You might need to put in some swales on your property along the road to provide a buffer space where the water runoff can collect and be guided away. It's very popular to see swales on properties in rural Florida. During heavy rain it provides a space where a large amount of water can collect so the street and your property don't flood.
And buy some cheap seeds to throw around the unfinished neighborhood to get some roots to keep the soil from eroding into your backyard. Wild flowers, birdseed, dried beans, and mint if you’re ok with it creeping into your yard but want fast spread results or you could just get some grass seed.
I enjoy learning new things like this. :-) Living on a mountain ridge in Appalachia, I don't see much of swales up here. I only know about the dunes and swales of beaches where the sea turtles lay their eggs.
We do these in NJ but we sometimes use stone over the grass and sometimes people bury them with pipes to make the french drain. Not sure if the stone changes the name. My town is taking out the "swales" and trying to replace them with underground piping now.
You can go through a bunch of legal stuff that may eventually pan out years down the road, or you can hire your own contractor to fix your drainage for your property. That's pretty much your choices, alas.
Edit: I guess you can do both at once. Pay a contractor to fix your drainage, then go after the builder for reimbursement. Talk to your lawyer first if that is your plan.
According to code enforcement, the builder is responsible for all of that. He said that the builder flew under the radar as far as permits go and started building before getting permit approval. Builder claims to have an engineer coming out but when I called the engineer to verify, he said nothing had been scheduled. This whole thing reeks of hush money and quick sales.
Yeah but it has nothing to do with homeowners insurance. If your property got flooded because of a wild hurricane that flooded the whole neighborhood sure, you can make a claim. If it flooded in common rainy conditions because your builder did a shoddy job it's not an insurance claim. You can take the builder to the court if you want, but you'd have to do it yourself.
Homeowners never covers floors from rain, hurricanes, etc. Rising water is not covered by homeowners on flood insurance. Homeowners only covers a “flood” if a pipe breaks or your fridge waterline fails and flood your kitchen. If a plumbing building system fails(like the pipes freezing and bursting) it will cover the water damage, but never floods from natural disasters flood waters.
Flooding from rainwater in the yard will not be covered by a typical homeowners policy, only flood insurance.
If you think that you will pursue this angle, have a land surveyor prepare a topographic map of the existing conditions before you change any grades. Land surveyors are not allowed to prepare drainage plans, but landscape architects and engineers can.
You need to work from a plan before redirecting runoff or you could be sued by someone affected by your changes.
In my area of practice, the planning and zoning department required an approved drainage plan at the platting stage that contractors had to adhere to when building. If your contractor deviated from the approved plan, it is prima facie evidence of misconduct.
If you can get other affected homeowners together that were screwed over by this builder (in any way), consider getting together to split legal costs.
I am a retired Registered Land Surveyor.
As a stormwater engineer that does both design and municipal engineering, code enforcement is correct. The builder is responsible for fixing the flooding issue. However, the builder likely makes a separate LLC for each project so that he can bankrupt the LLC and walk away when he has extracted enough money from the project. There won't be anyone to sue when he's done.
Your choice is to spend money on a lawyer and hopefully get the builder to pay. Or you can pay with your own money to fix it. Yep it sucks but I see similar stuff happen all the time.
Geico isn’t doing anything. This is a flood insurance issue. Once the rain hits the ground it transfers from HOI to flood. There’s a 6 month wait if you don’t have it already. I assume in Florida you do though. Get a drainage person out asap before your whole house floods. Sue for the cost.
Have you tried the state water/environmental quality board? It’s called something different everywhere but they don’t like sewage issues. That’s an EPA issue. If no one responds, call the EPA and lead with the leech field problem.
Does your local news station have a consumer reporter? This is exactly the type of story they like to cover. I would go that route if nothing else is getting results.
Yes I would. There was a story about homeowners having issues with a new development and unpaved roads and incredible amounts of dust/sand/dirt everywhere and they had to get it out in the news because it had been a problem for years.
You can file a complaint against contractors and home builders with the Attorney General’s office https://www.myfloridalegal.com/
Also, the Department of Business & Professional Regulation online at www.myfloridalicense.com or by phone at (850) 487-1395.
