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Property Dispute - What would you do?


Boner
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I figured I would ask all of you "what you would do?". Sort of an odd deal. I have a commercial building. There is a property line through it. I own 3 units and the other owner (a relative) owns 7 units. Long story, but he needed a bail out a few years ago. He wanted a partnership and I thought a property line was more appropriate for several reasons. We share exterior maintenance of the building. I pay 30% and he pays 70%. This applies to mowing, the sign, and the well.

 

The building has 3 water meters / services. One is solely mine. 2 are solely his. About 2 years ago, he had a leak in one of his mains under the parking lot. So, he kicked the can down the road and joined the bad line to his good line. At that point, he was down to 1 line for his entire portion. About a month ago his only line also broke down. He has allowed it to leak BADLY for over a month now. Water is running from the parking lot.

 

All 3 lines come to the same 6" spot in the building, and then distribute from there. The boring company said it would cost him $4500 to repair it and they would only do the job if they replaced mine too. They believe that they will destroy mine in the boring process because they are so tight.

 

My water service is working just fine. His lines were scoped and it turns out that there is a union under the parking lot that has cracked. This is fine with code, but is just a bad idea. The plumber thought the builder ran out of flex pipe and used a union instead of running a new solid line. Crazy this happened on a $1.5 million building! There is a chance that my line is solid all the way and will never break. There is a chance it will break in the future.

 

From my viewpoint, I dont have a problem and dont want to pay a dime. Instead of pulling $100 of flex pipe through with the rest of the piping, they have caused the other owner to eat the full cost of 3 replacement lines....and now he wants me to pay for 1/3 of ieverything.

 

The question....what would you do? I may be bad, but I want to tell everyone to fcuk off ;-)

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Bite the bullet. It’s a shared property. Ask yourself what you do or want done if you were in your relative’s situation.

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Bite the bullet. It’s a shared property. Ask yourself what you do or want done if you were in your relative’s situation.

 

I will admit a couple of things. If I were in his shoes I would not ask for anything. As far as common area maintenance goes, we pay for it and he pays us back. He is notorious for not paying bills. It took me 3 years to get my last payment for common area maintenance.

 

I should probably do the more positive thing. I try when I can. I should also force the plumber to pull a spare through with my name written on it.

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For $1,500 i agree with assman, be done with it and at least know you wont have to dig it up again in the future.

 

 

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Pay and move on, $1,500 isn’t worth the stress, just make sure to tell your relative that you don’t agree with how the situation is/was handled, if not he/she might take you for a sucker going forward.

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Pay and move on, $1,500 isn’t worth the stress, just make sure to tell your relative that you don’t agree with how the situation is/was handled, if not he/she might take you for a sucker going forward.

 

 

Correct have to manage the situation so going forward you look good/solid

 

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Based on the CAM issue you spoke of with having to wait 3 years to be reimbursed, have your relative pay the $4500 for the service and then give him the $1500 afterwards.

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Based on the CAM issue you spoke of with having to wait 3 years to be reimbursed, have your relative pay the $4500 for the service and then give him the $1500 afterwards.

 

Or as a credit toward the other maintenance costs.

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You split CAM 70/30.

 

You want to train the relative to pay his share from time to time.

 

Two of the three lines have already broken.

 

You will end up with a brand new line that you don’t have to worry about for another 30 years.

 

I don’t see how you don’t happily pay $1350.

 

Start wrapping your mind around bigger things. What if the roof leaks and needs to be replaced? What if it is only leaking on “your side?” You buying?

 

You guys need a contract.

 

 

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Pay it, move on and sell the property for a nice profit. I work with commercial building folks in the energy space, what are you guys doing to control your other energy costs? Sounds like if this water situation got this bad you guys might be leaving a lot of other money on the table in other areas. I'm happy to help with that.

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The original line should have lasted "forever". It is only 8 years old! The ground was very dry for 2 years and we have been having earthquakes here. They think that is what did it. The unions that broke were not supposed to be there for that reason.

