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My wife and I have lived in our single family townhouse in Bushwick since November 2016. The entire time we've lived here we've been dealing with water damage spreading throughout our home caused by the vacant home next door that we share the party wall with. It's been vacant since 2009, when the owner of the home died. However the bank (US Bank) never foreclosed on the home, so it has been in the dead woman's name for over a decade.
We tried to fix the issue ourselves, spending nearly $20k with no luck. We tried for nearly two years being diplomatic with the bank, with no luck. Finally in February of 2019, after nearly a year of our lawyer trying to resolve it out of court, we filed a suit, that they were breaking the 'zombie property law', with an extensive history of negligence... as there's a very long paper trail of violations, including several for water damage from years before we moved in. Since the suit was filed, they spent the summer trying to have the suit thrown out claiming they aren't responsible for a property they don't technically own. We countered their response in August, and since haven't heard back.
July of 2019, during a Nor'easter, the roof next door essentially failed and ever since the water damage into our home is constant, making the spare bedroom upstairs basically just a place of buckets to stop all the water every time t rains. I then called the DOB in August and explained the situation, and they told me that all they can do is send someone from DOB to see the damage and issue a violation to the property, which was 5 months ago and never happened.
We're finally expecting a wonderful child in June, and the spare room being ruined by the water coming ceiling is where our baby room will be, but I just don't know what to do to fix this issue. The DOB no longer answers their phone and I've left messages with no call back. We're truly at a loss of what to do.
My wife and I have lived in our single family townhouse in Bushwick since November 2016. The entire time we've lived here we've been dealing with water damage spreading throughout our home caused by the vacant home next door that we share the party wall with. It's been vacant since 2009, when the owner of the home died. However the bank (US Bank) never foreclosed on the home, so it has been in the dead woman's name for over a decade.
We tried to fix the issue ourselves, spending nearly $20k with no luck. We tried for nearly two years being diplomatic with the bank, with no luck. Finally in February of 2019, after nearly a year of our lawyer trying to resolve it out of court, we filed a suit, that they were breaking the 'zombie property law', with an extensive history of negligence... as there's a very long paper trail of violations, including several for water damage from years before we moved in. Since the suit was filed, they spent the summer trying to have the suit thrown out claiming they aren't responsible for a property they don't technically own. We countered their response in August, and since haven't heard back.
July of 2019, during a Nor'easter, the roof next door essentially failed and ever since the water damage into our home is constant, making the spare bedroom upstairs basically just a place of buckets to stop all the water every time t rains. I then called the DOB in August and explained the situation, and they told me that all they can do is send someone from DOB to see the damage and issue a violation to the property, which was 5 months ago and never happened.
We're finally expecting a wonderful child in June, and the spare room being ruined by the water coming ceiling is where our baby room will be, but I just don't know what to do to fix this issue. The DOB no longer answers their phone and I've left messages with no call back. We're truly at a loss of what to do.
You might as well look into buying the property yourself
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
Also see if the property has a tax lien on it. Maybe you can buy the lien and assume ownership of the property that way. Go to NYC Department of Finance website for more information on how to buy the tax lien.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
If the person that lived in that home paid off their mortgage, then isn't the bank correct in saying they don't own the property?
I'm no lawyer, but sounds like DOB is your best bet. Unfortunately given all the red tape in the city, it may take years.
It was an older woman that bought it in 2008, and died in 2009. And the mortgage was changed from one lender to another, and accumulating both tax debt and interest from the decade of unpaid violations.
It was an older woman that bought it in 2008, and died in 2009. And the mortgage was changed from one lender to another, and accumulating both tax debt and interest from the decade of unpaid violations.
Banks don't own vacant property long term. That's not the business they're in. Something doesn't add up.
Are you sure that another party hasn't purchased the property or it's not owned by some RE trust?
My guess is it's owned by a third party and they've been sitting on the property waiting for it to appreciate or they know the issues that's it's causing you and they were waiting for you to sell your property so they could buy it and sell/develop the lot as a condo building.
There is the concept in law of creating a private nuisance, which may apply to your situation.
"To prevail on a cause of action for private nuisance, a party must establish an interference, substantial in nature, intentional in origin, unreasonable in character, with a person's property right to use and enjoy land, caused by another's conduct in acting or failing to act (Matteliano v. Skitkzi, 85 AD3d 1552, 1553 [4th Dept. 2011]; Vacca v. Valerion, 16 AD3d 1159, 1160 [4th Dept. 2005]; Hitchcock v. Boyack, 277 AD2d 557 [3rd Dept. 2000]). The interference can be intentional and unreasonable, or negligent and reckless, or actionable under the rules governing liability for abnormally dangerous conditions or activities (Copart Industries, Inc. v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., Id. at 569)."
There is the concept in law of creating a private nuisance, which may apply to your situation.
"To prevail on a cause of action for private nuisance, a party must establish an interference, substantial in nature, intentional in origin, unreasonable in character, with a person's property right to use and enjoy land, caused by another's conduct in acting or failing to act (Matteliano v. Skitkzi, 85 AD3d 1552, 1553 [4th Dept. 2011]; Vacca v. Valerion, 16 AD3d 1159, 1160 [4th Dept. 2005]; Hitchcock v. Boyack, 277 AD2d 557 [3rd Dept. 2000]). The interference can be intentional and unreasonable, or negligent and reckless, or actionable under the rules governing liability for abnormally dangerous conditions or activities (Copart Industries, Inc. v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., Id. at 569)."
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