home water damage

[gfcliffa]

What is the name of your state? oklahoma
I purchased a home back in February 2008. The home was built in 1980 and has had no flooding or water damage until a rain we received about a month ago, at least according to an inspector. Since then our finished basement has complete water damage from the rain. Last year before our purchase there were major rainfalls in this area and never any problem. I did have a section of the house "powerlifted" right after we moved in. According to the powerlift company, there's no way they could have caused anything to have changed and the flooding issues we have now. Do I have any legal recourse about responsibility and the thousands of dollars in damage now done to this house? We're at our wits end! Let me also mention we have a home warranty (which doesn't want to pay for anything!) and our homeowners insurance will not cover any damage due to "flooding".

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state? oklahoma
I purchased a home back in February 2008. The home was built in 1980 and has had no flooding or water damage until a rain we received about a month ago, at least according to an inspector. Since then our finished basement has complete water damage from the rain. Last year before our purchase there were major rainfalls in this area and never any problem. I did have a section of the house "powerlifted" right after we moved in. According to the powerlift company, there's no way they could have caused anything to have changed and the flooding issues we have now. Do I have any legal recourse about responsibility and the thousands of dollars in damage now done to this house? We're at our wits end! Let me also mention we have a home warranty (which doesn't want to pay for anything!) and our homeowners insurance will not cover any damage due to "flooding".

You need to figure out why the basement flooded, and then go after whoever caused the flooding. Have you consulted an inspector since the flooding?

Nobody is going to pay for anything without some sort of evidence of fault, so you might as well get to work on that aspect.

 

[FlyingRon]

OK, you got me. What on earth is Powerlifting? The only things I see involve strength conditioning.

 

[gfcliffa]

water damage

Power lifting was done by a company called Perma Jack. The house had some structural damage, so 10 piers were put in underground to life the house about 5/8 of an inch. We have also had an inspector out there. He said no water damage was at the house prior to the piers being put in, but wasn't able to tell us exactly where the damage is thats causing the water to leak into the house from. Who do we call for to find out the exact source. The inspector has already cost us a small fortune and were no closer than before to finding the root of the problem. I'm pretty stressed out and have come to the conclusion that we purchased the "money pit"!

 

[LindaP777]

Do I have any legal recourse about responsibility and the thousands of dollars in damage now done to this house?

Against whom? You yourself say;

The home was built in 1980 and has had no flooding or water damage until a rain we received about a month ago, at least according to an inspector. Last year before our purchase there were major rainfalls in this area and never any problem.

 

[gfcliffa]

water damage

Against Perma Jack. There were no signs or water issues until the house was "lifted". They're not wanting to take responsibility, but the fact remains, there were NO problems until they did 'their thing'. The only response I've received from an inspector, was confirmation that there was no water damage prior to the lift. Last year when the house was empty, Enid Oklahoma had torrential rainfalls for about 3 1/2 months and there were no problems at that time. Seems odd to me that we purchase the house, have it Perma Jacked and after the first rain, flooding.

 

[divgradcurl]

Against Perma Jack. There were no signs or water issues until the house was "lifted". They're not wanting to take responsibility, but the fact remains, there were NO problems until they did 'their thing'. The only response I've received from an inspector, was confirmation that there was no water damage prior to the lift. Last year when the house was empty, Enid Oklahoma had torrential rainfalls for about 3 1/2 months and there were no problems at that time. Seems odd to me that we purchase the house, have it Perma Jacked and after the first rain, flooding.

You are probably going to need more than that if you want to take Perma Jack to court and hold them liable for the damage. You are going to have to have some evidence that they actually did something that caused the flooding. What you are describing could just be coincidence -- it does not, on its own, establish causation. Again, have you had a home inspector inspect the house since the Perma Jack work?

Also, what does your contract with Perma Jack say about liability for damages caused by their work?

 

[CMLANDLORD]

until you find the root cause of the flooding there's no one to blame. you can, however, suspect. most likely you will need to spend more $ to locate the problem and then proceed with holding a party responsible.