. and doing what needs to be done as required by Florida Code. This experience is just one more reminder that having insurance on your condo is, not only Florida Law but also essential because the unit owner is responsible for any and all claims inside the walls of their unit regardless of who may or may not have been at fault! As for POM, it turned out to be just another day at the office!!!

Dead Palmetto Bug Solution???

Here's a photo of the dead palmetto bugs we swept up in a client's house in Lely Resort last summer. Needless to say we had "pest control in to spray several times but these pests just continued to showup. This year was quite different...our client placed bay leaves all around the house, kitchen, bathroom etc. and this year we have NOT seen one dead palmetto bug. Don't ask us how it works, we just know that it does.

Damage to the Inside of Your Condominium

Recently I sent the following letter to Richard White who authors a column on Condominium/Homeowner issues in the Naples Daily News. The following is the question I sent to him and the answer he sent back to me. If you've ever had a question about who's responsible for damage to the inside of your condo, read on....

Dear Richard,
A client of mine recently experienced a sewer backup in their first floor condominium. They immediately contacted the property management company and after a bit of haggleing the management company agreed to send out a plumber to assess the cause of the problem. Since my clients unit is unoccupied in the summer and the water main is turned off the problem obviously was the rersult of water useage/backup from the occupied upstairs unit. When the plumber arrived, he found that the outside/common line was the cause of the problem and his repair cost was absorbed by the association.

Unfortunately the sewage backed up through the kitchen sink and overflowed onto the tile floor in the kitchen and living room so this hazzardous material which included fecal matter had to be cleaned up.The association contacted FireService and were given a cleanup estimate which the association rejected as too expensive and then told my client that they are responsible for cleanup inside their unit even though it was caused from the outside common line.

Question: Is the owner responsible for a cleanup that was caused by a clogged outside/common sewer line?......or is the association responsible for getting their unit back to it's original condition?

Signed
Sonny Gutro
Peace of Mind

Here is Richard White's reply....

I deeply regret the delay in answering your question. I receive huge numbers of questions as my syndicated column is published weekly in several papers and magazines.In fact, I receive well over 500 questions per week. Since I can only put less than 1% of these questions there are just too many to answer in the column. I have other business and personal activities that prevent me from timely answers. Keep in mind that your question only communicates one side or a part of the problem and since I am remote, it is difficult to provide a final answer. Most questions can be answered by reading your association’s documents and statutes. I cannot provide legal advice and this communication cannot be used for any support of legal assistance as an opinion or recommendation. For legal advice, contact a qualified attorney. My writings are copyrighted protected and created comments rights are retained. If you find my column interesting, please send a letter or email to the Editor of the news paper. You can be the influence to continue my column. You can also help support the column with a small donation with a PayPal click and use any credit card at: www.TalkWithCAM.com. Or, mail to Richard White, 6039 Cypress Gardens Blvd, #201, Winter Haven, FL 33884-4115. (Small contributions are greatly appreciated as I will use the funds for equipment and supplies)

Here is his answer to my question....

The unfortunate fact is that you are responsible for any damage to your personal property and that includes your unit regardless of the source of the damage. The condominium law say that all condominium owners must/should carry insurance. This is an insurance claim.

Mr. White attached an article to the E-mail he sent me saying that he wrote it many years back on a situation where he was the property manager. If you want a copy of the article he's referring to call us at 239-450-1699 and we'll send you a copy.

He continued with the following caveat...

You should read your documents to see what they say about utility or sewer lines. This section will determine who repairs (unclogs) the sewer line. Regardless of who pays to fix the drain, you are still responsible for the repairs to you apartment.

Fallen Objects

Just finished doing our weekly condo check and were suprised

when we went into one particular condo to find that a chandalier

over the dining room table had fallen. Apparently it was too heavy for the mount and when it fell it landed on the glass topped dining room table. Fortunately the table top didn't break. Another mystery in a long line of Peace of Mind discoveries when checking our client's Florida homes.

Another Sewer Back-up

Water main is off, unit is secure and yet when we walked into a unit recently we discovered that there had been a sewer back-up for the 3rd time! The sink was full of sewage, the floors had about 1/4 inch of standing water and you could smell the problem as soon as you walked inside. We contacted the owner, then contacted the property management company who scheduled a plumber to assess and fix the problem. A problem such as this is the responsibility of the association and not the owner since the problem originated outside the 4 walls. One lesson to be learned from this is that whenver there's a problem, IT JUST DOESN'T GO AWAY, unless action is taken to take care of it by way of a repair.

Iced up A/C

Recently when we were checking a condo we found that the A/C was running when we entered the unit. Generally, it's unlikely that the A/C would be running unless there was a problem, especially when we do so in the early morning, ie., 7:30AM, when the outside temps are a bit cooler than mid-day. Upon further investigation we found that the A/C had for some reason had iced up and was not cooling at all. We notified the owner, contacted their A/C contract company and they took care of the problem. Needless to say we're always on our toes whenever we check your unit.

Insect Nest Found

Another first for us...found an insect nest inside a condo although we're not sure what kind of insect built the nest. We did see a live spider on the floor (which we quickly dispatched) but it looked more like a wasp nest to us. The nest was located inside the unit, in the upper left hand corner of the lanai doors, behind the verticals so we cautiously removed it and reported our find to the unit owner.