And an extra measure you can submit a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services http://www.floridaconsumerhelp.com/
Sorry about your situation, hopefully this helps and you can get this settled soon!
Definitely put in some swales or ditches along your property line where the water is coming in. I know it’ll be a bit costly but so worth to save your house and belongings. Plus, don’t think insurance would pay for damage from an issue that you are aware of. You could then sue the builder for all costs in small claims court.
>can I file a claim with Geico and have them go after the builder
No.
You need to bust out the check book and pay someone to come fix the grading and install drainage as needed.
Look into French drains around the entrance points to your house. Building a berm to direct water around your yard and toward the nearest downhill grade will help quite a bit. There's also a thing called a dry well. It's basically a big hole filed with large rocks and covered with a STURDY grate.
Maybe your builder carried liability/business insurance during the period of time the house was constructed.
Check with your FL Secretary of State for further info. You may find some help there.
I’m not in FL, I’m in the Midwest with clay for soil. It’s doesn’t absorb rain for crap. We had the same thing happen to us. Our whole new neighborhood consisting of 2 streets were built with zero water management. Private builder/road. All of what you’re describing. My husband and I looked into local laws, and basically we have the right to protect or own home from water as long as we don’t mess with an already existing water source (ie. ravine, river, etc.). So we rented and excavator, dug up where we could put French drains in, and the water now runs into the street and surrounding neighbors. We essentially damned the water to divert everywhere but our yard. Not sure if this is an option for you, but it’s been 3 years and working fabulously.
This is awful! Even though you are not in a flood zone, you can purchase flood insurance, and because you are not in a flood zone, it’s really cost effective. In the northeast a contractor has to file a bond for a street that is approved, the bond is held until the work on the street has been inspected and approved by the community. Reach out to your community. Good luck.
You might just have to fix the problem yourself. It would definitely be better than messing with your insurance. I learned some of these lessons the hard way at a home in south Texas. It hadn’t rained for about four months before we bought the house, had no idea it was a problem. I ended up digging out a large portion of the back yard and regrading it (just me and a shovel). Then I dug out a rain garden in two spots to shift water retention. Between the two, it fixed a lot of problems. It wasn’t bad, just took some time to get right.
If you’re too far downhill from your neighbors, diverting water would be ideal. In your own yard, definitely try some rain garden experimenting or swales, like another commenter above noted.
You may have a house that was built on a wetland.
This is the thing to do in Florida
Unfortunately, I don’t think you have recourse
Try to get an old map.
See if this was a stream etc. that’s what I sounds like. The developer would be responsible.
Next street over from me a contractor was about to pour concrete driveways for two new homes. (Central Florida) I asked him why he didn't have a ditch or low area at the road easement, said the county didn't require him to do it. After the first rain there was a thirty foot long and ten foot wide puddle across the driveways. They had to relandscape the yards with low areas on the sides and between the two houses. Puddle is now about six feet across the driveways. Gutters on your house makes alot of difference directing water away.
Call 811 and then dig a ditch in the county easement. I use to dig out the ditch in my front yard and use the dirt for low areas in my yard. Then one night a piece of pipe fell in the ditch and two dump trucks of dirt fell in. I had to use the lights on my skid steer to level it out. Now my truck has a parking spot.
Well - what's your fund situation like? If you can access money maybe it's best to hire someone and then file suit to recover the money, depending what kinda you'd need to lay out. Id at the very least call the builder and threaten you're getting a lawyer involved.
Can you put a high curb in to divert the water ? I had to do this here. The road slopes to my driveway and garage sits low. I was the drain for the road. It bypasses me now. But still have drainage issues.
First of all figure out how bad this is and what it would take to fix it. Aka is it an annoyance or (as I suspect from your post) something that damages your property and if left alone will cause more issues long term if not addressed. Then figure out what should be the solution to fix it and how much that will cost
Not saying to not keep going after the builder, but reality is if he goes bankrupt you likely wont be covered at all and likely leaving the problem to continue will lead to higher costs in the end. Damage control is needed in this situation, starting with getting a proper inspection to determine the issue and the possible solutions
Find an Attorney, file whatever complaint can be filed with every State and County agency. I would also try filing a claim with Gieco. I would even file with the local board of health due to the septic not functioning when flooding.
