Excavation and Construction Next Door

My neighbor started the demolition of his house next door. He plans to build 10 storey condominium next to my 1900 brick townhouse with stone foundation. I am terrified of what it will do to my house. I know I need to document the current state, any thing else I need to get ahead of? I plan to reach to the neighbor and start a conversation but anything I need to say? Do I need to retain a lawyer immediately? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

deva

in General Discussion 7 years and 8 months ago

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raisagur | 6 years and 6 months ago

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Unfortunately once construction has started your options (beyond calls to 311) may be limited, but one question would be wether or not your neighbor had you sign an “Access Agreement”? Basically permission from you to access your property when needed for things like vibration monitoring, roof protection, scaffolding etc. The access agreement can give you a loot of leverage over the kinds of problems that come from a new building going up next door.

Sounds like things have already started going wrong for you, so even if it’s too late for us to help with the access agreement, we might be able to at least give you some good advice. About 2 years ago we started a firm that helps people specifically deal with the challenges of a neighbor building next door. The access agreement we negotiate requires the builder to have everything from a site safety plan to the proper insurance in case of any problems.

Most importantly, the fees (when we can help) are always paid by the developer so it doesn’t cost our clients anything. And even if it turns out to be too late for us to help , I am always happy to give you some advice and information.

If anyone has any questions, please feel to reach out to me at adam[at]neighboradvisors.com or take a look at our website, http://www.neighboradvisors.com. Hope it works out!
-Adam

workisfun | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Drainage pipe*

workisfun | 7 years and 8 months ago

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I wouldn’t leave, if I were you. If they know you’re staying elsewhere, things are more likely to get sloppy. If they see you around everyday, they will be much more careful. My neighbor tried to pay for me to leave for two weeks. We politely declined. The first night we would have been away, I walked down my side path in the dark, between the two
buildings, and I stepped right in a huge puddle of poured cement! It was beginning to set and had already begun drilling into my outside drains. They came right over (at 12am), and cleaned the whole thing up. If I didn’t happen to step in it, it would’ve set and they would have had to excavate my entire side path, designate pipe, inderneath the foundation and into the house. And I have radiant heat, so hat would’ve been a huge mess. KEEP A VIGILANT EYE.

BedStuyGuy | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Hi Deva, would you please email me at bedstuyguy01@gmail.com ? We are in the middle of a similarly terrifying situation and I wouldn’t mind trading notes. Also,. Would like a recommendation of a good construction lawyer. Thank you, Richard

BKALLDAY | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Get an attorney but nicely ask to say any foundational studies he has done to ensure no disruption to your foundation. See if he will agree to fix major cracks or foundation fails that result directly from his work, and ask what hours he plans to work. He should be reasonable about the times he’ll be working. Request periodic meetings to make sure everything is going well for HIM and for you. Make sure he will cover the front of your property and power wash away any debris. Also make sure there is zero encroachment on your property and a port-a-potty won’t be placed anywhere near your front or rear egress. If he says yes then tell him you will have your attorney draft up the agreed upon terms for him to sign. Also see if he’ll pay for a week away at a nice hotel when the majority of the demo is being done. It will go a long way in saving your sanity.

BedStuyGuy | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Deva, I am having the SAME issues, they took off the roof to the house next door. This is causing water.moisture to get between our shared wall (walls?) They also started their construction and they’ve excavated without securing their permits. Now dob gave them multiple work violations and they cant proceed. Wouldn’t mind trading notes with you, I will PM you.

greenworks | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Yes get the atty — unequivocally YES — what omatokai said is 100% correct — our friend in Clinton Hill had the same situation as yours, hired an atty and was VERY glad he did — numerous things large and small came up during the demo/excavation/construction process and he was super glad he had the atty. I will reach out to him for the name of his guy.

deva | 7 years and 8 months ago

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THANK YOU. This is super helpful. Yes, they will be building right adjacent to my old house’s stone foundation wall. They have not started excavation but did start removing roof. I urgently contacted my neighbor but yet to hear from him. This is all super helpful advice!

wjbehrle | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Will the new building directly abut your house? How close will it be? Your leverage is in whether or not they need to access your property–for underpinning your house, installing scaffolding, completing the facade, and so forth. Don’t grant them access without a license agreement to do so; you can get an attny to set the terms of that license agreement to dictate that they need to conduct a thorough, independent precon survey (taking photos yourself is NOT enough!), monitor your property, and so forth (all at their cost). (And if they will have to take over your yard or install protections on your property, you may be able to negotiate a license fee–rent, in a sense, in exchange for your loss of use.) The developers should WANT to conduct a thorough precon survey in order to protect their interests as much as yours. If they are already excavating and haven’t done any of this, I would be extremely worried, frankly.

newtomehouse | 7 years and 8 months ago

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DOB does not require any sort of agreement as a prerquisite for approvals and permits.

shahnandersen

in General Discussion 7 years and 8 months ago

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I am sure this is NOT correct. They have to protect your property and DOB should not grant a permit with the agreement.

newtomehouse | 7 years and 8 months ago

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It is my understanding that if the work is fully permitted and they are following approved plans there is nothing you can do other than speak to them and ask that they be mindful of your property. They are under no obligation to add you as additional insured to their insurance or sign any sort of agreement with you.

deva | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Thank you. Do people have recommendations for construction lawyer? Thank you!

Arkady | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Take pictures of your entire house – not just the parts that abut his construction. Then, yes, hire a lawyer. At the very least you must insist on being ‘named insured’ on his policy but there are other protections you can get.

shahnandersen

in General Discussion 7 years and 8 months ago

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Are they doing this without a written agreement with you describing how they will protect your property? Do they have a demolition permit from DOB.?

In any case. Yes, you need to hire a construction lawyer *immediately* to negotiate that agreement and to stop them from proceeding until you get it. You will also need to hire an engineer to help in setting and monitoring the agreement terms. Hopefully your lawyer can negotiate getting all or part of the engineer’s and lawyer’s fees reimbursed by your neighbor. But, in any case your highest priority is to protect your home and your investment even if you have to incur expenses for those professionals.