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What he said! I am shocked that site plan would be approved. Get an attorney. I am totally guessing, but city planning, developer, builder, engineer, could be liable if thats the case.
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Originally Posted by CarolinaAppraiser
The city/county would never issue a permit to build a structure over the top of a functional drainage easement because it would make repairs impossible. The first thing you need to do is go to the city/county planning and zoning department and have them show you the recorded plat map of your lot and confirm with them that there is actually a functional and active drain pipe running underneath your home. If that's the case then either the city/county or builder will be liable and you probably do need an attorney. I however would be shocked if that were actually the case because it would mean that both the builder AND city/county failed to know about the drainage pipe. My guess is that it's on your lot but not actually running directly underneath your home or it's not functional. If it's functional and the developer can fix it then problem solved as long as it isn't running underneath your home.
Just curious but was does the existance of a drain pipe or sink hole have to do with your family getting sick?
We recently got flooded in our back yard. After have a developer come out to assess it he dug a hole and found a 6" perforated pipe running from the angle of our neighbors house thru our property for drainage (storm not waste). It runs clear thru the back of one side of our property. There are not easments on my property or theirs, no one, including the town, knew about this pipe until it broke and we flooded. What are our legal options without having to hire an expensive attorney. No easments file on our plot plans, is this not illegal in itself. Why is the town avoiding us in this? We live in Massachusetts. Do you know of a law I can refer to?
upsetinmass - one thing to consider is that in general you need to accept runoff from your neighbor in the amount and location that occurred before the development. It may be that the drain pipe was an attempt to coordinate that flow of water that's shed from the building's gutters and direct it away from your foundation. Still, you'd expect that to be documented.
Consider your lot and the relative elevation of your neighbors. Where will that water go if the drain is dismantled? You can't make the water drain uphill of course. If the drain is flowing through your yard I'd suspect that that's the natural slope of the land. If so, if you plug the drain the water is still coming your way. Your neighbor would have to disconnect the sub-surface drain and send the water across the lawn. Of course if these are a series of flat lots its a different situation.
It might be worth paying a real estate attorney for a consultation after you've spoken with someone familiar with drainage engineering.
It sounds like there are two pipes - the one installed when the condo is built is probably somewhere towards the middle of the 18 or 20' easement. May not be a problem if it was installed properly.
But a 4' pipe coming form a shopping center? That would be an unrecorded easement and may very well be covered by your title insurance.
iLL TELL YOU WHAT. WE HAVE LIVED IN OUR HOME SINCE 1977. AND recently the gas company had been installing new lines. so they had the city crew run cameras to se what was under this house. guess what ? We have a storm sewer . old clay tile type, with deteriorated parts numerous ones, but hey said it is still flowing water through it. my house was inspected by a PE Forensic Engineer and her said the place was ready to collapse. I have no money to move or tear it down. And my basement walls are all full of black mold because of the water. but, the city said that was from my spouting. Yeah right and that's why the driveway sitting right there with new concrete has a drain that all of a sudden has the drain sitting above the concrete. We have Radon Gas. which yes.. could only be comeing from this storm sewer. The city denies any responsibility to it. they said its not on their record books. Seems stange that this home was built in 1941 and they allowed it to be built over this storm sewer. My husband had a lung infection in September that cause him a heart attack and 3 cardiac stints. then again here this feb 2015 same year he has been back in the hospital with infection and a bad rash. from the toxic mold. No one cares, they all blow me off. if we had money they would all want this case. My husband was burnt up real bad when he was 24 years old in a steel mill, which later in life cause lung disease and a lung removed. so this infection is serious. I have a neurological illness that I am being treated for and I take Neurontin for the nerve pain. No one Cares ! Bottom line..we have worked all our lives, put thousands in this house and now we have to lose it and maybe our lives to, because it is deemed unsafe as it stands. We haven't had one person do a thing to assist us. we are disabled and we have a $63,000 mortgage on this home where we went a few years back and throughout the years , we have a new roof with a 30 yr warranty, and new windows and doors with sidelights, new concrete drive ( that's now sinking). And we built a pole barn. its now full of mold. Where is the Justice in this life?. I have no where to go. my husband is critical.. its a hard road when we have tried so hard and our jobs were not desk jobs we were laborers. This is horrific..and no one cares. the engineer says it is a hazrd and dangerous to the occupants. and if the city condems it.. they will charge us for the demolition. Now where is the justice in life that I have prayed for? where... You can't help me either can you. Oh, well... Respecyfully, Margaret Guthrie 2112 Norwood Blvd, Zanesville, Ohio 43701 740 297 8965. I need legal help ! anyone available?
I admit - that story was so intriguing that I googled the writer. This isn't their first rambling essay.
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