Multi-Unit Water Damage in Salem Apartments

8/2/2021 (Permalink)

A moisture reading shows that the drywall around the bathroom vent is fully saturated with water.

Imagine you wake up to start your day, you flip on the light in your bathroom and find the floor soaked with water and dripping from the ceiling...it happens more often than you think. Especially in multi-unit housing. 

We were recently called out to an apartment building where the ground floor tenant complained of water coming out of the vent in her bathroom ceiling. Upon inspection we found that the water had fully saturated around the vent and had also run down the interior of the wall and gotten under the vinyl flooring in the bathroom. We followed the moisture trail also to an electrical breaker box in an adjoining room closet (Very scary stuff).

Upon even further inspection the water had dripped into the crawl space as well. It was clear at this point that the water was coming from a pipe in the upstairs unit. But we could not gain access to the upstairs unit due to no one being home and no notice given. Apartments are always complicated jobs, because we are working with the tenant, the property manager, the property owner, and sometimes the adjoining apartments tenants as well (like in this case).

That’s why it is so important for renters to carry insurance. Renters insurance is affordable (about the cost of 2 coffees) and covers all your belongings should something happen to them. Things happen that are beyond your control when you share walls with other people. Water damage, Fire damage, Smoke damage, Mold damage, bio-hazardous contamination…we have seen multi-unit losses for all the above and more. Of course, we are able to help the tenant in the upstairs apartment as well as the tenant of the unit we inspected, but this is just a reminder to be prepared and have your belongings insured. It’s not worth the risk to leave yourself fully exposed to unfortunate occurrences that are beyond your control, or due to another tenant’s negligence.

Here is an interesting article found on mysmartmove.com on why renters insurance is not only beneficial to the renter, but the landlord as well. It also includes details on what renters insurance covers! Why landlords should require renters insurance.