"I often joke with trusted friends about this issue: 'The engineers skipped that class, most of them.' These days it's almost impossible to find a project free of leaks; we're doing something wrong.".
SANTO DOMINGO.- There are a few exceptions, in the face of an almost collective complaint of narratives and stories about situations and cases of people who have lived through the turbulence caused by leaks in homes and buildings where they have had to live.
The digital newspaper El Inmobiliario yesterday consulted via WhatsApp and by phone, various people inquiring about the prevalence of cases in sectors of Greater Santo Domingo and San Cristóbal, and their types of leaks.
“It’s good that you asked that. I often joke with my close friends about this issue: ‘The engineers skipped that class, most of them.’ These days it’s almost impossible to find a project free of leaks; we’re doing something wrong,” a real estate agent replied.
But Martínez lives in the Ensanche Julieta neighborhood, and after a traumatic experience with a leak affecting his neighbor's kitchen, he decided to fix the problem, even though he was convinced the leak wasn't coming from his own apartment. However, he agreed to help out of compassion and understanding for his neighbor. "In the end, after we tore everything apart in my house, it turned out the problem was coming from the third floor, not my apartment.".
He recounts that the leaks are a complex chapter within the coexistence, because after assuming all the expenses and experiencing the process of breaking down his walls, even though it did not originate from his house, he had to bear the costs incurred at work and the trauma of destroying walls, when in reality it should have been his neighbor on the third floor.
"Ceilings, common stairwell, windows, rooftop, walls," was the response obtained through the inquiry made by El Inmobiliario. Many responded that they didn't have leaks in their homes, but they did in the building.
“Yes, I’ve had several. Both from the upstairs neighbor, in the laundry area and bathrooms, and in my case, from my bathrooms and toilets to the downstairs neighbor. When the problem has come from my apartment, I’ve had to cover the expenses, since the management and the construction company wash their hands of it,” stated one of the people consulted.
The reports come from sectors such as Bella Vista, Cacicazgos, Paraiso, Bayona in Santo Domingo Oeste, Mirador Norte, Jardines del Sur, El Millón, Esperilla and San Cristóbal.
"These leaks are frustrating. I don't understand why all buildings, even those with so much modernity, end up with leaks, and that's awful because it doesn't matter if they're old or new, leaks always happen. I have one that I manage right now with a big problem of that kind," says Alenny Garabito.
She says she doesn't understand why the engineers only offer a one-year warranty because that's too short. "It's sad because people get desperate. In the building where I have the problem, a woman already told me she wants to sell it because it's awful. It's a problem in all the buildings.".
Commercial buildings
Buildings that are older structures are the ones that present the greatest difficulty with the issue of leaks, says Indhira Desangles, a specialist in commercial and corporate real estate.
He explains that in the case of new constructions, there are no leaks.
It clarifies that it is the owner's responsibility to repair the areas and ensure they are free of leaks, and advises real estate agents involved in renting or selling a property in these circumstances to follow up on the process until they are sure the property is delivered repaired.
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