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Message
1
Posted on 5/21/16 at 9:59 am to baldona
quote:
How big is your lot?
1/2 acre, but i'm not saying that they are responsible for the furthest reaches of the yard.... i'm talking 10 ft and in towards the patio/edge of the house... that shite is PERPETUALLY wet with any rainfall.... i have yet to go in my back yard, immediately adjacent to the patio, and it be dry.... in 7 months....
quote:
if you are the low spot in the neighborhood.
i'm not the "low" spot, but i am the arse end of a section, where the runoff was probably fine until there was a house there.... problem is they didn't regrade the lot after the house was built, and now we have an accumulation of water....
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:06 am to chRxis
That's a shitty situation. I can probably guess who your builder is. I recently built in prairieville and it obstructed drainage in the neighbors yard. I fixed it for the neighbor but once I had the parish come inspect it, we found out the builder that built the neighbors house didn't grade it right. It was probably the same builder.
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:07 am to whit
quote:
I can probably guess who your builder is.
i'd be willing to give him a pass, man... but you know...
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:08 am to FalseProphet
That's correct. I have fought these battles with people. I will give the OP the benefit of doubt in this, but it's amazing how many people buy a spec and think they are entitled to more than what is offered in the price, the LA warranty act, and the punch list.
That being said I would work with the OP if it were one of my specs and come to a solution depending on some circumstances like if the area of concern were really close to his house. If he is talking about grading out a sizeable lot and the standing water was several feet away from his house then he would possibly be SoL as long as there was no threat of the water rising enough to cause damage. Even then it would be hard as hell to make a builder responsible for flooding unless you could 100% prove it was directly caused by neglect and not just weather.
Also, OP needs to check with his local municipality because different cities and Parishes in LA have different standards for how subdivisions are to drain before they approve said subdivisions. They will make the developer get drainage reports and reports from engineers and the plat is approved based on that along with some other factors. I have dealt with this too and it's a nightmare. If the builder is in violation of the drainage approved for that subdivision, then he could be liable in that regard but the New Home Warranty Act is a tough to fight. It has to be complete neglect on the structure 99% of the time for anything to happen. OP can find a copy of the subdivision plat with the drainage info at the tax assessors office.
That being said I would work with the OP if it were one of my specs and come to a solution depending on some circumstances like if the area of concern were really close to his house. If he is talking about grading out a sizeable lot and the standing water was several feet away from his house then he would possibly be SoL as long as there was no threat of the water rising enough to cause damage. Even then it would be hard as hell to make a builder responsible for flooding unless you could 100% prove it was directly caused by neglect and not just weather.
Also, OP needs to check with his local municipality because different cities and Parishes in LA have different standards for how subdivisions are to drain before they approve said subdivisions. They will make the developer get drainage reports and reports from engineers and the plat is approved based on that along with some other factors. I have dealt with this too and it's a nightmare. If the builder is in violation of the drainage approved for that subdivision, then he could be liable in that regard but the New Home Warranty Act is a tough to fight. It has to be complete neglect on the structure 99% of the time for anything to happen. OP can find a copy of the subdivision plat with the drainage info at the tax assessors office.
This post was edited on 5/21/16 at 10:10 am
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:10 am to stout
quote:
buy a spec
da fuq??
it's not a spec house... it's a $500K custom build...
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:13 am to chRxis
And now no one has a shred of sympathy for you. You build a 500k house and didn't think to check the drainage?
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:16 am to FalseProphet
quote:
And now no one has a shred of sympathy for you.
i wasn't asking for sympathy, dick... i was looking for legal advice...
i have NO problem paying for the drainage, but at the same time, if it's their job, then they need to do their fricking job... if it's not, then i will pay for it... no one is looking for a free handout, chief.... i'm looking for what's fair....
quote:
ou build a 500k house and didn't think to check the drainage?
i'm not a fricking builder, nor a landscape designer.... i wouldn't have the first clue as to if a plot of land drains properly just by looking at it....
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:17 am to chRxis
Might be worse in that case because you will have a contract stating clearly what he will and will not complete. Most custom contracts clearly state that they will only grade out so many feet way from the house or something in that regard and you are responsible for the rest. But that's usually done in a true custom home build where the person owns the lot, gets a construction loan, and hires a contractor. There are draw dates, expected completion dates, performance expectations, etc in a contract in this instance.
BTW, if you are buying the house from the builder after he builds it, it's technically a spec. You stated that he threatened to sell if one week before closing did you not?
Custom or spec, a contract and the LA warranty is going to protect the builder more than the owner. It's pretty simple to make sure a house makes the 1,2, and 5 year periods unless you're a complete scumbag and bury the trees from the lot clearing under the house pad like one contractor here did.
BTW, if you are buying the house from the builder after he builds it, it's technically a spec. You stated that he threatened to sell if one week before closing did you not?
Custom or spec, a contract and the LA warranty is going to protect the builder more than the owner. It's pretty simple to make sure a house makes the 1,2, and 5 year periods unless you're a complete scumbag and bury the trees from the lot clearing under the house pad like one contractor here did.
