Water in yard

[Brianr]

what is the name of your state? florida
we bought our home approx. 1 year ago from our neighbor. before closing I called the seller to ask some questions. one of the questions I asked him was if there was ever any standing water on the property. he said no. a few months later, we noticed every heavy down pour produces a flood in our yard that is caused by the sellers new home. the elevation of our home is 2.5ft, his is 4.5ft. the city says he got his permit one month before this new code went into effect which states any new construction can not exceed the house next doors foundation height. is he at all liable for non disclosure? he told us verbally no standing water.
second part of this question is the lot next door to us has now sold and the builder has also elevated the foundation for this new home 4.5ft. We have called the zoning office to inform them. we don't want mosquito infested water coming from both neighbors flooding our yard. What to do?

 

[HomeGuru]

what is the name of your state? florida
we bought our home approx. 1 year ago from our neighbor. before closing I called the seller to ask some questions. one of the questions I asked him was if there was ever any standing water on the property. he said no. a few months later, we noticed every heavy down pour produces a flood in our yard that is caused by the sellers new home. the elevation of our home is 2.5ft, his is 4.5ft. the city says he got his permit one month before this new code went into effect which states any new construction can not exceed the house next doors foundation height. is he at all liable for non disclosure? he told us verbally no standing water.

**A: he is liable for misreresentation and non-disclosure of a material fact pursuant to the Seller disclosure law.
Also he is in violation of the building code and State laws with respect to the draining of water from his property onto a neighbor's property.
*******

second part of this question is the lot next door to us has now sold and the builder has also elevated the foundation for this new home 4.5ft. We have called the zoning office to inform them. we don't want mosquito infested water coming from both neighbors flooding our yard. What to do?

**A: send a certified rrr letter to the project developer, contractor, architect and civil engineer. Copy the building and zoning dept.
Send a separate letter via the same means to the buidling and zoning dept. requesting an inspection by their building inspector and engineer. Such an inspection should include compliance with local building codes per the issued grading, foundation and building permit, recheck of site elevations and grades etc.

 

[A Smiley]

Is your construction in an area with septic systems? Some Florida counties have changed their building codes regarding the installation of septic systems. These changes have have resulted the need to elevate the home foundation above the levels required in the past. I recently built a small home (with septic) in an older neighborhood and was required to elevate my first floor more than 2 feet above neighboring residences. The county's directive cost me thousands of dollars in non-recoverable expense for tons of dirt hauled in, and made my neighbors very unhappy. The county, however, had no advice regarding what to do with the offending waterflow.

Suggest to the developer that he add guttering to his new construction (unusual in Florida). We found they can usually be designed and installed to minimize flow onto surrounding property. If he balks, you might also suggest that guttering is cheaper than tangling with city hall or fighting a lawsuit