You have keys, a roster, and twelve units that smell like a bayou. Tenants are calling. Your phone is a stack of adjusters and cousins who “know a guy.” Slow the hiring. Speed the water.
A wet turn in Houston is not a weekend paint job. Humidity will grow a problem you can smell from the parking lot if you tape wet rock and list the unit on Friday.
You owe tenants a safe place. You owe the carrier a file. You owe yourself a building that is still standing in October.
Do this now
- Get a claim number for the building. Photograph every affected unit and the water line before demo.
- Hire extraction you can verify, not the first truck with a shop vac and a clipboard.
- Tell tenants in writing what you will repair, what they own, and whether the unit is habitable.
- Do not recertify or re-lease a unit until it is dry and safe. Moisture meter, not vibes.
Day-one operations
Life safety first: gas, electric, collapse. Then water out. Then air. Then demo to the meter reading. Keep a unit-by-unit log: who entered, what was extracted, what was thrown, who has the keys. Houston heat means you do not “let it air out” behind a locked door for a week. If you do not have dehumidifiers, say so and rent them. Tenants will document your delay either way.
Tenants, deposits, and access
Give notice before you enter when the law and the lease require it, except true emergencies. Do not throw a tenant’s contents because they are in the way of your contractor. Photograph, tag, and give them a pickup window. Deposit deductions for flood damage you own will not survive a fight. Deposit deductions for their ruined property they left to rot might. Keep it clean and written.
Turning the unit without creating the next claim
Paint hides nothing in August humidity. If the insulation is wet, it leaves. If the subfloor is swollen, you do not laminate over it and hope. Use licensed trades for electrical and HVAC. Texas does not hand every roofer a statewide license, so check Houston registration, TDLR where it applies, and insurance certificates yourself. A cheap flip this week is a mold letter from an attorney in November.
Verify live. Status changes hourly. Permit and contractor registration rules differ inside Houston vs unincorporated Harris County. Check the city permitting desk or the county before you rebuild, not after the inspector tags you.
Do this next
- Renter checklist the hour you can re-enter
- What landlords usually must handle vs what you handle
- Water cleanup hub
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