George Gabel
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Florida
Hey everyone!
So bit of a long story and I am acting as a middleman with my parents so may take a second or two to answer questions if they come up, but here we go:
My grandma has advanced alzheimers and eight years ago or so moved in with my parents in WA state. After collecting her belongings and moving out, they decided to rent the property out using a property management company. TLDR; horrible experience.
i. Tenant did not pay, except for once or twice, months after the fact. Bragged to neighbors (who knew my mother and grandparents and informed them) that he wouldn't pay.
ii. The management company, despite repeated requests to evict tenant, failed to do so or decided independently to give him extensions to move out, so a horrible situation dragged on.
iii. We later found out, accidentally, from an e-mail by the company that they had a personal relationship with this tenant. This makes me think they were *intentionally* allowing him to abuse his tenancy, but, dunno - I'm sure people with a legal background here can tell us more.
iv. He recently moved out MONTHS after requests and we found several things
v. The property has substantial damage including broken windows, entirely flooded carpeting, etc. however we found that Florida insurance since 2021(?) does not cover internal flood damage. Unsure if this was mentioned but first time I have heard them mention it since we were able to investigate.
The property has not been maintained at all, the landscape is extremely overgrown and etc.
There is a window completely boarded up by cardboard and tape, never mentioned.
Drapes and blind are damaged and hanging - never mentioned.
He may have stolen new appliances we bought and replaced them with other, cheaper ones - we're trying to determine this through before/after photos.
We found out that several brass chandeliers (solid brass, very expensive from when my grandfather was still alive way back when) are gone and have been replaced. A neighbor's daughter who helped them move noted that woman with him (tenant), whose name I don't recall but we have on file and said she was willing to testify, said she liked them and wanted them to the tenant while moving out. We do have pictures of the house originally with them installed, and can compare against the post-tenancy photos the management company took. (Mysteriously, the one picture they're missing is the one of the hall with the chandeliers, but we have personal photos of it).
So there's a few different things here:
The management company not performing their job.
A potentially inappropriate relationship between them and the tenant which may have been the reason he freely abused his stay at the home.
The thefts and damage.
My parents are in the late sixties and in Washington and don't know where to begin, who to go after, etc. I've suggested they file a claim with insurance and a police report, but past that, I want to rely on the recommendations of professionals. I know no one responding will be "my lawyer", but any recommendations, guidance, directions, thoughts you can provide would be greatly appreciated as I imagine I'll be taking care of most of this except where they, as the property owners, are required.
So bit of a long story and I am acting as a middleman with my parents so may take a second or two to answer questions if they come up, but here we go:
My grandma has advanced alzheimers and eight years ago or so moved in with my parents in WA state. After collecting her belongings and moving out, they decided to rent the property out using a property management company. TLDR; horrible experience.
i. Tenant did not pay, except for once or twice, months after the fact. Bragged to neighbors (who knew my mother and grandparents and informed them) that he wouldn't pay.
ii. The management company, despite repeated requests to evict tenant, failed to do so or decided independently to give him extensions to move out, so a horrible situation dragged on.
iii. We later found out, accidentally, from an e-mail by the company that they had a personal relationship with this tenant. This makes me think they were *intentionally* allowing him to abuse his tenancy, but, dunno - I'm sure people with a legal background here can tell us more.
iv. He recently moved out MONTHS after requests and we found several things
v. The property has substantial damage including broken windows, entirely flooded carpeting, etc. however we found that Florida insurance since 2021(?) does not cover internal flood damage. Unsure if this was mentioned but first time I have heard them mention it since we were able to investigate.
The property has not been maintained at all, the landscape is extremely overgrown and etc.
There is a window completely boarded up by cardboard and tape, never mentioned.
Drapes and blind are damaged and hanging - never mentioned.
He may have stolen new appliances we bought and replaced them with other, cheaper ones - we're trying to determine this through before/after photos.
We found out that several brass chandeliers (solid brass, very expensive from when my grandfather was still alive way back when) are gone and have been replaced. A neighbor's daughter who helped them move noted that woman with him (tenant), whose name I don't recall but we have on file and said she was willing to testify, said she liked them and wanted them to the tenant while moving out. We do have pictures of the house originally with them installed, and can compare against the post-tenancy photos the management company took. (Mysteriously, the one picture they're missing is the one of the hall with the chandeliers, but we have personal photos of it).
So there's a few different things here:
The management company not performing their job.
A potentially inappropriate relationship between them and the tenant which may have been the reason he freely abused his stay at the home.
The thefts and damage.
My parents are in the late sixties and in Washington and don't know where to begin, who to go after, etc. I've suggested they file a claim with insurance and a police report, but past that, I want to rely on the recommendations of professionals. I know no one responding will be "my lawyer", but any recommendations, guidance, directions, thoughts you can provide would be greatly appreciated as I imagine I'll be taking care of most of this except where they, as the property owners, are required.
