Compensation for backyard usage and damage from new building built next door

So I have a essentially brand new building going up next door and I have let the contractors use my backyard and then some but there are some miscellaneous items they have damaged (like my bluestone patio and a few other things totaling about $3000) . I have asked for this to be paid for and I am getting a little bit of a run around from them. I basically had next to no use of my backyard for 6 months bc they were back there extending their building. I’m trying to be a good neighbor but what have others experienced in the past and what should I do if we cant come to an agreement? Thanks!

mrohrmann

in General Discussion 6 years and 9 months ago

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Guest User | 6 years and 8 months ago

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murph – your suggestion to notify DOB isn’t what is at issue in your post, it’s your suggestion that the OP intentionally damage their neighbor’s property.

Guest User | 6 years and 8 months ago

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murph – your suggestion to notify DOB isn’t what is at issue in your post, it’s your suggestion that the OP intentionally damage their neighbor’s property.

slopefarm | 6 years and 8 months ago

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I don’t think you’re a bad buy, murph, but I don’t expect developers to respond to the nice neighbor approach. the problem is $3000 is hardly worth suing over. Unless the developer still needs access, which the OP can reasonably deny to get safeguards and reasonable compensation in place, then I don’t see that the OP has any real leverage. And I don’t see how the OP, as a neighbor, has an interest in the property itself that would allow him to file a lis pendens along with the suit. All he has as far as I can tell is a $3000 tort claim for property damage, which belongs in small claims court. I hate to say this, but while the OP can try pestering the developer, at the end of the day I see him eating the $3000.

murph | 6 years and 9 months ago

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Everyone here wants to have the original poster pay out some serious bucks to lawyers, I suggest talking to the the City agencies and to the other parties at no expense and I’m a bad guy? It’s worked for me.

Guest User | 6 years and 9 months ago

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Agree with no-permitz. But start a paper trail by writing the contractor and developer letters identifying the damage and do file complaints with DOB. AND get them to remove anything on your property and deny further access without a license agreement. Consult a construction law attorney! Consultations don’t cost you, and they give you a sense of where you stand. AND take date-stamped photos of current conditions and file a claim. If you’re lucky the liability insurance carrier will be glad to pay you $5000 to be done (you’ll need real estimates for repair from contractors).

I could go on and on (can’t believe this is my third posting on this), but bottom line: being nice (being “a good neighbor”) is silly at this point. You need to take action because once they’re done with a new C of O, once the contractor’s gone, you are upstream without a boat, never mind a paddle.

yudashasom | 6 years and 9 months ago

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What are you talking about Murph? A mechanics lien is for a contractor. Escrow account, what?? w/ permit #s? Damage property?

Don’t do anything this person says

murph | 6 years and 9 months ago

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Talk about putting a “mechanic’s lien on the property” or “going after their escrow account”. Do report the contractor to DoB(with permit #’s) & to Consumer Affairs. If any of their property is in your yard confiscate it or toss it over the fence and make sure it is damaged. Have 911 & 311 on speed-dial.

Guest User | 6 years and 9 months ago

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Additionally: You should notify DOB that you have no license agreement with them, by the way, and if the project is ongoing you should tell them in writing that they must vacate your property until they finalize an agreement with you that covers your attorney costs.

Guest User | 6 years and 9 months ago

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People throw around the phrase “file a lawsuit” without understanding that most retainers for an attorney start at $7500, and lis pendens isn’t easy to get in NYS. You should always have a license agreement for temporary encroachments such as this and document the prior condition of your house when granting access with a pre-construction survey done by a licensed structural engineer–but that is now water under the bridge for you. My suggestion is to file a complaint with DOB (who won’t do anything, will say “it is a civil matter”, but at least you’ll get it on the record), and try to get a DOB inspector out to document the situation. File an insurance claim against the contractor’s and developer’s liability policy–which your homeowner’s insurance broker should help you do.

Good luck. My husband and I are $60,000 in the hole in professional fees because of foundation damage and literal loss of @ 70′ x 3′ of my property. Not to mention nearly 3 years of nightmare. And I DID have a legal agreement with these Russian crooks. We need reform legislatively and more ed ucation for the public; it is an epidemic problem throughout the city and people are clueless about how to protect themselves.

resident2 | 6 years and 9 months ago

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Keep sending the contractor & owner notice of the damage & dates etc and put them on notice of your contractors estimate so far.
Eventually if they do not do the right thing you will have records to file a law suite, it normally gets settled once you file a lis pendence against their property of a claim

slopefarm | 6 years and 9 months ago

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Well, lesson for other readers is to negotiate the terms of access up front, including covering costs, insurance, indemnification, etc. In the OP’s case, you probably have little leverage after the fact. You potentially have a claim for the damage in small claims court, but you may have to make a bunch of appearances and then be cajoled into mediation or arbitration and get a fraction of your total claim. So you have to decide whether your time is worth the money.