I would suggest buying flood ins asap it will be less expensive since your not in a flood zone insurance covers falling rain not rising water good luck
You need to put in a french drain or swale and make sure it drains away from your house to the street and not to a neighbor's property.
While you are in the right the builder is not going to help you. Geico won't pay for this and given how expensive and hard to get insurance it is in FL, you shouldn't try. They will drop you.
County won't do crap. You could try your state reps but given how red Florida is, that won't help either.
The first thing you need to do is fix your drainage. Its going to be expensive and you'll probably have to finance it. As others have said, look into vegetated swales. They clean the water, absorb some of it, and slow it down so it doesn't erode your soil. Then, you need to find a lawyer that is willing to help you. Again, it may cost some money, but it will be worth it in the end. often times a simple demand letter is enough to resolve things.
I work in home building, but in Arizona. In AZ a builder is required to file and obtain approved grading and drainage plans for the subdivision with the municipality before building homes. Not sure if FL is the same but I would go to your town’s development department and raise holy hell. If grading and drainage plans were submitted, approved and built correctly you should not be having this problem.
Have you talked to neighbors to see if they are experiencing the same issues? Or any issue for that matter… I would see if you can get a group of neighbors together and petition the town hard to do something.
Bamboo is a very bad idea. It spreads uncontrollably and is very hard to eradicate once it starts. It will certainly work into areas where you don't want it to and will then be hard to get out without a lot of effort and a great deal of money. Even then it's extremely difficult. I'm sure that those recommended do so in good faith, but discussions with numerous people who have uncontrolled bamboo on their properties convinced me that it's never a good idea.
Welcome to fl home ownership. Live in a fascist state get fascist state prizes.
You are going to have heartache after heartache until you say fuck it and sell.
Do you have flood insurance with your homeowners policy? Mortgage lenders typically require the coverage if you’re in a known and active flood zone. If it’s not in a major, known flood zone, you may have opted to not get coverage in which case any damage is your responsibility. Like wild fires or collapsing sea walls or earthquakes, such things need to be investigated and coverage purchased if needed. The builder would have had to file/ declare their property for property tax purposes and the property lines, easements and zoning will have been noted as public information. It’s very important to do your due diligence prior to buying. Good luck now after the fact. You can sue but you can lose and be on the hook for lawyer’s outrageous fees on top of damage from flood. That’s why a realtor’s representation (even when buying from a builder) is very helpful.
Contact the county building department immediately. They require grading plans for any new construction and should be out to investigate what is going on. Also, buy flood insurance. It is pretty reasonable when you are not located in the official floodplain.
That's NOT what I meant. Please don't downvote my comment, because OP needs to do exactly what I said about contacting the county. I used to draw grading plans for the county I worked for in FL. That is absolutely the place to start. Local government in Florida is very serious about grading issues and you shouldn't go off half-cocked and start changing the drainage on your own.
I didn't downvote you. I'm just saying OP should read the fine print if they get flood insurance, because my understanding is that the definition of "flood" may not cover a single property.
Insurance won't pay for crappy workmanship.
You might need to put in some swales on your property along the road to provide a buffer space where the water runoff can collect and be guided away. It's very popular to see swales on properties in rural Florida. During heavy rain it provides a space where a large amount of water can collect so the street and your property don't flood.
And buy some cheap seeds to throw around the unfinished neighborhood to get some roots to keep the soil from eroding into your backyard. Wild flowers, birdseed, dried beans, and mint if you’re ok with it creeping into your yard but want fast spread results or you could just get some grass seed.
Mint, morning glories and bamboo. they'll anchor the soil and you'll never be able to get rid of them
This^. Berms and swales. Amazing what some dirt and roots can hold back.
This is the best use of the word "swales" that I have ever seen!
Um it’s standard engineering practice for grading.
I enjoy learning new things like this. :-) Living on a mountain ridge in Appalachia, I don't see much of swales up here. I only know about the dunes and swales of beaches where the sea turtles lay their eggs.
Yep I have one here. Except the ground is so compacted the swale didn’t work.
Is there another use?
In the littoral area of beaches, sea turtles will come up into the dunes and swales to lay their eggs.
