Home Improvement Contractor - Licensed Contractors - What should I do about my contractor building next door and has torn down my fence?

What should I do about my contractor building next door and has torn down my fence?

The contractor who built my home is now developing a complex , behind my home.,of 15-18 townhomes to sell. He went past the property line the city just surveyed , with a back hoe he knocked my fence down over a yr and half ago then nailed some boards across it in a different color and going the opposite way not even straight.He refuses to hear my repeated requests to fix it .There are 2-3 ft holes that drop into a 25 ft hole. I have a 6 yr old who cannot go outside due to this. The dirt slides everyday and we become closer to falling in.Then he vibrates the land and 5 other homes also with a steam roller and dump trucks --new cracks are developing all over the house. I need assistance. I don't know what legal steps to take and I was selling my home --wonder why there are no prospects. Contractor was informed of sale 1 yr ago. I need HELP I am sliding off the hill in Anchorage, Alaska.

Public Comments

iF HE WENT PAST THE PROPERTY LINE THAT'S NOT LEGAL ..LEGALLY HE cannot COME OVER TO YOUR PROPERTY!!!!!!!THAT IS CALLED AN ENCROACHMENT..GO TO AN REAL ESTAE ATTORNEY AND GET ADVICE!!!!GOOD LUCK
Talk to your Local County Attorney They can Send you to the right direction They get paid by your taxes to get you started in the right direction
If your damages do not exceed $5,000, and you think you can prove your allegations, file a small claims court action. A law suit. In most states you do not need a lawyer, in fact you can not take a lawyer with you, but the burden of proof then is up to you. You must prove what you are alledging.
The CORRECT answer here is to consult an attorney, explain the situation, and see what your remedies are against the developer. You'll probably need to have a survey done to determine where your lot line ends to back up any claims you make. Just because a fence is there doesn't necessarily indicate the end of your lot. Take lots of pictures of the land subsidence, house damage, etc. to back up your claim. Also, talk to your neighbors to see if they are suffering the same cracking and damage that you are experiencing. If so, you might have grounds for a class action against the developer as well. Bottom line, based on what you've said, it sounds to me like you have an actionable claim against the developer. Get the ball rolling. Hope this helped.
just call ur local building inspector, inform them of the problems, take many pictures,: here's the kicker- tell the city that if nothing is done with in 2 weeks that you will include them in ur law suit against the contractor for failure to control this project ( no city wants a lawsuit) then send a registered letter to the contractor listing all damages and what u expect of him to fix and set a time line....let him know that u intend to sue him for damages.... if after 2 weeks nothing comes of it, contact a lawyer, the lawyer will include his cost and cost of court on the lawsuit! u have nothing out of pocket, tell the lawyer u want him to take the case under these conditions.....many do this, ( my brother is a lawyer) .....and by all means, be nice the first 2 trips and then turn into a b%&#h the next trip!! NOTE: tell the contractor that u will be forwarding all letters and copies of all conversations to the Alaskan Board for Generial Contractors......and DO IT.......... lic. gen. contractor
u can go to your builder and tell him or her about it or u can go to the building and talk to them about it or get someone to make a new one that apend to me to so trie it every thing worked out when i talked to them and it worked ..............................................................................................p.s- sean c
You've got to be aggressive and assertive in fixing this problem! It was illegal for him to tear down things on your property. Take pictures, video, record dates and times you've tried contacting contractor/company and results if any. You've got to consult with city/village and a lawyer. You are going to continue losing out on money, selling your home, and the safety issues for your child won't go away. Stand up for yourself and your property. Good luck! I hope he is made to pay. People can't just do what they want.
Get the damage assesed, talk with a lawyer(preferably free consultation) and send him a bill for damages and inconveniances
You need to let him know that the fence was yours and that you will get an attorney if he doesn't replace the fence. If he agrees to replace the fence he must replace the fence with a better fence because he his damaged yoiur property. Contact an Attorney to find out what you will be entitled to.
Call the city or his work area, and tell them the situation, see what they say, and if you don't get nothing from them, go directly and get a lawyer and sue them for not operating there equipment properly. Sometimes if you just tell them that you have a problem with it, they usually fix it. I had the same problem last year, but with the street department, they tore up my fence and some of my trees, but have replaced all the above for free, because they had made a fault.
