So I'm driving...

Frank Z

out of my neighborhood and I see one of the houses still has the fron door decorated like a Christmas Present and I point it out to the wife..."Hey Deb, little late for Chri....Holy Crap!!


Saw this and new there was a tiny problem...

I pulled over and went to the front door to tell the people that live there...no answer. Lots of junk stuck in the door, new phonebook on the front step, etc. Not lookin' good at all. I know the basement was just finished in the last couple of months, and if the sprinkler line burst outside there's a good chance it didn't fare to well indoors either. I called the local utility company and had them send someone out to turn off the water and found a "For Rent" sign in one of the window wells in the back yard so I was able to call the owner and let him know what was going on.

The really sad thing is that there's a great view from the neighboring houses right across the street and no one bothered to call the utility department and let them know. There are a couple of families that I call The Porch People...cuz thats were they spend there day...and they had to have seen it.

When these folks get home they are going to be without water, and have a big water bill as well.

audiobliss

Big bummer for them. It's amazing how unobservant (or apathetic) people can be.

Mazeroth

Is that the gas line going into their house? I'm a bit confused by the picture.

Let us know if you find anything else out

petrym

It looks like a line for the sprinkler system. We had a neighbor pop a sprinkler supply last year after two weeks of subzero temps. As soon as it warmed up the copper split and was spraying full blast. We called the water company and the homeowner arrived about the same time as the tech got there. The owner shut off the sprinkler line and kept the house supply open. You can bet he had the sprinkler supply lines purged this year!

Frank Z

Mazeroth wrote:

Is that the gas line going into their house? I'm a bit confused by the picture.

Let us know if you find anything else out

It's the water line for the sprinkler system. The owner told me he thought the system had been blown out in the fall, so either it wasn't or someone stepped on their johnson and turn it back on. We had a few nights that were -10F and lower recently and I'm sure that's what caused the problem.

Frank Z

So once again I'm driving by this same house today and I see some people working on the place. I pulled over and asked if the guy was the owner and he say's yes. I introduce myself and told him I'm the guy that called him when his water line froze and cracked. He tells me thanks and we chat a bit about the people that were supposedly living there. He procedes to explain that they bailed out. He was helping them out by allowing FEMA to use his house to help Katrina Victims until they could return home. Seems these dirt bags weren't victims after all. They simply jumped on a bus in Texas and said they too had lost their home in New Orleans. They got a free ride for a while, trashed the guys house (it's only 5 years old) and then skipped out. The good news is that they got busted and are being extridited back to Texas. Hopefully they'll have to pay for the damage they did, the cost of renting the house, and punitive damages as well. Karma Baby...Do unto others as you would have done to you.


Is it that difficult to be a decent human being?

It's asshats like this that make me want to keep my wallet closed at all times.

janmike

At least there is one decent person in the neighborhood. Tip of the hat to ya Frank.

Frank Z

Thanks Michael.

whitetruk

just think how many more crooks are out there.

i hope the guy gets every penny back.

George Grand

You're a good man Frank.

We had a similar situation on my block two winters ago. A family that appears to be of Mid-East extraction moved into a nice house. Nothing but Mercedes and Lexus in the driveway. Turns out the guy owns a bunch of gas stations. They are friendly enough with a wave and a smile as you drive by, but never really interacted with neighbors. They went on a two or three week vacation in Feb, and turned the heat completely off in the house. Never told any of the neighbors they were heading out, or gave an emergency number to anyone. We had some really cold weather while they were gone, and a neighbor finally noticed the water running out from under the garage doors and down the street into the sewer. I understand the interior of the house was pretty much trashed by the water damage.

Frank Z

I had a teacher (HVAC) that was fond of saying " If ignorance is bliss, there are alot of happy people on the planet." I've done quite a few jobs for restoration companies due to a lack of common sense on the owner/tenants behalf. Sprinkler systems not properly winterized is a big one, but my favorite is someone turning the thermostat off while they were out of the house for a while. I've spent many a cold night in a crawl space that had been converted to an indoor underground pool for any number of reasons. I'm always amazed when people get pissed at me when I tell them that they need a new furnace after its been immeresed in water. Well it's dry now!! Amazing.

As a side note, the whole intent of this thread was a gentle reminder to all that live in colder climates to be aware of what can happen as a result blissful ignorance or simply forgeting to perform routine maintenance before the first big freeze of the season. After finding out about the tenants being effin criminals, well lets just say its one of those stories that needs to be shared.

I'm not looking for attaboy's, but of course they are greatfully accepted.:p Moral of the story...Not everyone is a victim....some are just garden variety slugs.:mad:

bobman1235

At least they're being sent back to Texas, where they're not afraid to punish a criminal

Seriously though, it's amazing how much better things could be if everyone looked out for their neighbors like that, Frank. Good on you.


Oh, also, this reminds me of my uncle (and now landlord) who goes to Florida every January / February. He's also possibly the cheapest person you'lll ever meet. And of course he would turn his heat all the way off when he left, until it finally blew and he had to spend THOUSANDS replacing his furnace and fixing the damage. Dumbass. Of course, then THIS year he'd call ME every week while he was down there, asking me to check on his stuff to make sure it didn't happen again, BUT to make sure the heat wasn't "too high" so he didn't get a big gas bill.

tonyb

Sometimes the best way to learn is thru your wallet.
Same goes in audio.

avelanchefan

What I bet happened is these so called "humans" probably ran their welfare dry, and Katrina happened, and they saw an opprotunity to get a free ride. Man I cannot imagine how pissed I would be if that happened to me.