Urgent/Water leaking/Landlord Is AWOL (Tucson: apartment, rent, houses)

[5thgenzoner]

I need some quick and dirty advice about a situation developing where I live.....

Old (40's) two story house which is split into two dwelling units (upper and lower)...
I live in the upper apartment and we had a heavy rain last week, suddenly water was streaming out of an upduct(?) in my kitchen, it was really leaking fast, its never done that before, thank goodness it didnt rain long.Left a message for my Landlord the next day- no call back Two mornings later I find his SUV is parked in my yard (he has a key) which is what he does if on vacation, he picks it up when he returns (not a problem) so I text him and confirm he is going to be gone two weeks.The guy is the BEST LANDLORD EVER, but a real workaholic, so i didnt mention leaky duct, just figured I would call the handyman he regularly uses to check it, so LL could enjoy his vacation.36 hours later in the middle of the night, downstairs neighbor is at my door letting me know that water is dripping from the ceiling in their living room (under my bedroom) not a huge amount but a slow drip. So i get up and check every faucet, the commode, shower, etc....none of them are leaking that i can detect, but i shut off the ones that have a valve.Next day I text the Landlord (because he does not answer his phone) advise him of the situation and he texts back that i can "hire a plumber and I will pay you when i get back, or see if you can find a plumber that will wait two weeks to get paid" (AS IF) Well i call all over and plumbers laugh or hang up on me, I tell the neighbors what he said and they laugh too.
That was 3 days ago and last night we had a small few drips in the kids ceiling (UPSTAIRS), this puts me in freakout mode..........I cant afford to have a plumbercome until wednesday and even then am very hesitant to just act on behalf of the LL, this could cost a BUNCH OF MONEY, on the other hand if the floor collapses or the roof, I certainly would be up the creek that way too.
I have repeatedly texted the LL for the last 24 hours and no response I suspect he is not just on vacation but may be in South America ( his wife is from there) which is why he is not responding. I just went downstairs and told the neighbors we have to shut off all the water at the main (out by the street) they are not happy and dont want to, but i am thinking I will do it anyway, pieces of their ceiling look ready to fall.

So what should I do now? I could really use some clear and practical suggestions ASAP

PS i should mention there is somewhat of and language barrier between me and the neighbors, but we SPANGLISH it as best we can and have a good neighbor relationship it just makes this a tough situation

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by 5thgenzoner

I need some quick and dirty advice about a situation developing where I live.....

Old (40's) two story house which is split into two dwelling units (upper and lower)...
I live in the upper apartment and we had a heavy rain last week, suddenly water was streaming out of an upduct(?) in my kitchen, it was really leaking fast, its never done that before, thank goodness it didnt rain long.Left a message for my Landlord the next day- no call back Two mornings later I find his SUV is parked in my yard (he has a key) which is what he does if on vacation, he picks it up when he returns (not a problem) so I text him and confirm he is going to be gone two weeks.The guy is the BEST LANDLORD EVER, but a real workaholic, so i didnt mention leaky duct, just figured I would call the handyman he regularly uses to check it, so LL could enjoy his vacation.36 hours later in the middle of the night, downstairs neighbor is at my door letting me know that water is dripping from the ceiling in their living room (under my bedroom) not a huge amount but a slow drip. So i get up and check every faucet, the commode, shower, etc....none of them are leaking that i can detect, but i shut off the ones that have a valve.Next day I text the Landlord (because he does not answer his phone) advise him of the situation and he texts back that i can "hire a plumber and I will pay you when i get back, or see if you can find a plumber that will wait two weeks to get paid" (AS IF) Well i call all over and plumbers laugh or hang up on me, I tell the neighbors what he said and they laugh too.
That was 3 days ago and last night we had a small few drips in the kids ceiling (UPSTAIRS), this puts me in freakout mode..........I cant afford to have a plumbercome until wednesday and even then am very hesitant to just act on behalf of the LL, this could cost a BUNCH OF MONEY, on the other hand if the floor collapses or the roof, I certainly would be up the creek that way too.
I have repeatedly texted the LL for the last 24 hours and no response I suspect he is not just on vacation but may be in South America ( his wife is from there) which is why he is not responding. I just went downstairs and told the neighbors we have to shut off all the water at the main (out by the street) they are not happy and dont want to, but i am thinking I will do it anyway, pieces of their ceiling look ready to fall.

So what should I do now? I could really use some clear and practical suggestions ASAP

PS i should mention there is somewhat of and language barrier between me and the neighbors, but we SPANGLISH it as best we can and have a good neighbor relationship it just makes this a tough situation

Unfortunately all you can really do is have a plumber fix the problem and either await repayment or you have a valid claim to deduct from your next rent check.

Maybe get a hold of his handyman first, because he knows he can count on repayment at a later date. A plumber that you guys don't know isn't going to wait payment that would be poor business judgment. I have a handyman for my houses in Tucson for this purpose, I'm up here but he knows he can fix and wait because I'm good for payment.

Because you were authorized to hire a plumber in an emergency situation, subsequent damage might end up being your problem, considering how expensive this overall repair will necessarily be. You have a duty to mitigate damages now that you have permission.

I also wouldn't admit to not mentioning the leaky duct publicly.

[5thgenzoner]

uh oh, i think i just did with this post!
So I just shut off the h2o at the main valve now am going to see if I can reach handyman, also going to get across the street and look at the roof with my binocs, I know that wont help but my girlbrain is insisting...thanks so much for your good clear advice, esp about my potentia lliability, you are a peach!

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by 5thgenzoner

uh oh, i think i just did with this post!
So I just shut off the h2o at the main valve now am going to see if I can reach handyman, also going to get across the street and look at the roof with my binocs, I know that wont help but my girlbrain is insisting...thanks so much for your good clear advice, esp about my potentia lliability, you are a peach!

I'm not saying lie, I'm saying I wouldn't volunteer it.

I think this is a good idea, leave it off until you get a hold of the handyman or the LL. Then go from there.

[5thgenzoner]

Got ahold of the handyman finally, he advised me to look up on the roof where the swamp and heat/ac unit is and look for the copper line coming out of the roof and going to the swamper and look for water spraying indication of a broken line....which i did and no spray although the roof was wet around that area. So now i can surmise it is the copper line going from the valve in my bathroom up to the roof.....Easy solution: turn off the swamp cooler and use the AC if necessary and let the LL deal with it when he shows back up.
Also when examining the roof with binocs was able to determine there was some pretty major damage to the shingles in those big winds the other day and/or the big rain, he can fix em all at once, just hope no more huge rains until then.
Thanks for your good advise and kindness, I am a recent widow and it seems like since he passed i panic, its like i just cant think right. Its been the hardest 7 months of my life and I really appreciate your fast reply, it was pretty calming.
So blessings on you, hope you have a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon!