You think your house is falling apart?

[Wrider]

This guy's literally is, and through no fault of his own...

http://youtu.be/OB4TSfDX3Xo

Cliff notes: Guy's house was built on a pier into a "human waste lagoon" after said lagoon was filled in. He wasn't notified, and neither were his neighbors about their houses in the same situation.

Now the ground is literally eroding from under them, and the city claims "It's not our fault" because "It was built to the standards of the day."

The city is apparently being as douchey as they can be, you'll see in the video where the mayor literally tells the guy "Are you done? Sit down now." at a town meeting when he was asking what could be done about it.

They're also stalling his court date for as long as possible in hopes he'll go into foreclosure, his original court date was in 09, they've stalled so far until October 2012.

Oh and motorcycle related because the guy owns/runs P&P Racing Parts.

[modette99]

I feel bad for the guy. Obviously those places should not of been built. I liked the one guys comment, get a 45,000 pound truck to come on the street and have it cave in...LOL Then it becomes the CITIES problem.

I would stop paying the $1,500 a month to the bank and foreclose. Let it become the banks problem, I bet they then go after the city as the place would not be able to be sold. Too many people worry about credit scores and what have you....sounds like they are living with the wife's mother anyways. Just think if they stopped paying and foreclosed years ago, they be getting close to buying a new place...LOL Or when it looked like serious issues, taking the wife off the Mortgage and that way if you foreclose its just that ONE person. Turn around and buy a home under the wife's name then *shrug*

It's why I'm not on the mortgage here...safety net for the future.

Just think 2 years of no house be $36,000 savings for them, lets say the stay with the mom for 4 years or $72,000 int he bank. They could go and plop money down on any $200,000 home the bank will give the mortgage no matter what the credit score is, they even still give a good rate because your buying a safety net for them.

[salsashark]

^^ I was thinking the same thing. This is one situation where I would walk away. Mail the keys to the bank along with the phone numbers of the insurance company and the mayors office.

[Filo]

I would stop paying the $1,500 a month to the bank and foreclose. Let it become the banks problem,

I agree with letting it get forclosed.

Most people, however, feel a moral obligation to pay their mortgage. Others complain that when people walk away from their mortgages they are getting away with only a small hit (or large hit, depending on your POV) to their credit rating and not fulfilling the contract. The thing that these types need to remember is the mortgage agreement is a contract and the contract has a clause for breach. If you breach your contract the lender gets to take the house. So, you lose your house and any equity AND take a credit ding. If someone is OK with that in their situation, I don't see any moral conflict.

As others said it becomes the banks problem of what to do with unsellable houses. That would be an interesting lawsuit to see, but I feel the city would ultimately prevail unless you can show intent to defraud or gross negligence.

[salsashark]

Also important to point out that Missouri is a recourse state which would allow the lien holder to sue for any losses incurred by default. So if he owes 200K, gives it back to the bank, they get the house they can't sell but can sue the homeowner for the 200K.

So yeah, it's easy to say walk away, but I'll bet they've already investigated that.

My other recommendation would be to have an accidental grease fire and let that puppy burn to the ground.

[mdub]

wow that sucks....and i'm over here sulking that i have to cough up 1300 for a furnace repair...

[modette99]

salsashark - That is why you also need to be prepared to file for bankruptcy. I'm not saying its right or moral but it was not right or moral for the City to let homes be built there either. Key is if the bank tries and pursues one for the lost amount, that just drives them to file bankruptcy and the bank gets ZERO, in fact credit cards and everything gets wiped out.

I had an Uncle that would do that every 7 years like clockwork...LOL

Within weeks of having the debts wiped out he was able to get new contracts with the SAME companies...LOL

Either way, it still stands they should of stopped paying years ago. By now they have $100K in the bank and be starting over *shrug*

[salsashark]

I completely agree with you. It's a crap situation... no pun intended.

However, it boils down to "caveat emptor". Did the seller actively hide known defects? Did the city actively hide known issues? The guy in the city council meeting stated that there were 30 lagoons and now there are none. Are these issues prevalent or is this one location with improper environmental reclamation?

Yes, as a home owner, I want to side with the owner and stick it to the big bad bank. But, if the issues were unknown and the house was built to code, the owner has no legal recourse against the builder/seller/bank/city/whoever.

In the end, I agree with you. I think the owner should have walked away. It was mentioned before. They signed a contract that states if they default, they lose the house. Well, they've already lost the house, might as well take the money and run.

[wulf]

Did they not have the house inspected when they purchased it?

[Cap'n Crunch]

Did they not have the house inspected when they purchased it?

