Water Damage from Previous Owner

[fuzzzrite]

Very helpful to know someone else went through this. Just to make sure I understand, did you need to pay for part of the repairs yourself in the end?

[fuzzzrite]

Inspection is also part of the purchase agreement here. In our case though, due to the design of the building the pipes can only be inspected by going into the neighbours apartment and opening up their bathroom ceiling. We didn't consider doing this.

[missslee]

I don't need to pay to cover repairs done by downstairs neighbour to his own flat. The insurance covered it.

As for our own flat, insurance covered what they stated in their coverage, i.e. walls, doors, furniture; but we had to pay for pipe works, replacing shower basin etc. Definitely worth me buying the household insurance.

[missslee]

We regret not employing someone to do a thorough inspection. But we also wonder whether these inspection visits helped in predicting water leakage issues, as we aren't sure if water had been leaking at the time we moved in.

[tparker]

Buying property is an experience and we learn from it: do the pipes poke through the apartment below, does the AC unit require scaffolding to repair or is there a platform, does the DMC allow any alteration of external walls such that an external AC unit is technically not even allowed, are maintenance fees split according to owner share or flat size according to DMC, or are the owner shares skewed so disproportionately that the owners would never have a tangible say in anything (per much of Discovery Bay) etc... due diligence is important and we ought know what we're buying.

My take:
1) per #10, it's your property now so the onus is on you to get the problem fixed and minimise disruption to your neighbours. Any amount of time that their property becomes inhabitable is on your clock, not the previous owners.

2) That said, if previous owners failed to disclose any known defects, that constitutes a false declaration and arguably a breach of contract. You may seek compensation accordingly, but this is between you and the previous seller and ought not involve the neighbours below.

3) However in trying to establish the facts of (2), you can try what #8 says but ultimately the neighbours below aren't obligated to disclose or help with anything. I'd suggest asking nicely, but at the end of the day they may be uncooperative which won't help your case.

FWIW - a few years back my apartment was both leaked into and leaking to below just months apart. The damage to my apartment was indeed a rusty false ceiling... but just the edges (the rails, not the panels). Upstairs apartment had a tenant and of course that selfish owner took their time to fix (at their tenant's convenience, not caring about water dripping downstairs. Out of sight, out of mind I suppose). I could have and should have but ultimately didn't bother seeking compensation from upstairs. Replacing the panel rails didn't cost much (but I did lose some rental income in the process). When their kitchen sink leaked into my kitchen, that time I did have the kitchen cupboard doors replaced and charged them for it... I used their contractor so that they couldn't complain about pricing. Took ages and it was slow, but there's only so much you can do.

When I leaked into the apartment below I completely gutted the bathroom, put the tenants in a hotel (rent deduction for the period), and refurbished everything. This is what you get from a 30+ year old apartment. Problem was fixed quickly and no compensation was due to downstairs.

In both cases, at the sign of leakage, FEHD & BD were involved and they do tests and issue a free report on possible causes of the leakage. Could be useful to have on hand.

When buying property: inspect thoroughly!! The SPA usually allows for a defined number of pre-closure visits specifically for this purpose. Make good use of it.

[freeier]

Would you visit the neighbour downstairs to evaluate if there are leaks from the apartment you intending to buy ? is that something one would do ?