Success!

I really think that working in property management allows a glimpse into a side of man that can be overlooked. I get to see the side of the brain that can't comprehend some of the simplest ideas of problem solving. I really don't quite understand that concept, but I am certain that I have peculiarities that are foreign to others, as well.

Changing a light bulb can turn an attorney into a speechless mute. Usually, there is a legal issue to be resolved before there can be a need to 'see' resolution. Then there is the mom of 4 who can not level her washing machine, and has been using it anyway while it walks and rocks. What's that you say? There is a reset button on the disposal? Will you send someone out to push it for me? The list goes on.

Going to court is a by product of most property issues. The normal court case involves a tenant, who feels that they have been wronged by the management company. The usual case is centered around the condition of a home after vacating or leaving behind an unpaid rent. Those can be resolved quickly in court, and the facts speak for themselves. The case this week was very different. We sued, for an owner, a vendor who caused $1200 in damages due to hooking up a washing machine without a rubber washer. I will say here, but probably not anywhere else, that there was some culpability on our part to be sure that this install was sure. The Property Manager at the time was not too careful about revisiting the apartment to be sure it was ready for renting. She went back after 3 days and found water on the floor. I called a plumber and they pulled out the washer and found it dripping from the hose connection. We immediately began the dry out.

I had tried to call the vendor who did the install, but my calls went unreturned. Finally, after the 3rd call, I got a person who gave me an email address that I could send invoices to for the damages and repairs made. Then the fun began!

I got an angry call back from the owner (after a week of no return calls) who said he wasn't paying, had insurance, gave me information and the name of his agent. I sent everything to them to open a claim. This particular vendor has always hit me as sketchy and I wasn't happy with how this was developing. We sent demand letters, his agent went on vacation and the owner said to sue. We opened a case and began the slow walk to the court room.

Court day came, and the vendor wanted to be heard by a judge, not a pro-tem, so it was postponed to this week. We saw the judge and this is how all it went. Our evidence showed invoices from the plumber with written evidence on the invoice of a missing washer as the cause. We also had invoices from a vendor for the dry out and the repairs. I had produced a timeline (I always do this when we have a problem so that I have a fresh source of information) of the discovery and repairs, including the calls made to the install vendor.

The defendant had a receipt for install and the installer as a witness. Well, of course the witness said he installed a washer. You can see where this is going. We won the case, but the last statements from the defendant had raised my eyebrows. The judge asked the owner what he thought the reason the plumber put on the invoice 'missing washer' and he said, "they were covering their ass and wanted us to pay for the damages, it was a conspiracy between the plumber and management company". Seriously. I kept my composure but just laughed manically in my head. Yeah, for $1200 we conspired to take your money.

So, again, I am constantly amazed at what makes people tick, process events and try to normalize them.