Upstairs condo may have damage from past flooding

Q: My husband and I live in a condo on the bottom floor. Last year, we lived in a hotel for four months due to a flood that came from the upstairs unit. It came from the washing machine hose (that) wasn’t installed properly. I will make this part short.

There is now a new tenant and she told me that the floor shakes, even at times when you are not walking on it. Sometimes, we hear the building woods making noises. The stove and etc. shakes when you walk in the kitchen, she said. I told the renter there was a flood. The management company told her there wasn’t any.

I told my homeowners association and the manager about it at a board meeting, and they said they can’t do anything; only if the renter emails them. I gave the renter the email address two times. She called the renter management company. I told her she needs to contact my HOA. I even gave her the phone number to our management company. My insurance company said it’s the HOA’s problem. They need to work on the problem. The HOA knows about the flood. I don’t know how safe this is. We don’t want anyone to be coming down from the floor to us. The floor must be rotten from the water. We now have a problem with the dishwasher. You can hear water dripping in the wall.

I told my HOA and management company. Nothing is being done about this, either. We don’t know who owns this condo. I am afraid of mold, and there is electric work from the bathroom side. We don’t know what to do. We tried our best, but we are at a lost. Can you please lead us on the right path on what we need to do to correct this whole situation. We appreciate any advice you can give us. Thank you for reading this email.

A: Call the management company and asked for the name and contact number of the association’s insurance company. The insurance company should have some information concerning the original leak. What you want from the insurance company (and you may actually have this information) is the name and contact number of the insurance adjuster. Let the insurance company know that you believe there are problems that still exist from the original flood and you would like them to have the adjuster come to your home and the upstairs unit.

One other suggestion is for you to contact both the management company and the owner of the upstairs unit. They should know that there appears to be some serious issues with their unit. They need to contact an inspector to check their unit.

Q: I would like your thoughts and opinion on a matter from my HOA. I am building a pool in my backyard with no water features, When we started to consider this idea, I read the governing documents very thoroughly, and when I did not see anything about an Architectural Review Committee that was required, I asked the management company for our association. The answer I got was: “No, you don’t need a ARC. I just want one for my files.”

So we started to have the pool built and ended up with a hearing notice, which was deemed to be null and void per ombudsman. (violation of Nevada Revised Statute 116). I am waiting for another letter from the HOA. (I have sent you) the section they say I violated.

(I understand) this (to be) describing the front of the house and the over all design of the community. Would you please give me your input on this?

A: Just based upon your letter, and without seeing any documentation, including the architectural guidelines for the association, generally speaking installing a swimming pool in a backyard requires an architectural request from the homeowner to the board.

Barbara Holland is a certified property manager and holds the supervisory community manager certificate with the state of Nevada. She is an author and educator on real estate management. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.