Responsibility of condo property mgr (insurance, condos, attorney)

[jeep3731]

We own a condo in Florida and there was a pipe that broke in another unit which caused water damage in our unit. The property mgr never notified us of the leak. She checked surrounding units called a plumber to fix the problem. We didn't find out until our neighbor had returned home after being away.He immediately called us and told us.By the time we found out a few weeks had passed and mold had set in. A call to the property mgr to ask why we were not notified she proceeded to say she did what she was supposed to.She had notified a friend that lives in the complex who is 77 years old and said she had mopped up the water.Needless to say neither person bothered to call. The unit was closed up and caused an immense amount of damage. Drywall had to be ripped out, furniture thrown out etc. We had to hire a certified mold specialist to check our condo out.Insurance does not cover mold. If we had been notified immediately the insurance company would have paid to have the water damaged floor etc removed before mold had set in.We now have over $23,000 in damages. I asked the property mgr when I called what did the assoc. cover and she responded drywall. We have submitted bill for the drywall but they have not paid and have turned it over to their attorney for review.We feel that she was negligent in her duties. She should have called us to notify us of this problem.I think she has a responsibility to the owner to just make a phone call and then if she can't reach owner she contacts emergency person.We have an answering machine at our home plus cell phones. There is no reason why she couldn't reach us.

[BucFan]

Do you have anything in writing what her responsibilities might be?

[jeep3731]

No.The only thing that she says is that she did what she was supposed to. There was a form on their website that says that they will notify owner of emergency and if owner is not available they will take care of at cost to owner. Now they have removed form and naturally something was wrong with my printer and when I went back to website that form is gone.The property mgr makes $55,000 plus benefits for managing complex.She was aware of situation and I can't believe that she actually thought that leaving water sit in a closed condo that everything would be ok.

[BucFan]

I guess you could take them to court over it. Sorry to hear about your situation. Lesson learned for those buying a condo - especially bottom floor condos.