State Specific Question About: ARIZONA (AZ)

My rental is fairly new--3 years old. While the home was still under warranty, the walk-deck/roof had a problem and water pooled at the ceiling under the deck. The builder sent a crew out to fix the water damage and then sent a roofer out to fix the problem. I thought this was backward--the roofer should have seen the damage so he could open up the wall and look for traces of water to see where the water came from. I fussed at the builder for this and I've been watching the patio cover/bottom of the walk-deck closely. Now. . . 2 years later I've got water damage in the same spot--but not nearly as bad. It looks to me as though the flashing at the walk deck has a gap. We had a lot of rain this year and I think it finally made its way down. What obligation does the builder have in this case? I believe they didn't correct the problem adequately the first time and are still liable. Also, what are the chances that they will correct the flashing/roof issue but then leave it to me to paint or redo the stucco? Is it reasonable that they repaint/stucco the deck/patio cover again? I'm really frustrated with this, but also want to be reasonable. The warranty guy was a real jerk on the phone. He wanted me to know how many years he's been in the building business. Clearly I'm a dumb women and he's the expert. I don't want to be railroaded by him. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Lisa,

I think it is time to consider the fact that you have purchased an asset that will require maintenance, sometimes costly maintenance, and not a new car.

A home warranty is universally known to professional investors as "toilet paper". It's a sham peddled by builders and fresh out of school RE agents as a way to make first time home buyers feel "secure" in their decision to leverage everything.

Some of the buildings that I manage are over 120 years old.. and they leak.. and sometimes ONLY when the moon is in line with the sun and it is 6:00 with a south wind at 22 miles an hour... It can take even a great contractor much time to figure out "what the hello is going on here?".

In one case, I had a new $120,000 roof put on a medical center.. Only to have it leak in the same spot as it did before.. It took 3 additional roofers to find the root cause.

What I am trying to say is that what you are experiencing is NORMAL, and sometimes, owning a hunk of RE costs a few bucks for which coverage is not available.

If you really believe that some form of sub-standard building process was used to build this home, I would suggest you HIRE a qualified professional to not only diagnose and repair the problem, but to also give you a report, in writing, as to why the "item" failed.. Then submit a claim to the original builder.

But know this... At some point, all these insurances, policies and warranties WILL expire and you will be faced with the fact that you have purchased a large piece of responsibility that YOU will have to deal with, and pay for.