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If someone falls on your property -- sidewalk or no sidewalk -- they can still sue you.
I understand that, but you missed (or ignored) the point
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140
True, but there is no law requiring us to keep our dirt/gravel/ditches clean. In fact the city cleans out the debris from the ditches a few times a year. In many cities (such as Seattle and Tacoma WA) if your sidewalk is not cleared of snow within 24 hours of it falling, the fine is $50 for homeowners and $250 for commercial property owners.
When it comes to sidewalks, someone falling due to a sinking or big crack is more likely to sue the city (deep pockets) since they own it, you if it's slippery or has debris that they trip over.
Right!
It's on my dime if they trip over a heave, so I have extra insurance for it. The town really says it's homeowner responsibility in our case, small residential neighborhood. I got a letter for a few trouble spots years ago, as did others on my side of the street. As if ice removal wasn't annoying enough.
I understand that, but you missed (or ignored) the point
Your post was all about the sidewalk. So what did I miss? Bold is mine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo
I will never buy a house with a sidewalk again. I had no idea that each town handles responsibility different. In my town it's "Town owns the property, town put in the sidewalk, owner is responsible for keeping it clean, maintaining it, repairing or replacing it, and can still get sued by some idiot who has their nose in their phone and falls on it". Never again.
Of course there's the "maintenance" of it or keeping it free from a trip hazard. But sidewalk or no sidewalk, homeowners can be sued for any trip hazard on their property. So a sidewalk has nothing to do with that.
Most homes I've seen even if they have no sidewalk, might have a walkway, from the driveway to the front door, or a cleared grave area. If a person trips on that, or a cover whole, or any part of the property, they can sue. Again, that has nothing to do with a sidewalk.
The maintenance and being sued are two different issues your post lumps into one.
I understand that, but you missed (or ignored) the point
Right!
It's on my dime if they trip over a heave, so I have extra insurance for it. The town really says it's homeowner responsibility in our case, small residential neighborhood. I got a letter for a few trouble spots years ago, as did others on my side of the street. As if ice removal wasn't annoying enough.
Insurance costs money and still leaves you with a hassle. The whole point was to bypass the responsibility altogether by not buying a house with a sidewalk.
Your post was all about the sidewalk. So what did I miss? Bold is mine.
Of course there's the "maintenance" of it or keeping it free from a trip hazard. But sidewalk or no sidewalk, homeowners can be sued for any trip hazard on their property. So a sidewalk has nothing to do with that.
Most homes I've seen even if they have no sidewalk, might have a walkway, from the driveway to the front door, or a cleared grave area. If a person trips on that, or a cover whole, or any part of the property, they can sue. Again, that has nothing to do with a sidewalk.
The maintenance and being sued are two different issues your post lumps into one.
Anybody can sue anybody for anything but that doesn't mean the probability for getting sued is equal for everything. Just because the same result "can" happen in two scenarios doesn't mean that result carries the same probability of happening in the two scenarios.
The number of people using your driveway to porch path is probably a tiny fraction of the people using the sidewalk. The only ones using my porch path are people coming to see me, like friends/family and delivery drivers. Maybe once per day. The ones using the sidewalk is everyone in the neighborhood waking their dogs or kids going to school. The probability isn't the same.
And the maintenance and getting sued are not two different issues as your diligence in maintenance greatly affects your probability of getting sued.
Most homes I've seen even if they have no sidewalk, might have a walkway, from the driveway to the front door, or a cleared grave area.
Actually, I think the cleared grave area is a good idea. Let the person trip and fall right into it, problem solved!
(couldn't resist )
Quote:
Originally Posted by oceangaia
Insurance costs money and still leaves you with a hassle. The whole point was to bypass the responsibility altogether by not buying a house with a sidewalk.
Exactly. We get snow and the way the snowbanks and sun work leaves me with puddles that I need to get rid of multiple times daily before they freeze, then buying salt to melt what does freeze. Rinse and repeat. And edging in summer. I'd rather rake leaves.
Your next post was also on point. Because we have sidewalks we are more "walkable". Pretty much the only person coming to the front door is the mailman. Many people walk down the sidewalk all day. I walk and bike a lot and can tell you that the streets with sidewalks get a lot more foot traffic.
