Waterfalls
Raymond put on a clean, manly shirt and drove to our management company this morning to talk about the flooding in our basement. Again.
Last night, the spring storms dumped about three feet of water in our basement. We counted four holes in the basement walls and two leaky windows. The basement sounded like it was filled with waterfalls, and it looked like waterfalls in the photos we took. Raymond had six computer monitors stacked on crates that were drowned by at least six inches, and the water also covered the bottom foot of our hot water heater. My old-timey radio, Raymond's saw, and a several papers were lost in the water.
We've been fighting with our management company about the flooding since we moved here. Last spring, the rains (from holes in the windows - these wall leaks are new!) flooded out two hot water heaters. The management sent repair men to change them out, and they stacked the old ones in the corner. There are three ruined water heaters in the corner of the basement. Every time this happens, the repair guy says he would put in a water pump, but the management won't let him.
The guy who owns Key Management happens to personally own our home, and the management says he doesn't want to assume the cost of a basement pump. They say the cost to put one in would be more than the house is worth, and they're willing to buy 2-3 water heaters every spring. That's not only stupid for them financially, but it also means we'll be without hot water for about a week every single spring.
I think that if we get no help this time from the management, we should contact the owner of the home directly and show him the photos. The water is damaging the foundation of the home quickly and seriously. He'll have to write off the whole property soon if the problem isn't fixed! Also, Raymond and I are thinking that if the property value is SO low, maybe we could buy it from him. We don't want to live there forever, but it would be a good first home to buy. (If we owned it, that means we could rip out the carpet and get to those hardwood floors! ;-)
Do any of you lovely readers have experience with this kind of renter angst? Do we have a reason to turn in any complaints with the city?
***UPDATE*** Raymond got back from his meeting with the management. He strong-armed them into agreeing to a basement pump. Woot!
Last night, the spring storms dumped about three feet of water in our basement. We counted four holes in the basement walls and two leaky windows. The basement sounded like it was filled with waterfalls, and it looked like waterfalls in the photos we took. Raymond had six computer monitors stacked on crates that were drowned by at least six inches, and the water also covered the bottom foot of our hot water heater. My old-timey radio, Raymond's saw, and a several papers were lost in the water.
We've been fighting with our management company about the flooding since we moved here. Last spring, the rains (from holes in the windows - these wall leaks are new!) flooded out two hot water heaters. The management sent repair men to change them out, and they stacked the old ones in the corner. There are three ruined water heaters in the corner of the basement. Every time this happens, the repair guy says he would put in a water pump, but the management won't let him.
The guy who owns Key Management happens to personally own our home, and the management says he doesn't want to assume the cost of a basement pump. They say the cost to put one in would be more than the house is worth, and they're willing to buy 2-3 water heaters every spring. That's not only stupid for them financially, but it also means we'll be without hot water for about a week every single spring.
I think that if we get no help this time from the management, we should contact the owner of the home directly and show him the photos. The water is damaging the foundation of the home quickly and seriously. He'll have to write off the whole property soon if the problem isn't fixed! Also, Raymond and I are thinking that if the property value is SO low, maybe we could buy it from him. We don't want to live there forever, but it would be a good first home to buy. (If we owned it, that means we could rip out the carpet and get to those hardwood floors! ;-)
Do any of you lovely readers have experience with this kind of renter angst? Do we have a reason to turn in any complaints with the city?
***UPDATE*** Raymond got back from his meeting with the management. He strong-armed them into agreeing to a basement pump. Woot!