Residential Property Damage

Increasing numbers of homeowners every year are finding that the American dream of owning their own home has quickly turned into the American nightmare as the result of flooding, sewage back-ups, defectively built homes and the use of defective building products.  Understanding the legal rights involved benefits homeowners.

Flood Damage and Sewage Contamination

The dizzying pace of new home construction and unabated commercial development have irrevocably altered the flows of groundwater, creeks, streams and tributaries leading to the creation of flood plains in heavily populated areas where none previously existed.

While federal, state and local laws are in place to arguably prevent such occurrences, residential and commercial developers, sometimes in combination with the government agencies charged with enforcing the laws, have on occasion ignored these important regulations causing extensive flood damage to homes.

The end result is that affected homeowners lose valuable personal property and often are left holding the title to worthless property (who is going to buy a home in a flood plain?). Compounding this tragedy is the fact that most such homeowners do not have flood insurance to cover their losses since their homes were not part of a FEMA designated flood plain at the time of original purchase.

The rapid development of our towns and cities have also placed an enormous burden on aging and poorly designed floodwater and sewage drainage systems. In an effort to generate additional tax revenues, many local governments rush to approve development projects without expanding and upgrading the infrastructures needed to support the projects. As a result, many homeowners experience sewage back-ups into their homes and onto their property. While damage to their property results, the more serious harm is to the health of the residents due to human waste contamination and mosquito and rodent infestations.

Defective Construction

More than one million new homes were purchased last year. Unfortunately, many new homeowners are discovering that shoddy building practices (often aimed at increasing the builders’ bottom lines) are leading to gaping cracks in foundations, rotting walls, sagging floors and serious moisture damage.

The rise in new homebuilding has also spurred the sale of new, and sometimes defective, building products. In the past ten years, our firm has represented homeowners in claims against Louisiana-Pacific and Masonite for defective siding materials, and various manufacturers of EIFS, or synthetic stucco, that have lead to serious moisture and mold contamination in homes resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in property damage and personal injuries.

Storm and Hurricane Damage

While not widely known, many of the communities and states along the southeastern coast have enacted strict building code provisions designed to prevent major property damage to homes impacted by severe storms and specific categories of hurricanes. Despite these protections, many builders and developers have continued to build structures that ignore these provisions leading to millions of dollars in damage. Sadly, there has also been a failure of the governmental agencies charged with enforcing these codes and adequately inspecting new homes and structures for compliance.

Even when built to code, some homes are simply not going to be able to withstand the onslaught of severe weather. That is one of the reasons why we purchase homeowner’s insurance. Often at the whim of insurers, many homeowners following a devastating loss are told that their damages are not covered due to flood exclusions in their policies. The reality, of course, is that much of the damage from storms is due to wind and rain, and is covered. An attorney can advise you of how to remedy this “double victimization” through our legal system.

For free answers to your questions about property damage from floods and hurricanes in Atlanta, Georgia, please call us toll-free or complete this convenient online contact form.