I have been seriously slacking in keeping this blog updated with the construction progress. It has been slow-going so I guess I haven’t felt motivated to write anything. Terrible excuse. There is a discrepancy with the permit for the garage conversion. It was originally flagged as “commercial” because of the laundry room. Work cannot continue on the conversion until this has been taken care of.

Progress has been made on the detached unit. The floors are in, showers are tiled, cabinets are installed, and exterior paint is almost complete. When I was there today, a worker in a backhoe was digging out the trench to tie into the main sewer. I should be able to list it soon for rent and I am excited about that.

In other news, there was a water (AC) leak in one of the existing units. Our tenant called me about 10:30PM a few weeks ago frantic because a portion of the plaster ceiling in the dining room broke free and fell. It was saturated with water due to the brand new AC condensate overflowing. My wife and I immediately went and assessed the situation and to make sure they (husband, wife, and two one-year olds) were OK. Everyone was fine, just a little rattled because the chunk of ceiling could have hurt someone. I told them to get to a hotel and that they would be compensated. I also told them to compile a list of damaged items with photos for reimbursement. The dining room was full of toys. It was after this the fun began.

The following day work began. The condensate pump was faulty. Plaster and all the wet insulation was removed and a dehumidifier was used for a couple of days. Meanwhile, I got a list of the “damaged” items and it totaled over $4,000. It was then the trouble started. I asked how each item was valued. The response was “I calculated the value of the item because I they were purchased by my husband and I and majority are Disney items which are very costly.”. That doesn’t tell me how each item was valued. I told them that I didn’t agree with the valuations and that I thought they were dishonest individuals. I told them to sue me so that we could let a judge decide what is fair. They would have to provide backup for their values and I knew it wouldn’t work out in their favor. After some back and forth, it was decided that they would deal with the AC contractor since he’d be the responsible party and to stop calling me. They were being unreasonable. After we thought the work was finished, they moved back in. Unfortunately, the new walls were getting stained because there was still some moisture. Because I told the idiots not to call me (miscommunication), they called code enforcement instead which opened up a can of worms.

Code enforcement made a visit immediately. They do that when there is water leaking. The officer actually called me because she was concerned with what she saw. She said there was stained walls, which there were, and water leaking out of the outlets in the bathroom. After she explained all of her findings, I immediately got in the car and drove there. She was impressed with my concern which helped get her on my side. I also called Luis, the contractor and he was on it, too. Come to find out, the water “leaking” from the outlets was due to taking really hot showers and not opening the window. Vapor was building up on the walls and running down. Once again, they stayed in a hotel while the work was done. The walls were opened up again let to dry. Once it was sealed up, they moved back in. Code enforcement returned to check out the work and she was satisfied. The tenant was not. He said he had a moisture report (he did not) showing moisture. She informed him that didn’t concern her. She didn’t see any signs of moisture which sufficed. He asked her if she would live there and she said, “yes”. The only reason I knew that code enforcement returned was because Luis informed me. After I found that out, I sent a text to the tenant asking what the visit was for. I got no response. I found out the next day from code enforcement that everything looked OK for the leak but they did find other items. Two of the items were the fence is too tall and excessive storage in the front yard. Because of this, I served them with a 3-day perform or quit to get rid of the storage. I then received a text stating that I was not to call or text the tenants anymore. I was only to email them. Then, they just vacated without saying a word.