Legal Council + Small Steps Forward

Someone's Thumb is on the Scales

I spoke with two different attorneys: one last Friday and one on the previous Monday. Both of them gave me pretty much the same advice. They said my best course of action would be to work something out with the City of Tampa concerning the windows that the previous owners installed, either through an after-the-fact permit or by some other means. They also both said if that didn't work, I would likely have a claim against the previous owners and in terms of recovering damages, that would be our best option.

Our Worst Case Scenario

House Across The Street
Boarded Windows + Graffiti + Garbage  

We like to think that everything will work out. We like to think that the City of Tampa will be reasonable, that justice will prevail, that our home will be everything we know it could be and that contributing to the revitalization of a struggling neighborhood will somehow eventually be rewarded (or at least not blocked by the City of Tampa). But things don't always work out the way they should. People (and governments - even local governments) don't always do the right thing and they aren't always reasonable. And what should be isn't always what will be. So, with that, my wife and I had a candid discussion last weekend about our options.

A Leaky Roof and an Improved Alley

Our Alley Prior to Improvement

We had a pretty good rain Sunday evening. And that rain resulted in water coming through the ceiling in our bedroom. That's not exactly what you want or expect after buying a home that was supposedly renovated just a couple of months earlier.

We knew the roof would need to be replaced a few years down the road. We just figured we would replace it when we put on our garage addition. However, given that the roof is leaking and God knows how long it will be before the City of Tampa allows us to actually build our new bathroom, let alone the garage, a new roof may be coming sooner rather than later.

The good news is that I did find the leaks in the attic and they are relatively small. So, I think I can patch them with metal caulk on the roof. But the call is going out to get bids for a new metal roof ASAP.