Tenant Skipped Out & Pipe Burst

[Randy Batterson]

We have a rental house in Detroit being managed by a Property Management company.  We had an issue with the tenant for months (not paying) and tried for several months to find out from the Property Management company what was happening with the tenant.  Then a month later we get a call from the Property Management company telling us the tenant had moved out without telling anyone and during the time the tenant was gone (could have been over a month or more) a pipe burst and flooded the house.  Cost to repair was over $8k.  

We feel the Property Management company was partially negligent because we did not know for months what was going on with the house and tenant except for a response that there was a "Tenant Issue", but nothing more.  Then out of the blue we are told our house is flooded because the tenant skipped out and the pipe burst.  We are pretty sure the Property Management company was paying very little attention to our house during this time.  Thus, we feel the Property Management company should be held responsible for some if not all the cost of the repairs.  

Looking for input from the Forum on experiences and thoughts around this issue.

Thanks!

Randy

[Steve Vaughan]

So the PM placed the tenant, let's them get months behind, keeps you in the dark and doesn't check on anything, pipe bursts, $8k. I guess that would be fine if you're a mushroom with $8k...  But the mindset contines- one of the largest PMs on here says the contract releases them from liability and no money for site checks. Tough poop, blah blah. 

The common denominator here is a PM. Play in your own backyard. Place your own people. Keep an eye on your own place or don't play at all.  

The only winner here is your PM. They now get repair work plus overrides and to place a new tenant with, of course, a new fill fee.