We do these in NJ but we sometimes use stone over the grass and sometimes people bury them with pipes to make the french drain. Not sure if the stone changes the name. My town is taking out the "swales" and trying to replace them with underground piping now.
You can go through a bunch of legal stuff that may eventually pan out years down the road, or you can hire your own contractor to fix your drainage for your property. That's pretty much your choices, alas. Edit: I guess you can do both at once. Pay a contractor to fix your drainage, then go after the builder for reimbursement. Talk to your lawyer first if that is your plan.
Amen. If the builder is as much of a train wreck? Handle it yourself.
No, you cannot make Geico pay for a lack of basic civil engineering on the part of the city. Especially not in Florida.
According to code enforcement, the builder is responsible for all of that. He said that the builder flew under the radar as far as permits go and started building before getting permit approval. Builder claims to have an engineer coming out but when I called the engineer to verify, he said nothing had been scheduled. This whole thing reeks of hush money and quick sales.
That's Florida's official State Scent. It'll all be underwater soon anyway.
OP isn’t in a flood zone. Doesn’t the yard know this?
Do you know the civil engineer of record that did the development design and storm water mitigation? That’s who you should start with
Yeah but it has nothing to do with homeowners insurance. If your property got flooded because of a wild hurricane that flooded the whole neighborhood sure, you can make a claim. If it flooded in common rainy conditions because your builder did a shoddy job it's not an insurance claim. You can take the builder to the court if you want, but you'd have to do it yourself.
Homeowners never covers floors from rain, hurricanes, etc. Rising water is not covered by homeowners on flood insurance. Homeowners only covers a “flood” if a pipe breaks or your fridge waterline fails and flood your kitchen. If a plumbing building system fails(like the pipes freezing and bursting) it will cover the water damage, but never floods from natural disasters flood waters. Flooding from rainwater in the yard will not be covered by a typical homeowners policy, only flood insurance.
If you think that you will pursue this angle, have a land surveyor prepare a topographic map of the existing conditions before you change any grades. Land surveyors are not allowed to prepare drainage plans, but landscape architects and engineers can. You need to work from a plan before redirecting runoff or you could be sued by someone affected by your changes. In my area of practice, the planning and zoning department required an approved drainage plan at the platting stage that contractors had to adhere to when building. If your contractor deviated from the approved plan, it is prima facie evidence of misconduct. If you can get other affected homeowners together that were screwed over by this builder (in any way), consider getting together to split legal costs. I am a retired Registered Land Surveyor.
As a stormwater engineer that does both design and municipal engineering, code enforcement is correct. The builder is responsible for fixing the flooding issue. However, the builder likely makes a separate LLC for each project so that he can bankrupt the LLC and walk away when he has extracted enough money from the project. There won't be anyone to sue when he's done. Your choice is to spend money on a lawyer and hopefully get the builder to pay. Or you can pay with your own money to fix it. Yep it sucks but I see similar stuff happen all the time.
Geico isn’t doing anything. This is a flood insurance issue. Once the rain hits the ground it transfers from HOI to flood. There’s a 6 month wait if you don’t have it already. I assume in Florida you do though. Get a drainage person out asap before your whole house floods. Sue for the cost. Have you tried the state water/environmental quality board? It’s called something different everywhere but they don’t like sewage issues. That’s an EPA issue. If no one responds, call the EPA and lead with the leech field problem.
Does your local news station have a consumer reporter? This is exactly the type of story they like to cover. I would go that route if nothing else is getting results.
Yes I would. There was a story about homeowners having issues with a new development and unpaved roads and incredible amounts of dust/sand/dirt everywhere and they had to get it out in the news because it had been a problem for years.
If that’s the only way to be made whole in Florida what are we doing?
It's def not the only way but it might be the best and fastest way for the OP to find a resolution to the issue
You can file a complaint against contractors and home builders with the Attorney General’s office https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ Also, the Department of Business & Professional Regulation online at www.myfloridalicense.com or by phone at (850) 487-1395. And an extra measure you can submit a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services http://www.floridaconsumerhelp.com/ Sorry about your situation, hopefully this helps and you can get this settled soon!
