Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just asking advice here. A builder tore down the house next door to mine last year. They completed building their MacMansion and moved in a couple months ago.
I've had issues with the neighbor and his builder (who is his brother). They demoed the previous house without removing the vermiculite (asbestos containing), then wanted to put the drain for their roof about 5 feet from the base of a 80' tall evergreen in my back yard.
They got fined over the asbestos thing because they didn't have their asbestos report on-site, and they had to move their drain.
The same guy asked me for an easement, that I agreed to, for his roof drainage in front on the house. He claimed that the city wouldn't let him go through the ROW. In the end the city let him go throught the ROW (no explanation to me about why).
That turned into a big mess as the ROW in front of my house was dug up for 10 months (by the city to accomodate his drainage). The city completely ignored my complaints about all this until I demanded all public records regarding the work. Then they appear to have lied to me.
Well, now we've had our first big rain of the year (I'm in Kirkland, WA), and I now have a 6" deep lake in my back yard about 30 feet around and against my garage, and it is leaking into my garage through the side wall.
I've lived here about 7 1/2 years, through several "Pineapple Express" events and never had flooding back there.
I sent in a notice to the city about the flooding, but I expect no response.
How would you deal with this? I suppose I'm going to have to sue the city, the neighbor and the builder to get this fixed and I'm pretty confident they will all ignore me until I do.
DK about your state or suing the individual but I can relay what happened here in podunk NH. home Depot decided to put a store in next to a new homeowner and got all necessary permits , which included Army Corp of Engineers. Still, the mans property continued to flood, when it never had before. He DID sue Home Depot and they had to correct the problem and pay his legal fees and loss of use of property.
Most all cities require engineered site plans for the runoff. I WOULD take matters into my own hands and would consult an attorney. I would want to hear first hand from an attorney, who is liable for what.
Go to a good attorney with some background in construction/real estate. You can call your local bar for suggestions. Find someone with some experience and good references. It is just as easy to get a bad attorney as a bad contractor. Have the attorney write them a letter. If possible, avoid litigation. It will cost you tens of thousands of dollars and you are not likely to be made whole. You only get your attorney fees back where a contract or a statute provides for the award of attorney fees. In most cases, you do not get attorney fees back. In many cases if you do have a right to fees, you get back only a portion.
Keep in mind that if you sue your neighbor he is going to hate you. You are going to have to live with him for the next 40 years or so. I do not know your situation with this neighbor, but it may be prudent to try first to talk to him and get him to fix the problem before throwing down the gauntlet with an attorney letter.
,,Well, now we've had our first big rain of the year (I'm in Kirkland, WA), and I now have a 6" deep lake in my back yard about 30 feet around and against my garage, and it is leaking into my garage through the side wall.
I've lived here about 7 1/2 years, through several "Pineapple Express" events and never had flooding back there.,,,
7 1/2 years will not be enough to prove "never" in court. You will have to show exactly what he did to cause the flooding. You will need testimonies from previous owners that flooding did not occur in previous decades.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