Call a land surveyor first. They will mark your property line with stakes or flags, and mark the actual corners. DO NOT ASK FOR A MAP OR PLAT. This will drive up the cost. Just inform the surveyor of a line needed to be marked to properly show your property. Should be pretty inexpensive, and besides after it is marked, then call your lawyer, or even the county inspector. Anything disturbed on your property must be replaced, and silt fence should be in place back there for erosion control anyway. Also, you could contact the actual developer of the property, and inform them what the contractor has done.
Get a lawyer and research Whether the rule in an old English case called Rylands v. fletcher applies. If it does it is far more powerful a legal doctrine than even negligence law. It would make your neighbor And his agent company absolutely liable. If it does not apply you still have strong cases in negligence and private nuisance law. Ry v. Fletch. is not well known in the U.S. Your counsel may not be aware of it.Good luck, Dan
Go inside his cool, cozy, air conditioned office and right then and there kick his butt and run for your life hehe.
Go see a lawyer tell him the details, hopefully you have documented things with a camera. have the lawyer write him a detailed letter is the first step, this will cost a couple hundred bucks but it doesn't sound like you guy will do it otherwise, if he doesn't work with you then take him to court and sue him.
Talk with a lawyer. The contractor was way out of line: He had no excuse since the city had done that survey.
1. Determine what the damages total in a dollar amount or what damages can be over time. From what you describe it can over time be a major loss. If that is the case,then time is of the essence! Seek an attorney without delay. 2. Document actual damages. Photographs, estimates to repair damage, receipts for work done, legal description showing property line, record of attempts made to resolve the issue outside of court. 3. Find allies who can help. The more people contractor has to respond to the more time and effort it costs him to delay solving your problem. Contact them in writing and by phone, fax and or email. Local city officials. State officials. Local journalists, radio and TV people, local neighborhood association, others who were harmed, professional associations designations the contractor belongs to or claims to have. They may keep a record of complaints..even professional associations he does not belong to, but competitors do. 4. If the damages are not enough to consult an attorney, use your documents to file a small claims court action. I hope the following links are helpful! 5. The squeaky wheel gets the grease
IT IS ILLEGAL FOR HIM TO HAVE A FENCE ON YOUR PROPERTY.YOU CAN HAVE THAT FENCE KNOCKED DOWN OFF YOUR PROPERTY AND TAKE HIM TO COURT FOR MESSING UP YOUR FENCE AND FOR HIM BEING ON YOUR PROPERTY.
Sue him of course. He wasn't supposed to be on your property, and he wasn't there to tear down your fence, now was he asked to, so he needs to be sued. He shoulb be sued for the amount of money that it will ocst to fix the fence and all other damage he has caused.
You can sue him for that.
A good way to waste your time in the meantime is to chain yourself to a tree in the back of your yard. For some reason a lot of people think chaining yourself to a tree is an effective means of soliciting a response.
Call your lawyer. Miss w/out your consent on private property. he can be sued. dont mention it to him. drive as soon as you can to a lawyer and explain the situation . take photos immediately Right now
That contractor is a major jerk.
go tom the clerk of courts and file for a small claims court date have him served with the notice and then take the pictures and the statements of your family and friends and also some one whoo lives there also and maybe your spouse or boyfriend and sue him for a back fill job and the dirt and the new fence so get some estimates too to take for a crew or landscapers to do the dirt and the turf sodding and then the fence crews estimates
go to small clames court
FIRST take some pics and even get some video footage IMMEDIATELY, DO IT NOW and then call an attorney
LAWYER!!!! Also call the town building inspector...take plenty of pics!!!!
take some pics,get some video footage & go to your local city code enforcement and tell them that your fence has been taken down,and due to that, you're in danger of a lanslide, and with a 6 year old,that is putting him in danger too. i do believe it is illegal for a contractor to take down private property. they cant take down your fence without your permission. i know this because a similar situation happened with a tree and my neighbors putting up a fence. my family and i didn't worry about it,but you should definitely worry about what happened. go to any place that deals with complaints and property issues and tell them what happened.but before everything,get an estimate, then get 2 other back up estimates.and no matter what, get a hotel. and every thing that it costs you to stay out of your house, you can add that expense and all other expenses that come from staying out of dangers ways. take the guy to court, and chances are if the court finds the code of property ethics violated,you'll win.