Does your house have issues that could have been revealed if you look looked into it more deeply or any kind of red flag you ignored…hired a better inspector? We are currently looking for a house in the PNW and trying to avoid a money pit or regret by not noticing the less obvious red flags.
I have owned several different houses in the Pacific Northwest. Pay attention to the types of trees on the property you are buying. Certain trees are known to tip over and can cause property damage. This includes trees on neighboring lots, if they are big enough to hit your house or fence when they fall over in a storm.
There are lots of storms and rain in the Northwest. Find out which trees have shallow root systems, these are likely to fall over when they reach a certain size. After a storm, drive around the neighborhoods you are considering, and check out the storm damage. This is actually a hobby of sorts. Whenever there was a storm, afterwards we drive around and look at fallen trees. We're not talking branches down here and there. We're talking big trees that fell over, where did they land, how many homes got hit, how many fences got hit, how many cars got hit. That sort of thing.
Pay attention to the slope or pitch on the roof of the house, and what it is made of. Replacing a roof is not cheap. Don't just go with what "looks good" or what you "like best" or what worked for you "when you lived somewhere else." Get an actual roof inspection and find out what it is made of, how many years are left, and research on your own life expectancy for different types of roof. Know that depending on the pitch (or slope) of the roof, it may not be able to replaced with certain types of roofing.
Don't go cheap on pest control. Carpenter ants are a big problem, don't skimp on cost or do a partial job. You will regret it. We had one of our homes done professionally, so they drilled the tiny holes all around the house, and then we had a professional show us how to apply ourselves after that, on a regular basis, and what to use, and where to get professional mixture to apply. Carpenter ants can do incredible structural damage to a house (like termites). My grandmother lived in the same little house in Portland Oregon for over 50 years. One day my uncle was over at her house sitting at the table in the kitchen eating a sandwich, and he looked up and noticed a tiny crack in the ceiling. He reached up to gently touch it with a finger tip to see if it was damp. The entire ceiling (light fixture and all) collapsed in a pile of plaster and dust onto him, onto my grandma, onto their lunch, and onto the kitchen table. He is a cabinet maker and remodeled his own home. He said the entire ceiling and the wood supports above it were riddled with carpenter ant tunnels, which is why it collapsed. Not water damage, not a roof problem or leakage. Damage from carpenter ants.
Check the crawl space for damp. Check the property and lawn for damp and drainage. If you have to put in a french drain do it right. Or else it won't work and you'll have to do it again or pay someone to do it again.
We installed several french drains on two houses, it is very labor intensive. It was fun when we were in our 20s and 30s and so excited to get our first home(s). Then it got real old real fast. They need to be dug a certain depth, with a certain grade (how steep it is), with a certain depth of gravel and a certain type of perf pipe.
Some of my most beautiful gardens, I grew in the Northwest. They also had the nastiest biggest slugs you ever saw. Get used to it including huge slimy green slugs. They are gross. One of the grossest things i ever saw, was when the neighbor kid was a toddler and at that age where he picked up everything and put it in his mouth, and yup sure enough he picked up a huge banana slug and stuffed it in his mouth. nasty.
Last edited by Tzaphkiel; 12-27-2022 at 07:43 PM..
Does your house have issues that could have been revealed if you look looked into it.....
light! my house has almost every feature we wanted. we saw it the first time early in the day and it was bright and never saw it later in the day until we closed. the house lacks light most of the day. i wish it was brighter, but still love it. there are always trade offs in real estate.
my suggestion would be to visit the house various times of the day.
One reason for buying this house was the mountain forest feel, with several mature Western Redcedar trees, and Douglas Fir trees 3-4' diameter and as tall as 80'. Shortly after moving in (1993) a neighbor told us about how the previous owner was out there every day sweeping up the fallen needles and cones. I use a leaf blower, and pay a guy to clean the roof and gutters 2-3 times a year, but it never occurred to me that there would be so much debris falling most of the year.
Other than using gutter guards, why not just not worry about it and enjoy it?
I love hiking through a bed of pine needles!
I grew up with three huge pine trees just outside my bedroom window and loved it. The year-round greenery, the birds, the squirrels... It was never a problem...
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