Legal Advice on a new house

[Pgh2Storrs]

I apologize for the OT thread, but I’m a first time home owner in need of some advice…

My wife and I closed on the house on 6/4 and immediately got pulled into a dispute between the previous owner and the neighbor.

There’s a retaining wall on one side of the backyard that the neighbor has been complaining about for years and, when they saw the home was for sale, he wrote letters to the previous owners and the realtors selling the property stating that it needed to be fixed and/or disclosed in the sale that the wall was in violation of city code. In addition to the letters, he opened a case with the city of Pittsburgh in which they cited the previous owners for the wall being in disrepair and pieces laying in his yard. The case was closed prior to closing, but the wall was never fixed. The inspector closed the case because neither the previous owner nor the neighbor gave them permission to be on their property to view the wall so they viewed it from the street and closed the case based upon there being no visible pieces laying in his yard but did not inspect the actual condition of the wall. We were given a copy of the case closure prior to closing on the house but within the Seller’s disclosure form, nothing was noted about the wall being an issue or any violations.

The neighbor showed up while we were painting last weekend to complain about the wall and subsequently called the city to inquire why the case was closed. We met with the inspectors this week at which point they agreed that the wall had not been adequately repaired but since they closed the previous case, any new citations would be in our name since we now own the property. The neighbor realizes this is screwing us, but asked that the case be reopened in an effort to try to pressure the previous owners.

As far as things going in our favor, we have the letters the neighbor wrote to the previous owner/realtors asking that the wall be fixed/disclosed prior to sale, a letter from the previous owners to the neighbor stating that money would be allocated during closing to fix the wall (there was no money/mention of this), the Seller’s disclosure where there was no mention of any issue, and the city inspectors who stated they would testify in our favor if we chose to pursue civil action.

Our real estate agent has reached out to the seller’s agent with this information but we have yet to hear back. Assuming they refuse to address this, I wanted to get opinions as to if it is worth it to pursue a civil case against the previous owners?

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

I rotated the photo to get a better view. I've never gotten a straight answer as to why the Boneyard rotates portrait photos to landscape.

Are you uphill or downhill from the wall? The wall would seem to be the responsibility of the lower property, not the upper property. But in any event, where is the property line? Is it right on the wall, lower than the wall, higher than the wall? I think that needs to be clear to understand who is responsible for it.

Now the practical, it looks like crap, is possibly dangerous and needs to be fixed. Hope you can get somebody else to at least help fund that.

We’re the upper property.

At the bottom of the wall is a concrete base of the initial wall that was built but when they built on top of it, instead of doing it right, they just stacked the blocks which is why they kept falling over. At some point instead of digging back the dirt and building the wall properly, they stacked a new line of blocks in front of the initial base which is what you see now and why it leans/looks awful. Our neighbor claims the property line is roughly where the initial base was built and, by stacking the blocks in front, they built it onto his property.

 

[CL82]

We’re the upper property.

At the bottom of the wall is a concrete base of the initial wall that was built but when they built on top of it, instead of doing it right, they just stacked the blocks which is why they kept falling over. At some point instead of digging back the dirt and building the wall properly, they stacked a new line of blocks in front of the initial base which is what you see now and why it leans/looks awful. Our neighbor claims the property line is roughly where the initial base was built and, by stacking the blocks in front, they built it onto his property.

What does the survey say? (Haha, that was a Steve Harvey moment) Typically it will identify structures on the line even if you didn't have the line staked. If they are on his property, I wonder how this is your problem?

 

[alphasigko]

In my experience the costs of constructing/replacing a shared fence on a property line are shared by both property owners.

I am also curious if there was a survey performed as a requirement of the sale, which in my experience is generally required, and a copy of which is included in the sales document package.

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

In my experience the costs of constructing/replacing a shared fence on a property line are shared by both property owners.

I am also curious if there was a survey performed as a requirement of the sale, which in my experience is generally required, and a copy of which is included in the sales document package.

To my knowledge one was not conducted, unless it was part of the home inspection that we are not aware of. We’re meeting with our realtor today so I have made a note to bring it up

 

[CL82]

To my knowledge one was not conducted, unless it was part of the home inspection that we are not aware of. We’re meeting with our realtor today so I have made a note to bring it up

Do you have title insurance? If so, it will be in that package.

 

[dogpause]

Offer to split the cost 50/50, which is probably what any judge would probably rule. Tell the neighbor to take it or leave it.

 

[Northbound]

View attachment 68104

That’s from above the wall earlier this week

That's not a wall - that's just some block tossed on the ground. Get four buds and a couple of cases of suds and just pick up the block and toss it into the back of a few pickups or rent a dumpster - problem solved. Unless you love the wall and if you do then you've got much larger issues to deal with.

 

[BPT2Storrs]

Aesthetically it’s ugly. Also, it is not really retaining anything, therefore I don’t really think you or your neighbor need to worry about that. Why not just ask the neighbor to split the cost to rebuild the wall or landscape it? Your neighbor gets what he wants and you get a nice looking yard all without having to deal with lawyers and/or the city /county. Feel it’s a win win for everyone.

people are so quick to lawyer up or worry about things that don’t matter. If this was a wall that actually served an engineering purpose I would understand moving in a different direction but this seems it can be resolved relatively easily.

This is the reason why I don’t like living next to anyone .

 

[alphasigko]

Can u get a copy from the City of the original survey, Plat, or subdivision plans?

That "wall" just looks out-of-place with zero structural value or necessity. May I inquire why is the ground is all "turned over" right next to the wall? Was the condition of the wall never discussed during the sale negotiations? (that was not clear to me in your narrative)

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

Can u get a copy from the City of the original survey, Plat, or subdivision plans?

That "wall" just looks out-of-place with zero structural value or necessity. May I inquire why is the ground is all "turned over" right next to the wall? Was the condition of the wall never discussed during the sale negotiations? (that was not clear to me in your narrative)

The ground next to the wall was covered in weeds and grass clippings as the previous owners dumped the clippings from the lawn mower in that spot. Our intention is 1. Fix the wall, 2. Put down plastic and do stones/mulch over the area just above the wall, and 3. Put up a fence down that side.

The condition was never discussed or disclosed. We were given notice that a case with the city had been closed in May regarding a dispute between the neighbor and previous owner, but no other details were provided.

The encouraging news is that the previous owners communicated to our realtor that they are willing to “remedy the situation” so I’m hoping that this gets resolved fairly soon/easily.

 

[alphasigko]

The ground next to the wall was covered in weeds and grass clippings as the previous owners dumped the clippings from the lawn mower in that spot. Our intention is 1. Fix the wall, 2. Put down plastic and do stones/mulch over the area just above the wall, and 3. Put up a fence down that side.

The condition was never discussed or disclosed. We were given notice that a case with the city had been closed in May regarding a dispute between the neighbor and previous owner, but no other details were provided.

The encouraging news is that the previous owners communicated to our realtor that they are willing to “remedy the situation” so I’m hoping that this gets resolved fairly soon/easily.

That is good news! Best of luck in getting a quick and peaceful resolution...