That and statute of limitations for this sort of thing is way past. It's usually 5-8 years, the video mentioned that the house was built 20 years ago. Crappy situation for this dude, no doubt - but who should pay? The tax payers? The insurance companies got wise to this years ago and wrote exclusions in all homeowners policies that exclude shifting soils.

[WHTEVO]

Hold on, "I have the builders permit saying my house was piered 21ft past the lagoon, i was never told that my house was built on a lagoon". Sound contradicting, but either way, if it was truly piered down to bedrock, it shouldn't be moving. Sucks though. If i was him, i would burn the bitch to the ground.

Aaron

[wulf]

That and statute of limitations for this sort of thing is way past. It's usually 5-8 years, the video mentioned that the house was built 20 years ago. Crappy situation for this dude, no doubt - but who should pay? The tax payers? The insurance companies got wise to this years ago and wrote exclusions in all homeowners policies that exclude shifting soils.
The guy has only lived there 5 years, if he had it inspected an inspection company could be on the hook for not noticing that.


Hold on, "I have the builders permit saying my house was piered 21ft past the lagoon, i was never told that my house was built on a lagoon". Sound contradicting, but either way, if it was truly piered down to bedrock, it shouldn't be moving. Sucks though. If i was him, i would burn the bitch to the ground.

AaronThe house isn't moving, the dirt is. In a few decades the house will look like it's on stilts.


Based on what I can see, i can't understand how the house isn't livable. A knowledgeable person could fix the pluming issues shown in a few hours.

[modette99]

^ I would think mud-jacking might be the way to go, pump in a slurry that fills the gaps after the pluming is fixed. mud-jacking doe snot cost much really...and probably be the cheap fix.

But still a pretty shitty situation to be in.

I had to look into that before for a friend in Denver. He has settling issues, but not like this guy in the video. Insurance would be hit or miss. If you could show heavy snow, water somehow did it then they MIGHT cover it. Its a long shot from the research I did.

I would also be knocking on neighbors doors and asking if THEY have that extreme of an issue. Maybe get pictures of their issues if they are having them but have not steeped up.

In a way, the guy by going PUBLIC made it so the house is worth a lot less. He should of did the mud-jacking and not mentioned the extreme issue. Thus the house value still be good. Also the home lasted 20 years, and must of been fine when he bought it. So a fix could last 20 years, if not longer if they pump in the right stuff.

If these people like I said before did not want to stay there they should of stopped paying a long time ago and walked...not that I condone that but come on.

[rforsythe]

In a way, the guy by going PUBLIC made it so the house is worth a lot less. He should of did the mud-jacking and not mentioned the extreme issue. Thus the house value still be good. Also the home lasted 20 years, and must of been fine when he bought it. So a fix could last 20 years, if not longer if they pump in the right stuff.

Except if he knows about it and fails to disclose it when the buyer asks why the mudjacking was necessary in the first place, he's committing fraud. I agree with seeing if the neighbors are having similar issues, and trying to get some sort of class action compensation. Insurance is not going to do it voluntarily, and he's likely going to have to sue for it.

[modette99]

Except if he knows about it and fails to disclose it when the buyer asks why the mudjacking was necessary in the first place, he's committing fraud. I agree with seeing if the neighbors are having similar issues, and trying to get some sort of class action compensation. Insurance is not going to do it voluntarily, and he's likely going to have to sue for it.

Yeah but before he went to the news, all he have to say is some settling issues which all homes have slightly they have been fixed. He probably would not need to disclose about plumbing as the plumber would only know about THAT.

So not really any fraud there. Hell most people look and buy, and don't ask anything. Caulk it up to stupid buyers. But having your home be known in the area as the one on the news...yep, now you GOT to disclose all that shit, even probably little stuff like the plumbing. Anyways too late...just saying I would have thought through the whole issue before bringing in the NEWS.

Probably cost like $10,000-$15,000 to fix with mud-jacking...maybe less if he did the prep work. Get a company that might do a discounted rate to help out someone and to get their name on TV at this point.

As for the sidewalk I hope someone breaks their leg and sues the city. Better yet a vehicle gets swallowed in the street and the city ends up paying $$$$$ for knowing there is an issue in that area. Story never did say if the city was fixing the sidewalk, or looking to see if safety issue with the street.

[mastap07]

that sucks..

[modette99]

Hold on, "I have the builders permit saying my house was piered 21ft past the lagoon, i was never told that my house was built on a lagoon". Sound contradicting, but either way, if it was truly piered down to bedrock, it shouldn't be moving. Sucks though. If i was him, i would burn the bitch to the ground.

Aaron


More thinking on this, you know at the table I don't recall ever seeing a building permit...I think that is their beef. It is recorded but yet not presented at time of closing as a known fact that the house is on piers which might persuade someone not to buy it. Thus it sounds like one angle is he is going after the closing company for not showing vital information.