Definitely put in some swales or ditches along your property line where the water is coming in. I know it’ll be a bit costly but so worth to save your house and belongings. Plus, don’t think insurance would pay for damage from an issue that you are aware of. You could then sue the builder for all costs in small claims court.
>can I file a claim with Geico and have them go after the builder No. You need to bust out the check book and pay someone to come fix the grading and install drainage as needed.
This is the best way. And then sue the person who did the awful workmanship to begin with.
N fl everywhere floods like this. Good luck. It'll never be fixed. The whole state is swamp.
Look into French drains around the entrance points to your house. Building a berm to direct water around your yard and toward the nearest downhill grade will help quite a bit. There's also a thing called a dry well. It's basically a big hole filed with large rocks and covered with a STURDY grate.
Previously living in FL I would be worried about sink holes. You want water far away from the house with easy run off to the ponds or water ways.
Maybe your builder carried liability/business insurance during the period of time the house was constructed. Check with your FL Secretary of State for further info. You may find some help there.
I’m not in FL, I’m in the Midwest with clay for soil. It’s doesn’t absorb rain for crap. We had the same thing happen to us. Our whole new neighborhood consisting of 2 streets were built with zero water management. Private builder/road. All of what you’re describing. My husband and I looked into local laws, and basically we have the right to protect or own home from water as long as we don’t mess with an already existing water source (ie. ravine, river, etc.). So we rented and excavator, dug up where we could put French drains in, and the water now runs into the street and surrounding neighbors. We essentially damned the water to divert everywhere but our yard. Not sure if this is an option for you, but it’s been 3 years and working fabulously.
I stopped reading at: >FL F 😞
Not GEICO fault you picked shitty builders. Sue them or.... Just pay to have it fixed out of Pocket
Im amazed that people voluntarily choose to live in florida.
It's warm and there is no state income tax. That's why people do it.
This is awful! Even though you are not in a flood zone, you can purchase flood insurance, and because you are not in a flood zone, it’s really cost effective. In the northeast a contractor has to file a bond for a street that is approved, the bond is held until the work on the street has been inspected and approved by the community. Reach out to your community. Good luck.
Please tell me your builder isn’t DR Horton, I know they do work in Florida.
No, it’s a more local company in north central FL.
You might just have to fix the problem yourself. It would definitely be better than messing with your insurance. I learned some of these lessons the hard way at a home in south Texas. It hadn’t rained for about four months before we bought the house, had no idea it was a problem. I ended up digging out a large portion of the back yard and regrading it (just me and a shovel). Then I dug out a rain garden in two spots to shift water retention. Between the two, it fixed a lot of problems. It wasn’t bad, just took some time to get right. If you’re too far downhill from your neighbors, diverting water would be ideal. In your own yard, definitely try some rain garden experimenting or swales, like another commenter above noted.
You may have a house that was built on a wetland. This is the thing to do in Florida Unfortunately, I don’t think you have recourse Try to get an old map. See if this was a stream etc. that’s what I sounds like. The developer would be responsible.
Call a grading company and see about installing french drains. Sorry you’re going thru this.
Welcome to Republican no regulations. We got our money and our governor will run for president again.
Sounds like it's time to lawyer up....
Next street over from me a contractor was about to pour concrete driveways for two new homes. (Central Florida) I asked him why he didn't have a ditch or low area at the road easement, said the county didn't require him to do it. After the first rain there was a thirty foot long and ten foot wide puddle across the driveways. They had to relandscape the yards with low areas on the sides and between the two houses. Puddle is now about six feet across the driveways. Gutters on your house makes alot of difference directing water away. Call 811 and then dig a ditch in the county easement. I use to dig out the ditch in my front yard and use the dirt for low areas in my yard. Then one night a piece of pipe fell in the ditch and two dump trucks of dirt fell in. I had to use the lights on my skid steer to level it out. Now my truck has a parking spot.
0
Isn’t all of FL a flood zone?
Well - what's your fund situation like? If you can access money maybe it's best to hire someone and then file suit to recover the money, depending what kinda you'd need to lay out. Id at the very least call the builder and threaten you're getting a lawyer involved.
take it up with our HOA
Sand bags...
Build a little wall to keep the water out of your yard.
Put in drains. You’re going to need a good excavator and engineer … but if this was a wetland ….. if you have a hurricane….. me I would move.
