Dear PoPville

Photo by PoPville flickr user Joe in DC

Dear PoPville,

Hi community, hoping someone out there can advise on the situation we found ourselves in after a recent house closure.

Upon the inspection of the house it was identified that the temperature differential on the AC unit was not functioning properly and needed to be repaired so that it was at a minimum of 15F. Work was supposedly done to repair it, however when we moved in there was no cold air coming into the house and the unit outside is not even spinning. The seller provided a receipt for the work which was either clearly not done, or not done properly as required by the contract. We tried contacting the service provider multiple times but all calls and emails go to an “answering service” who claims to only pass messages along rather than the actual contractor. All attempts to have the seller contact them resulted in no action as well, and the 30 day warranty on the work has now expired.

The question us, who do we wind up taking to court, the seller or the contractor? We’re inclined to have the AC unit repaired properly and then take the seller to court for the amount of that labor+parts for failure to meet the contract. Additionally, there is a leak in the fridge that goes onto the hardwood floors every day. When we were viewing the house the owner told us that water was from her son who had spilled some on the floor while helping her move. This seemed feasible ad it was only a small puddle. I’ve heard that if a homeowner knowingly lies about a defect with the home they can be sued for that as well, correct? Given that the leak occurs every day there’s no way this could have gone unnoticed and been simple ignorance.

Thank you kindly for any advice. This has been a real bummer to an otherwise happy occasion, since we can’t move in until we get actual cooling!

Photo by PoPville flickr user johnmcochran2012

Dear PoPville,

My landlord is harassing me with angry, threatening emails and I am concerned he may try to forcibly remove me from my house. I recently asked my landlord to remove trash and belongings in the basement of my house. I did this as last week a torrential rain caused a flood in the basement and soaked these items. It now smells quite awful and I’m worried about mold.

My landlord adamantly refused until I suggested I would contact a housing inspector. He claims he has no responsibility, but the trash and belongings never belonged to me or my other housemates. The items were already there when we started our lease, and some of the items belong to the landlord, and the rest ostensibly belongs to former tenants. In other words, all these soggy, moldy items were there when I arrived. I also notified the landlord before and after signing the lease that these former tenant objects were still in the house. Another housemate also emailed the landlord that the items constitute a pest risk after a pest inspector said they could harbor pests.

The landlord has now agreed to pay for removal, but he continues to harass me and threatens that he will ‘fully resolve’ this situation later. I have tried to contact the DC Office of Tenant Rights, but they haven’t responded to my emails and voice messages. I have also tried to get a housing inspector out to visit the house, but every time I call I am put on hold far longer than I can reasonably wait (as I write I’m on hold going on 55 mins).

What should I do?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Christopher Michael Poole

Dear PoPville,

As I’ve written in the last few months, my building has been broken into, packages stolen, etc. We reinforced with a magnetic lock on the front door, a locked mail room door… all of which solved our stolen package problem.

But: we realized this week that a guy (maybe more?) has/have been following residents into the building, pretending to live in our building. He/they then watch tv and hang out in our basement lounge.

So, clearly we have a problem of challenging people who walk in the door. In what I consider atypical DC fashion, I’ve made it a point to get to know quite a few of my neighbors and approach this in a friendly fashion, but challenging people who try to follow me in is always uncomfortable – especially if that person is black as I don’t want to appear like I’m targeting someone because he’s black.

Gets to deeper questions and discomforts on race for me – something I think many people of all ethnic backgrounds in Washington feel as demographics have continued to change.

How have other people/buildings approached situations like this? People get pissed off if someone comes out and won’t let someone who’s waiting get in (somewhat understandably – no one wants to be seen as a thief or interloper – but that’s clearly a problem).

Ed. Note: Just a general photo of a basement entry, not the specific basement referenced below.

Dear PoPville,

We are considering adding a front entrance to the basement of our row house. Our neighbors didn’t get a permit when they did theirs and had no problem. Another neighbor got a permit, worried about a potential fine if they didn’t do so. The project took about 5 days.

I’m inclined to take my chances. Any suggestions from the PoP community? Also, any suggestions for the project in general? I checked the years of archives and while basement dig outs has been covered there hasn’t been a discussion specific to basement entrances.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Island_DC

Dear PoPville,

This is an actual situation at our condo building, and the owner of the parking spot has recently asked the board to impose a fine for anyone using the spot. Anyone else who has had this situation at their condo and dealt with it effectively is also welcome to provide input.

Example: A small condo building (6 units) has one parking spot. This spot was purchased by a single owner and is legally deeded to her. She pays and additional monthly condo fee assessment on it and is responsible for the taxes on it annually herself. It is not a common element in any way. In an effort to be a good neighbor, she has made it clear to the other owners that she is open to allowing it to be used short term for unloading groceries or washing a car, etc, IF she is asked about it first to ensure she is not in need of the parking spot at that given time.

Even though this has been made clear to the other unit owners multiple times, there are still those that don’t respect that offer. Many park when they want to without asking, have their cleaning lady or their plumber park in the spot etc. The owner of the spot has many times had to track down the owner of the vehicle and have it moved so she can get into her own spot. There have been times when she had guests on the way over to visit and park in the spot, but when they arrive someone else in the building was already in it.

Where does your moral sense of right and wrong fall on this issue?

Category 1: What’s the big deal? Sure she paid for it., I am not costing her any money by using it from time to time. I am too busy to send a text every time I want to park in that spot, it is empty anyway.

Category 2: Clearly a rude sense of entitlement is being shown by those other owners who park without asking. They should be fined for it just the same as if they were parking illegally on the street.

Category 3: Somewhere in the middle / Can’t we all just get along / Explain

Photo by PoPville flickr user Nivad

Dear PoPville,

I just got my summons for a 5 week grand jury stint later this summer. You published a letter last year from former jurors about the policy forbidding any electronics, and I was curious whether or not there were any updates on that front. I want to make sure my employer knows how much (if at all) I’ll be able to work during normal work hours.

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia responded to that letter and they have not received word on:

“any official policy prohibiting the possession of electronic devices…”

You can read the full letter here. Anyone do grand jury duty recently? Were you able to use electronics?

Photo by PoPville flickr user JustinSchuck

Dear PoPville,

I wanted to submit a reader request for a PoPville discussion about condo management companies in and around DC that manage smaller (2-20 units) buildings. Our condo association is contemplating shopping around for a new management company, but we don’t know where to start. We decided that other small condo associations must have the same dilemma, so a PoPville-wide discussion of management companies (anything from fees, customer service, value added, favorite property managers, property managers to avoid, etc.) would help us all. In addition, potential buyers would benefit from learning a bit more about how the management company at a potential property compares to others in the area.

We discussed a bit back in 2010 but does anyone have recs specifically for smaller building?

Dear PoPville,

We are looking to install a traditional garage door with an automatic opener in the backyard of our Columbia Heights row house. We’ve seen numerous row houses with a regular garage door but can’t find a vendor willing to do it. Any suggestions? Please know we aren’t looking for a roll-up steel door from Pooner? They are great but aren’t our aesthetic or budget.