Six days before leasing signing, ceiling caves in!

[Jim K.]

Picture it...Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of old houses with serious problems and the people who live in them. At the end of October, the bathroom sink upstairs springs a leak. The leak flows across the tile floor and into the crack between the hall and the bathroom. It slowly soaks all the joists and the heavily-textured plaster ceiling downstairs. The house is empty, waiting for the tenants to move in on the first of November.

Oh Rhett, Rhett, whatever shall I do? Wherever shall I go? The tenants are scheduled to move in, their lease is up at their old place, where are they supposed to stay? Where am I supposed to find people to fix this quickly? WHAT SHOULD I DO???

Seriously, I'm extremely curious what those of who don't do any of the work in your own places do in this situation and under this time pressure. I know that you all believe your time is too valuable for this. "Work on your business, not in your business"...so what's your solution? Find a handyman willing to do this repair and pay him whatever he wants to get it done chop-chop? Call up your regular plaster repair contractor? How much money are you willing to pay to fix a hole in a dining room ceiling of this size? How much of a hit is your war chest going to take?

[Sam Yin]

@Jim K. Solution is pretty simple. Either pay for the emergency repair, or put the people up in a hotel while the repair is being completed. If all your contracts are solid, you obligated as the landlord.

Also, home owners insurance will pay for all of it... the repairs, the hotel, etc... you just pay for the deductible.

I have dealth with this before. Pretty straightforward.