I would first make certain of where the fence stood in relation to the property line. If you do not already have one, get a survey done. If he damaged a fence on your property, he or his company is liable for damage to it. Regardless of the fence issue, it sounds like he is also creating a nuisance by his construction activities. You might try an action for injunctive relief asking the court to have him cease constuction activities because he is causing ongoing damage to your house. You may have to hire an expert to document the damage to your house and the cause of it. Do not assume the court will take your word that his construction activities are the cause of the damage to your house. This is not a small claims action which you can handle yourself unless you are convinced that the damage total is only a few thousand dollars. You will have to check on small claims limits in Alaska. A request for an injunction will get his attention and probably make him eager to satisfy your demands due to the financial losses he will likely have if he is forced to cease construction. Proper documentation is crucial to success. A your word against his word type of scenario is not where you want to be when this gets before a court. I would expect to pay out around 10k in attorney fees minimum to properly pursue this. You really need to assess whether your damages well exceed this amount to justify this expense. You may also have to put up a bond to stop him from his activities while your case is being pursued. I think you are going to need an experienced real estate litigation attorney. If nothing else, get an attorney to send him a letter outlining the course of action you are prepared to take if he does not rectify the damages he has caused and take steps to prevent further damage.
I think that you should get in touch with an attorney. He should have not went passed your property line. Since he is ignoring your request and did a half ass job on putting the fence back right and now causing all this damage; u really need to talk to an attorney and also talk to someone in that about his contractor license. wish u all the luck. Since your yard has lots of deep holes this why you have not prospects. Don't go it alone. Get an attorney!!!!
by law he has to replace it . my opion?
You can call Mayor Mark Begich's office at 907 343-7100, but I think you may want to first try the City of Anchorage's Ombudsman Greg Moyer at 907 343-4755. Ombudsman are very good at making things happen. At the same time, you need to contact an attorney. You have a good case here as he invaded and is damaging your property. Do not wait, law suits have a statute of limitations.
why havent u approached the cops yet do that immediately
Get a lawyer, take notes of people you've called for help, save dates, take lots of pictures of that area. (hope you've got before and after) Good Luck !
you should get with better business burrow he will have at time frame to repair the fence and your yard and if it not done in a timely matter he could lose his license and or could be fine and you can get a lawyer
Small claims court... no lawyers, no fuss... just one on one! Take pictures of his "fix" job and take them with you as well as any you might have of the fence before the jerk ruined it. Most contractors have a fix it for free sort of thing in their contract to come back in one year and fix cracks forming in your house. If he refuses... then I'd go to a lawyer and rake him through the coals!!!
Talk to a real estate lawyer.
Get the building permit # and go straight to the building department and request that the work be stopped then consult an attorney.
It's his responsibility to fix the fence and any other damage he causes. Try to find photos of what things were like before, then take photos of what it looks like know. Get 3 quotes for what it will cost to fix everything, from other contractors, then sue him for the amount it will take to get your house back to normal, as well as pain and suffering, taking away from being able to sell your house, yada yada and etc. Your best bet is to talk to a lawer to see what the best route is. Good luck.
he has to put everything back the way it was by law
I'd start with the city offices. The contractor must have permits to perform the work. Find out what permits the contractor has. And report the mess to the city. Are you financing your house? Call the insurance or the mortgage company. They might know which agencies to contact. Look for contractor associations in Anchorage. They might be able to help you find the appropriate agency. And, they might help you file a complaint against this contractor. Definitely take pix of the mess! And take pix of the people who are making the mess. Make sure you get a picture of as many of the vehicles on site that you can, including license plate numbers.
sue make him pay you back for what he did to your property
Review the laws, so that you know just what ones he violated and so that you understand them. Inform the contractor that he has crossed the property line. Then contact a lawyer.
Contact code enforcement.
First of all if he went past the property line this is considered as Encroachment on your property. You need to see an attorney regarding this situation. If he is putting you and your neighbors in danger then the complex owner may also be liable in repairing your homes and land. See if any of your neighbors will go in with you to file a lawsuit against the contractor, complex owner, land owner, etc... Also, in some states you only have one or three years to file against this contractor, and the attorney you see will be able to tell you if there is a statute of limitations. Please go to an attorney ASAP before it is to late for your to do something. Good Luck!!!
you need to contact the city officials....this is not right at all and he is in serious violation! ps - you will never sell your home until all this stops
Call the cops. They will shut him up. Why didn't you ask this a year and a half ago when it happened?
curse him out
you should go to your town hall and find if the fence was on your property line. if it was, either take him to court or just try to reason with him
CALL THE POLICE , TAKE HIM TO COURT . DESTRUCTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY . JUDGE JUDY WILL HELP YOU !