This post was edited on 5/21/16 at 10:20 am
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:20 am to stout
quote:
BTW, if you are buying the house from the builder after he builds it, it's technically a spec. You stated that he threatened to sell if one week before closing did you not?
didn't know this... the way it went was we found a lot in a subdivision that we wanted.. he owned it... he agreed to build a house on that lot for us to buy at completion.... so i guess, by what's technical and what you are saying, it's a spec.... fully customized, down to the even the electrical outlet placement, but a spec, i guess...
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:22 am to stout
quote:
bury the trees from the lot clearing under the house pad like one contractor here did.
the ridge of higher land in my back yard is the excess dirt from when they cleared the lot before pouring the foundation, and left over sand and shite.... i still, 7 months later, still have the remnants of the 2 burn piles they made while building as bare patches of dirt in my back yard, which are 2 areas where water is accumulating.... one is about 20 feet from the house the other about 10
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:28 am to chRxis
Who was the builder?
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:28 am to chRxis
How exactly have you left it with the builder? Has he outright refused?
You really need a lawyer, and I am not yours. There are time limits for making claims, and as someone pointed out, the law is far more favorable to builders than to homeowners.
You really need a lawyer, and I am not yours. There are time limits for making claims, and as someone pointed out, the law is far more favorable to builders than to homeowners.
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:35 am to LSU1018
quote:
Who was the builder?
in one of my posts, responding to whit... you'll see it...
there are two guys that own the company.... one guy, name starts with a J, the "money/planning" guy, is the one that flipped out and threatened to sell the house from under us... i'd shoot him on site if he steps foot on my property...
the other, name starts with an R, is the "builder" guy.... he's the guy on site during a build, and then comes back after 30 days to finish a punch list... he's the one i'm dealing with now, but he's lazy as frick and seems like he's just pushing it off, biding his time till the warranty is done...
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:37 am to chRxis
quote:
the ridge of higher land in my back yard is the excess dirt from when they cleared the lot before pouring the foundation, and left over sand and shite.... i still, 7 months later, still have the remnants of the 2 burn piles they made while building as bare patches of dirt in my back yard, which are 2 areas where water is accumulating.... one is about 20 feet from the house the other about 10
The piles are going to be tough to pin on him since it was clearly visible prior to closing and you closed on the house anyway. The only way would have been to have an agreed upon punch list that would be completed after closing and it had those items on it. The only issue is, like you stated earlier, it's hard to see that water would pool in those areas until it rained but even then if it's not causing direct damage to the house the warranty act is not going to be friendly to you. You're better off seeing if he is in violation of the drainage plat for that subdivision IMO.
I would still send him a letter as required by the LA warranty act and see if that scares him into doing anything about it. Pay an attorney a few hundred to type it up and state that you are concerned it may cause more soil movement and erosion which can lead to foundation issues beyond the normal settling that is acceptable for Louisiana.
A good builder would come back and take care of it even if legally they don't have to FWIW.
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:41 am to stout
quote:
A good builder would come back and take care of it even if legally they don't have to FWIW.
aye, there's the rub....
here's the kicker... they are building another house right across the street from us.... not once has he come over to check on the yard, though we've contacted him about it... and i've seen him out there a few times and nothing....
i try to remain pretty calm and collected about things, because my "pissed off" side gets a little crazy, but he's teetering on getting me to that point of no return... but i want all my ducks in a row before going to him again.... thus, the reason for this thread...
quote:
if it's not causing direct damage to the house the warranty act is not going to be friendly to you
those burn spots collecting water are eye sores... but not what I'm overly concerned about.... i'm more concerned about the fact that everything from about 8 feet in towards the back of the house and off the edge of the patio stays wet, all the time, after it rains.... think like when you put down sod and water it, how it's squishy and soft... yeah, it's like that for weeks after rain, and i can't get to my back yard AT ALL unless i go to my double door on the far side of my fence... can't use my gate near the house anymore because their solution was to dig a trench under it to connect to the front catch basin, thinking that would work...
This post was edited on 5/21/16 at 10:46 am
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:45 am to chRxis
quote:
though we've contacted him about it...
Because you haven't made the contact legal and he knows that.
quote:
§3145. Required notice
Before undertaking any repair himself or instituting any action for breach of warranty, the owner shall give the builder written notice, by registered or certified mail, within one year after knowledge of the defect, advising him of all defects and giving the builder a reasonable opportunity to comply with the provisions of this Chapter. The builder shall give the owner written notice of the requirements of this Chapter at the time of the closing.
Make it legal and you'll get his attention. You can even call the State AG and file a complaint for unfair business practices if you really want to get a response from him. Take him to small claims and hope to get a default judgement then lien all of his spec houses.
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:51 am to chRxis
Have you checked Jerry's knuckles yet?
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:52 am to SuperSaint
quote:
Have you checked Jerry's knuckles yet?
did you still my expertise?
stout, i'm bookmarking those last two responses... thanks for the advice
This post was edited on 5/21/16 at 10:54 am
Posted on 5/21/16 at 10:56 am to chRxis
Good luck
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