MikeInMass
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Massachusetts
The house next door was recently purchased for $335K, and after a gut rehab (inside and out, including basement) on a building permit that was for "renovating two bathrooms and kitchen" with no exterior building changes. He is now trying to sell for $649K. There is about 13 feet between buildings with a sloping property line that comes to 1 foot from rear corner of my neighbor's house. My driveway was paved when we moved in, and it extends from building to building, and slopes down to the rear, with most water ending up in my backyard. We live in what FEMA is showing as a flood zone in their draft revised maps.
Two gutter downspouts used to drain into the driveway (and the water would end up in my backyard). I've had 6 inches of water in the basement in a previous major storm, but usually it's dry. During his construction, I returned one evening to see 8"x16" concrete paver stones on the driveway under one of the downspouts, sloping toward my yard, and in fact, some extended onto my property. When I tried to act neighborly and suggest he shouldn't do that, noting that the pavers caused the water to drain onto my property, he shrugged and said, "So?" I asked that he redirect the downspout rather than drain on my property. A few days later, he did something similar to the other downspout.
Mass. State Building Code 780 CMR 54.00 section 5401.3 Drainage says: "Temporary and finsished grading shall be such that surface water runoff, either during or after completion of construction, shall not be directed to, nor create flooding or damage to adjacent property."
He has since re-routed the rear downspout to his back yard, and the front one to the sidewalk next to their front steps. This will be a winter hazard. City Dept. of Public Works told me that the drainage is unacceptable, and are trying to get someone to look at it. They might have to re-route the drain, possibly back to the driveway (i.e. water into my backyard).
The City Building Inspector did not enforce the building code provision, even though I had pointed it out. What my neighbor should have done, if he's so concerned about water, would have been to put in drainage to a backyard drywell. He's done almost all the work himself (he seems to be a contractor, his son's a realtor), so it wouldn't have cost too much.
I don't want the regrading, minor as it may be, to continue to a new owner. But I'm doing work on my own house, so I don't want to annoy the building inspector.
Can I sue the neighbor directly? If I do that, it should tie up his ability to sell, and he might do the right thing instead of diverting his problem to me.
I know that I can file a complaint for encroachment, although he's willing to cut back the stones. However for completeness, in which court would I file and how do I put a lien?
For the building code violation, what kind of suit could I file and against whom? The idea is to get a lien on the house until the issue is resolved.
By the way, he paved his driveway on the other side, extending one foot into the neighbors property. The downspouts now hit the driveway and divert water to the other neighbors backyard. This guy's a real winner.
thanks,
---mike...
The house next door was recently purchased for $335K, and after a gut rehab (inside and out, including basement) on a building permit that was for "renovating two bathrooms and kitchen" with no exterior building changes. He is now trying to sell for $649K. There is about 13 feet between buildings with a sloping property line that comes to 1 foot from rear corner of my neighbor's house. My driveway was paved when we moved in, and it extends from building to building, and slopes down to the rear, with most water ending up in my backyard. We live in what FEMA is showing as a flood zone in their draft revised maps.
Two gutter downspouts used to drain into the driveway (and the water would end up in my backyard). I've had 6 inches of water in the basement in a previous major storm, but usually it's dry. During his construction, I returned one evening to see 8"x16" concrete paver stones on the driveway under one of the downspouts, sloping toward my yard, and in fact, some extended onto my property. When I tried to act neighborly and suggest he shouldn't do that, noting that the pavers caused the water to drain onto my property, he shrugged and said, "So?" I asked that he redirect the downspout rather than drain on my property. A few days later, he did something similar to the other downspout.
Mass. State Building Code 780 CMR 54.00 section 5401.3 Drainage says: "Temporary and finsished grading shall be such that surface water runoff, either during or after completion of construction, shall not be directed to, nor create flooding or damage to adjacent property."
He has since re-routed the rear downspout to his back yard, and the front one to the sidewalk next to their front steps. This will be a winter hazard. City Dept. of Public Works told me that the drainage is unacceptable, and are trying to get someone to look at it. They might have to re-route the drain, possibly back to the driveway (i.e. water into my backyard).
The City Building Inspector did not enforce the building code provision, even though I had pointed it out. What my neighbor should have done, if he's so concerned about water, would have been to put in drainage to a backyard drywell. He's done almost all the work himself (he seems to be a contractor, his son's a realtor), so it wouldn't have cost too much.
I don't want the regrading, minor as it may be, to continue to a new owner. But I'm doing work on my own house, so I don't want to annoy the building inspector.
Can I sue the neighbor directly? If I do that, it should tie up his ability to sell, and he might do the right thing instead of diverting his problem to me.
I know that I can file a complaint for encroachment, although he's willing to cut back the stones. However for completeness, in which court would I file and how do I put a lien?
For the building code violation, what kind of suit could I file and against whom? The idea is to get a lien on the house until the issue is resolved.
By the way, he paved his driveway on the other side, extending one foot into the neighbors property. The downspouts now hit the driveway and divert water to the other neighbors backyard. This guy's a real winner.
thanks,
---mike...