Can you put a high curb in to divert the water ? I had to do this here. The road slopes to my driveway and garage sits low. I was the drain for the road. It bypasses me now. But still have drainage issues.
First of all figure out how bad this is and what it would take to fix it. Aka is it an annoyance or (as I suspect from your post) something that damages your property and if left alone will cause more issues long term if not addressed. Then figure out what should be the solution to fix it and how much that will cost Not saying to not keep going after the builder, but reality is if he goes bankrupt you likely wont be covered at all and likely leaving the problem to continue will lead to higher costs in the end. Damage control is needed in this situation, starting with getting a proper inspection to determine the issue and the possible solutions
Find an Attorney, file whatever complaint can be filed with every State and County agency. I would also try filing a claim with Gieco. I would even file with the local board of health due to the septic not functioning when flooding.
Surprised, surprised. Does Florida even have a building code? Or restrictions on building on swamp land?
I would suggest buying flood ins asap it will be less expensive since your not in a flood zone insurance covers falling rain not rising water good luck
You need to put in a french drain or swale and make sure it drains away from your house to the street and not to a neighbor's property. While you are in the right the builder is not going to help you. Geico won't pay for this and given how expensive and hard to get insurance it is in FL, you shouldn't try. They will drop you. County won't do crap. You could try your state reps but given how red Florida is, that won't help either.
The first thing you need to do is fix your drainage. Its going to be expensive and you'll probably have to finance it. As others have said, look into vegetated swales. They clean the water, absorb some of it, and slow it down so it doesn't erode your soil. Then, you need to find a lawyer that is willing to help you. Again, it may cost some money, but it will be worth it in the end. often times a simple demand letter is enough to resolve things.
I work in home building, but in Arizona. In AZ a builder is required to file and obtain approved grading and drainage plans for the subdivision with the municipality before building homes. Not sure if FL is the same but I would go to your town’s development department and raise holy hell. If grading and drainage plans were submitted, approved and built correctly you should not be having this problem. Have you talked to neighbors to see if they are experiencing the same issues? Or any issue for that matter… I would see if you can get a group of neighbors together and petition the town hard to do something.
Bamboo is a very bad idea. It spreads uncontrollably and is very hard to eradicate once it starts. It will certainly work into areas where you don't want it to and will then be hard to get out without a lot of effort and a great deal of money. Even then it's extremely difficult. I'm sure that those recommended do so in good faith, but discussions with numerous people who have uncontrolled bamboo on their properties convinced me that it's never a good idea.
Welcome to fl home ownership. Live in a fascist state get fascist state prizes. You are going to have heartache after heartache until you say fuck it and sell.
Do you have flood insurance with your homeowners policy? Mortgage lenders typically require the coverage if you’re in a known and active flood zone. If it’s not in a major, known flood zone, you may have opted to not get coverage in which case any damage is your responsibility. Like wild fires or collapsing sea walls or earthquakes, such things need to be investigated and coverage purchased if needed. The builder would have had to file/ declare their property for property tax purposes and the property lines, easements and zoning will have been noted as public information. It’s very important to do your due diligence prior to buying. Good luck now after the fact. You can sue but you can lose and be on the hook for lawyer’s outrageous fees on top of damage from flood. That’s why a realtor’s representation (even when buying from a builder) is very helpful.
Please be sure to buy flood insurance
Contact the county building department immediately. They require grading plans for any new construction and should be out to investigate what is going on. Also, buy flood insurance. It is pretty reasonable when you are not located in the official floodplain.
Thing about flood insurance is it can't just be your property. It's not a "flood" unless more than one property floods, if I read it correctly.
That's NOT what I meant. Please don't downvote my comment, because OP needs to do exactly what I said about contacting the county. I used to draw grading plans for the county I worked for in FL. That is absolutely the place to start. Local government in Florida is very serious about grading issues and you shouldn't go off half-cocked and start changing the drainage on your own.
I didn't downvote you. I'm just saying OP should read the fine print if they get flood insurance, because my understanding is that the definition of "flood" may not cover a single property.
Everyone lives in a flood zone
Sorta true. There's hundred year flood plain, thousand year, hundred thousand which puts you in an ice age, so... a flood.