 

The building is actually great. I have my clinic in part of it, so I am there to stay until I get out of healthcare. The other parts are rented out. Once I am done I will rent my section out. Who knows, maybe I will own the entire thing one day. He is a veterinarian and does well, but mismanages things. He has a pretty large clinic on his end. We also have a large dentist and some other things there.

 

I want to hang onto it because corner lots on the same road go for $850k per acre with no building. I am lucky in that regard.

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The original line should have lasted "forever". It is only 8 years old! The ground was very dry for 2 years and we have been having earthquakes here. They think that is what did it. The unions that broke were not supposed to be there for that reason.

 

The building is actually great. I have my clinic in part of it, so I am there to stay until I get out of healthcare. The other parts are rented out. Once I am done I will rent my section out. Who knows, maybe I will own the entire thing one day. He is a veterinarian and does well, but mismanages things. He has a pretty large clinic on his end. We also have a large dentist and some other things there.

 

I want to hang onto it because corner lots on the same road go for $850k per acre with no building. I am lucky in that regard.

 

If it’s not up to code from the builders, couldn’t you go back on them after it’s all fixed for costs?

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I would try and buy out the entire building if possible. It's sensitive and tricky sometimes with relatives. Just pay your part and be done. I share a commercial strip with my brother and we split EVERYTHING 50/50, regardless of what it is. Makes life easier.

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If it’s not up to code from the builders, couldn’t you go back on them after it’s all fixed for costs?

 

At least where I am the builder’s liability ends after 6 years, not sure what the rules are there, in some extreme cases when deaths occurred from faulty workmanship (balcony collapsed in the case I am aware of) the builder was charged after almost 15 years but I doubt a broken pipe will be viewed more than wear and tear in this scenario.

 

It’s only $1500, it’s worth paying that just to avoid awkward family gatherings.

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Don't ever take a partner unless necessary.

 

If you take a partner, make sure he brings something unique to the table from what you do. Money is typically NOT good enough, that's what banks are for.

 

I think petty disagreements in partnerships are symptomatic of the partnership itself being ill-thought out from the beginning. I would give consideration to selling your 3 units or buying his 7, given you guys can't agree on such a small amount already.

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I think petty disagreements in partnerships are symptomatic of the partnership itself being ill-thought out from the beginning. I would give consideration to selling your 3 units or buying his 7, given you guys can't agree on such a small amount already.

:iamwithstupid:

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Don't ever take a partner unless necessary.

 

If you take a partner, make sure he brings something unique to the table from what you do. Money is typically NOT good enough, that's what banks are for.

 

I think petty disagreements in partnerships are symptomatic of the partnership itself being ill-thought out from the beginning. I would give consideration to selling your 3 units or buying his 7, given you guys can't agree on such a small amount already.

 

We are not partners. We own separate properties. The only thing we share is lawn maintenance. That is why this is kind of an weird deal. Im being asked to share an expense that really has little to do with me. $1 or $1000, I am not going to pay just because I was asked.

 

I wish I could buy the entire building, but he wont sell it. He has his practice in it. He would be renting from me, which would be even worse. I also dont want to move mine.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if I do own the entire building by default at some point. When I purchased my portion from him, he owed $150l of back taxes. Just a total mismanagement of everything. Im the complete opposite.

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We are not partners. We own separate properties. The only thing we share is lawn maintenance. That is why this is kind of an weird deal. Im being asked to share an expense that really has little to do with me. $1 or $1000, I am not going to pay just because I was asked.

 

I wish I could buy the entire building, but he wont sell it. He has his practice in it. He would be renting from me, which would be even worse. I also dont want to move mine.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if I do own the entire building by default at some point. When I purchased my portion from him, he owed $150l of back taxes. Just a total mismanagement of everything. Im the complete opposite.

 

 

My friend you are partners if I understand correctly, what if there is an issue and he cannot pay his share? Let's say a larger touch item like roofing needs to be addressed and it's 50 grand and he cannot pay his share. Tenants are complaining of leaks, and so forth, then what?

 

Correct me if I did not understand.

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