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Post by dave7293 on Mar 12, 2019 19:55:52 GMT -5
(Click on pictures to enlarge)  Yard before manhole was discovered.  manhole over 2 feet in diameter. was buried 18 inches deep and covered with sod.  just 5 feet from porch I bought my house new just 6 months ago. About 7 weeks ago I was notified by MSD that the developer/builder had buried one of the main sewage access manhole covers (like what goes in the middle of the street) for the neighborhood in my front yard directly in front of my door. Now it has to be raised to ground level in plan sight. It was not disclosed during the purchase or during the closing of the house. A BIG eyesore. If MSD ever needs to work on the sewer they would come in my front yard and dig it up and there’s nothing I can do about it. How would you feel? Please take poll this will help me in what to do. Thank you!! |
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Post by pmooret on Mar 13, 2019 2:30:07 GMT -5
That's a tough one. For a lawsuit, you would need to show that the builder did not cover access to manholes on other homes in your subdivision, I think. Also, there is a clause in your deed which mentions "easements" or "easements of record" and I believe that it is up to the buyer to familiarize his self with that prior to closing. It would be a tough suit. Whenever a utility company digs in your yard they always put the landscaping back the way it was. Make a landscape garden around it and place a garden ornament on top of it. A garden gnome is always a good conversation piece.
Oh, I would imagine that MSD is the one who put in the sewer access too deep. Your tax dollars at work.
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Post by dave7293 on Mar 13, 2019 10:27:48 GMT -5
That's a tough one. For a lawsuit, you would need to show that the builder did not cover access to manholes on other homes in your subdivision, I think. Also, there is a clause in your deed which mentions "easements" or "easements of record" and I believe that it is up to the buyer to familiarize his self with that prior to closing. It would be a tough suit. Whenever a utility company digs in your yard they always put the landscaping back the way it was. Make a landscape garden around it and place a garden ornament on top of it. A garden gnome is always a good conversation piece. Oh, I would imagine that MSD is the one who put in the sewer access too deep. Your tax dollars at work. I appreciate your response.... I did some research in the last couple of weeks and this is what I found. MSD does not put in sewers in new developments they purchased them from developers and then they service them. MSD is the one that contacted me and they were dumbfounded at the reason why it was buried and put so close to a house and not in the street. It also goes against MSD’s Land development manual. As far as me having to be the one to actually find it before purchasing/closing that’s completely not true. i did some researching and according to COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY CONSTRUCTION LAW COMPENDIUM it’ is against Kentucky law to conceal a manhole cover or anything prior to closing as a builder or seller even if they were unaware, or if they should’ve known they are still negligencet ....it’s called negligent misrepresentation and fried. They did also burie underground other manhole covers in the neighborhood but all the other ones are either close to the street or in between property lines which is actually okay as long as they’re not buried. But even in those cases It’s against Kentucky building code to bury any manhole covers regardless of where they are. And mine is the only one that’s directly in front of the front door of my house, all the rest are in locations that are not devaluing property. My main concern is being able to re-sale this house with this in the front yard. I can’t cover it up and I do by law have to disclose/tell anyone purchasing the house that it’s there. My realtor definitely thinks I would be at a great disadvantage for resale that’s if anyone would even want it and so far everyone I’ve talked to said they would not buy it and that’s over 100 people so far. I guess my question is would you buy it and if so for how much? I paid a little over $260,000 for it before I knew about sewer issue. Thanks for your response. |
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Post by pmooret on Mar 13, 2019 13:39:31 GMT -5
Kudos on your research. After reading your particulars the best option may be to pursue remediation with MSD as they are the ones who own the system and are responsible for any code violations. The sewer system was either purchased or dedicated to them from the builder and it was their responsibility to inspect for code compliance prior to taking ownership and apparently they skipped this step so somebody is in big trouble. Since they don't want their name all over the local news stations they will probably comply with any request you make. Not sure if they would move it since there is only so much room in the front yard of a subdivision lot but you can try. Once they bring it up to grade it will not be as obvious.
If you decide to sue you need to weigh the pros and cons. A lawsuit will cost you an arm and a leg and the outcome is a crap shoot but you're out a lot of moola either way. If MSD merely brings it up to grade the simple thing to do would be to plant a flower bed around it and put a garden gnome or some type of garden ornament (let your children/spouse pick one out from Lowes) on top of the manhole cover, problem solved. Stay on it and let us know the outcome.
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Post by nra4life on Mar 13, 2019 14:27:26 GMT -5
Wow, just when you thought you had seen it all. If it was me I would first contact the builder and ask him to repurchase the house from you for your original purchase price plus any updates. If/when he says no I would then contact an attorney along with every media outlet in the Louisville area and let them run story after story with his company name all over all of them. These local guys are looking for stories like this, plus they will do a little research on his past projects and I would imagine this wasn’t his first go round with fraudulent practices. Good luck to you.
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Post by dave7293 on Mar 13, 2019 21:51:46 GMT -5
Wow, just when you thought you had seen it all. If it was me I would first contact the builder and ask him to repurchase the house from you for your original purchase price plus any updates. If/when he says no I would then contact an attorney along with every media outlet in the Louisville area and let them run story after story with his company name all over all of them. These local guys are looking for stories like this, plus they will do a little research on his past projects and I would imagine this wasn’t his first go round with fraudulent practices. Good luck to you. Thank you for your advice. I do believe the local news would like to run with it. It’s a very large multi million dollar company and something like this would not look good and make future buyers think twice before buying a home from them.. I’m trying to get a large sample size of potential homebuyers with my poll to show how people feel about this issue. It will help me if I have to show how such a problem can negatively affect the home resale value. I can’t find anyone that would or even contemplate buying a home with a sewer so close to their front door even at a reduced price. Thanks again for your response.  picture of manhole raised to ground level  they just ran through my yard made ruts and didn’t even level dirt out like they did at the other ones they raised. They also put down grass seeds and straw on the others. Attachments:
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Post by cobra8 on Mar 14, 2019 18:55:21 GMT -5
Not an expert on this but first I would contact the person you dealt with when buying the house. If not satisfied moving up the chain of command as far as you can. Doing this may also get some info to make next move. Maybe they will recognize a mistake and make it right. Possibly ask a realtor some advise, they will know what needs to be told to buyers. Maybe contact Ford/Uaw Lawyer. Gather info then make a decision.
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Post by lap65 on Mar 15, 2019 14:37:52 GMT -5
Sorry about your troubles,that's pretty ridiculous....you're getting some good advice here, I would add & I have no ax to grind ....just some experience. If you decide to get a lawyer, DO NOT use the Ford UAW lawyers for something like this, if you need a will or something simple they're great, but I had a horrible experience with the one I used for something serious years ago, & others have as well. Continue to do your research, research lawyers also, then get a real one.
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Yard before manhole was discovered.
manhole over 2 feet in diameter.
just 5 feet from porch
