First flip - big oops! Any suggestions on what to do next?
Hi BP world,
So I finally took the leap and bought my first property. It was a nice 3/2/2 on slab. It was a FNMA foreclosure and had a wicked pet smell. I was going to turn it into a rental or sell if I found a buyer at the right price. Everything was going swimmingly and I was wrapping it up. I was having a plumber come over to do the finishing touches - hook up dishwasher and fridge, install new sink and faucets, and replace some valves. Nothing significant as the major plumbing work had already been taken care of.
My normal plumber had an emergency and couldn't do the job. Since I wanted to get it done over the weekend, I hired a guy that had done work on my personal home through a local plumbing company. When we met, I asked and he said he did work on the side. So I gave him a call and he came over and showed him what needed to be done. Since it was so minor with no permits and would only take a few hours, I failed to get a contract signed or even ask about his insurance status or anything to that effect.
Thursday he worked a bit and texted me that he wouldn't be able to get back to the property until Monday. I said that was fine and thought everything was okay, until I went over Sunday to install garage openers and take pictures for the listing. I walk in and the laminate was pushed up at the seams and first thing I thought was a heat issue and humidity caused floor to bow up. Then I was walking around and the carpets were soaked and squishy. I find the culprit is water leaking out of a cut off valve by a toilet. It soaked everything, water was even coming out from under the laminate into the kitchen! I went to check the water shut off (he used the meter) and it was in the off position, but still saw that water was flowing!
I called the plumber, long story short, he said it wasn't leaking when he left and since it was on the side he had no liability or insurance coverage for the job. Tried to scare me by saying we 'had an illegal arrangement from the beginning' and that if he knew he had any liability he wouldn't have taken the job. He said it was standard practice to leave a house with valves cut off and shut off at the master... seems strange...
I take efforts to mitigate the damage - call ServPro for water cleanup. They were able to dry out the house and save the new carpeting, and maybe half the padding. The floor is toast and will need to be replaced. Still waiting to hear from insurance and claims adjuster for rest of repair costs and what the next steps will be. The plumber that came out to put on valves stated that it was absolutely not common practice to leave valves cut off (for this very reason...) and said that he shouldn't have been doing the work on the side to begin with (apparently not legal in TX, I didn't know as I am from out of state). Any other plumbers know if this would be negligence? It sounded like he had to leave in a hurry for personal matters, I wouldn't have minded if he would have told me he had to leave with water shut off. Can't say I would have hired a plumber to come out and put on valves but I would have checked more frequently and it would have shifted his liability by informing me of status!
So I guess the biggest questions for BP nation now are:
-Do I have a case against the plumber and should I be thinking about suing him in small claims for my losses (essentially my insurance deductible)?
-Will this be affected if I notify the state that he worked without a 'master plumber' license and that negatively affects him?
-Will it affect my insurance's ability to go after him (if they choose to) for damages too?
- Is this something I should be concerned about my insurance denying my claim for this?
- Should I be looking at getting a lawyer and going after him or is there some truth to the fact that because I didn't do my due diligence, the neglect falls on me?
They said your first flip would be a learning experience... I am pretty mad at myself for letting this happen. I guess lessons learned are even for work that is superficial and not 'risky' make sure you have a signed contract and don't get in a hurry and not thoroughly vet your contractors in a project. Hopefully all goes smoothly with claims and can get this place rented out! Sounds like just the water cleanup is $7000 plus the new flooring and carpet pad replacement... Ouch! that changes my numbers on this project!
Sorry for the novel and thanks in advance for your help!