Originally Posted by
David Arrington
Trying to make a decision on whether or not to get involved in a situation, and thought some of you may have had similar situations.
Some tenents in an apartment complex have requested inspections due to ongoing problems with water: damage to personal and apartment property, mold, etc. The water has come from various sources, such as leaking dishwashers, leaking plumbing or A/Cs overhead, water penetration around windows, etc. According to the people I talked with, many tenents are having similar problems. The basic issue is that the property is getting run down and the owner is not doing much about it.
So, they are asking a couple of us to do written reports with photos so they have some reinforcement in going to the owner. Normally an attractive situation for an inspector, as there could potentially be a good bit of work here. However, concerned about being charged with trespassing when the owner finds out; also concerned about being drawn in to court cases if it goes that way.
I would welcome input from any of you who have had experience in anything along this line.
Thanks!
David
As Jerry pointed out, you might have a problem getting paid. I have seen and have been involved in a similar issue. One small issue and it will become a bigger issue if it goes to court is the spelling that you used for
tenents, this word has a complete different meaning than the word that you needed to use and that is tenant. I know this is a small detail but an attorney will make it a big issue. If we are going to be doing this type of work we need to be careful on how we spell the words. Words can sound the same but have different meanings. Gasp, I'm starting to sound like Walter!
If you have never done work like this or work that might be used for litigation, I would most likely tell the folks to get an attorney and then let the attorney hire the proper folks for the inspections.