UPDATE:
The new management kept their word and came out to Champine's apartment to resolve her sink overflow issues on Tuesday. The problem was a break in the main water line.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Imagine waking up Christmas Day, of all days, to your kitchen sink overflowing and your carpet and floors soaked.
That’s the story this single mom told the Troubleshooters.
“This is my first apartment. I like it. It’s new. And then this happened,” said Katelyn Champine.
Champine sent us pictures she says show her kitchen sink when it overflowed the first time, in December.
“I had just got done doing the dishes. I was cleaning up. I went to my son’s room and all I can hear is water pouring. “
She said she moved into the Oso Bay Apartments in March 2020, but this overflow problem has happened three times now, including Christmas Day.
So she called maintenance.
“They told me I can’t use my kitchen sink anymore. So it still has stuff in it. Can’t get it out. Nothing. And it stinks.”
So she lives with that smell of mildew and mold everyday. She decided to send her son to stay with family because of it. She has to mop up water off the floor and dry her carpets.
Champine claims, a plumber, hired by management, told her he’d have to dig six to eight feet down to get to the problem. A broken main pipeline.
A maintenance man at the complex told us off camera that the property had just changed hands four months ago. It’s now managed by United Apartment Group out of San Antonio.
The Troubleshooters left a voicemail for Carrie Girgus, the President of the company.
They are aware of this particular problem in Miss Champine’s unit, and have prioritized it. But what exactly does that mean?
When can Miss Champine get back to enjoying the normal living conditions she’s paying for?
Is she entitled to any kind of rent discount for the inconvenience she has experienced?
Around noon on Monday, a regional property manager with United Apartment Group contacted The Troubleshooters. A plumber will be at Miss Champine’s unit nine o’clock Tuesday morning to fix the problem.
It’s a break in the main line. The manager also said the job should be completed by day’s end.
As far as a rental discount, Oso Bay is a HUD property, meaning Miss Champine gets government assistance with her rent.
