Apologies for the long thread!
We have had significant water damaged to our house caused by a leak from the neighbouring property.
In January of 2015 we noticed damp patched appearing on our hall wall. In April of 2015 we got a builder to do investigative work. After extensive exploratory works on our side the builder discovered the leak was coming from next door.
In May 2015 I spoke with the executor of the neighbouring house. He agreed that the damage was very obviously coming from their house as he himself had noticed extensive damp and mold.
He got his own contractor to try to fix the problem but it did not fix it and the water continued to leak into our property. There were 2 people living in the house at the time and he wanted to wait until they moved out at the end of June before exploring the leak further.
After they moved out he agreed to let our builder go in and he discovered that a broken sewer pipe, carrying waste from upstairs, which had been badly mended with silicon was leaking large volumes of water onto our wall every time the toilet upstairs was flushed. This was in early July he then requested a quote for all the repairs from our builder.
In Aug the executor indicated in a text that he did not believe the estate was liable for the damages and that he was being 'nice' by fixing it for us. However we appreciated that he was committed to fixing the problem before the house was sold.
Later in August 2015 the executor received a quote from our builder for €6000 to repair damage in our home.
The next we heard from him was a text saying he had brought an insurance adjuster in. They had discovered a leak also in the roof and thought that was the problem and they were addressing it.
In a follow up correspondence in early october by text the executor said that he was waiting for insurance company but that they "are doing their best to wrangle their way out of it"
In the weeks following this last text I repeatedly tried calling, texting and emailing with no response. We were then surprised and frankly upset to learn that they were about to put the house for sale without responding to us.
We then asked our solicitor to send a letter asking them to address this.
They replied saying the letter was forwarded to their insurance company
Last week they put the house for sale. Our solicitor sent another letter saying if they did not respond we would enter litigation proceedings and stop the sale of the house until they addressed the damage to our house.
At that point the executor responded saying that all his 'goodwill' had evaporated and he would not address this at all.
While we appreciate that at first he attempted to find the root of the problem and fix the numerous problems such as the broken sewerage pipe and the roof, water is still leaking into our property and they have never attempted to address our repairs. Although no point until problem fixed now.
It is obvious that he will only fix our damage if the insurance company pay out first. Our main concern is that the problem has still not been fixed, still leaking and that is unlikely that their insurance company will pay out before the sale has closed, if at all.
We have saved all text and email correspondence.
We have reached out to them and ask that they try resolve it before filing proceedings but to no avail so far.
Any advice or suggestions as how to proceed are welcome.
We have had significant water damaged to our house caused by a leak from the neighbouring property.
In January of 2015 we noticed damp patched appearing on our hall wall. In April of 2015 we got a builder to do investigative work. After extensive exploratory works on our side the builder discovered the leak was coming from next door.
In May 2015 I spoke with the executor of the neighbouring house. He agreed that the damage was very obviously coming from their house as he himself had noticed extensive damp and mold.
He got his own contractor to try to fix the problem but it did not fix it and the water continued to leak into our property. There were 2 people living in the house at the time and he wanted to wait until they moved out at the end of June before exploring the leak further.
After they moved out he agreed to let our builder go in and he discovered that a broken sewer pipe, carrying waste from upstairs, which had been badly mended with silicon was leaking large volumes of water onto our wall every time the toilet upstairs was flushed. This was in early July he then requested a quote for all the repairs from our builder.
In Aug the executor indicated in a text that he did not believe the estate was liable for the damages and that he was being 'nice' by fixing it for us. However we appreciated that he was committed to fixing the problem before the house was sold.
Later in August 2015 the executor received a quote from our builder for €6000 to repair damage in our home.
The next we heard from him was a text saying he had brought an insurance adjuster in. They had discovered a leak also in the roof and thought that was the problem and they were addressing it.
In a follow up correspondence in early october by text the executor said that he was waiting for insurance company but that they "are doing their best to wrangle their way out of it"
In the weeks following this last text I repeatedly tried calling, texting and emailing with no response. We were then surprised and frankly upset to learn that they were about to put the house for sale without responding to us.
We then asked our solicitor to send a letter asking them to address this.
They replied saying the letter was forwarded to their insurance company
Last week they put the house for sale. Our solicitor sent another letter saying if they did not respond we would enter litigation proceedings and stop the sale of the house until they addressed the damage to our house.
At that point the executor responded saying that all his 'goodwill' had evaporated and he would not address this at all.
While we appreciate that at first he attempted to find the root of the problem and fix the numerous problems such as the broken sewerage pipe and the roof, water is still leaking into our property and they have never attempted to address our repairs. Although no point until problem fixed now.
It is obvious that he will only fix our damage if the insurance company pay out first. Our main concern is that the problem has still not been fixed, still leaking and that is unlikely that their insurance company will pay out before the sale has closed, if at all.
We have saved all text and email correspondence.
We have reached out to them and ask that they try resolve it before filing proceedings but to no avail so far.
Any advice or suggestions as how to proceed are welcome.