Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Hoping I can get some advice on how to take care of this... I live in CA and was expecting to move up to Idaho back in 2006. I bought a house up there but never made it up there, so I've been renting it out. When I bought the house there was a low hanging branch that the inspector noted should be trimmed to avoid damaging the roof. Not being from the area, I hired a property management company to take care of the maintenance and tenants. I specifically told them about the branch and that I'd rather pay to keep it in good condition than pay for repairs. For several months I called every month about the branch and got an excuse each time. The tree trimmer was either booked, or it was too cold, or something else. After about a year of going back and forth (I know, should have fired the management company) I called and spoke with the owner and basically chewed him out for almost an hour. At the end of the call he said he'd take care of the limb personally and that he'd make sure the property was taken care of from then on. I was going to sell the house in April but when it was inspected I come to find out that not only was the limb never taken care of, but it had displaced some roof tiles and caused water damage to the inside of the property. The tenant said he'd also told the property manager about the problem as well as several other problems... Because of that, the sale fell through because it couldn't appraise at what I needed to sell it for. Is there any way I can go after the property manager for this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Our justice system will permit anyone to sue anyone over most anything, if you have the money and the time. This may be a situation where a suit may be in order. BUT this is a complicated issue and I would never enter into something like this without a lawyers assistance.

Posted by Donna , NC on Wednesday, November 3, 2010