Purchased our newly built home

[Alicia Koback]

hello, we moved into our newly built home in November 2022. we’ve had our sump pump running every day and water coming out every minute of every day. we had the builders come out and they decided to run a pipe to the road because we now have a small pond between our homes. My question is what can we do as buyers for this problem, we have a year warranty on the house but the sump pump will eventually break and we will have a flooded basement. We are so worried about the future of our investment now that we don't know what to do? We told the builders we want a new home on a different lot and they said there are things they can do but haven't heard anything after that. Do I keep calling them, get a plumber out here to tell is why this is happening, or get a lawyer? we are seniors and this was our last retirement home, this is so disappointing 

[Scott E.]

Alicia first of all, I'm sorry you're going through these headaches with a brand new home. I'm sure this is very stressful.

I think we need some additional context to fully understand what is happening here. The more detail the better but just a few things to clarify:

-Give more info about this community (how many homes, who was the builder, etc)

-What is the terrain like?

-What kind of weather have you been having lately?

-Are your neighbors having the same problem?

-Is there something unique about your exact lot that is exaggerating this problem?

It's very surprising and unusual that the builder would be willing to move you to a new home. If you have already purchased and closed escrow on your current home, moving you is easier said than done.

You'll be best getting a real estate attorney. But you might get some good free advice here if you give more information.

[Alicia Koback]

Quote from @Scott E.:

Alicia first of all, I'm sorry you're going through these headaches with a brand new home. I'm sure this is very stressful.

I think we need some additional context to fully understand what is happening here. The more detail the better but just a few things to clarify:

It’s a large subdivision just going up. We are the first few houses and first street. The houses across the street do not have any water problems at all, they are closer to the street.Our side of the street  3 houses have the pump going continuously and except for one house that is right next door to us is not pumping water.  Wisconsin weather has cold winters and nice spring & summers but we haven’t reached spring yet when we have heavy rains, I’m worried about this time of year because of the rain. What bothers me is I’m no expert on sump pumps but this can’t be normal to have it pumping even in below zero weather, please correct me if I’m wrong and this is normal. This land used to be farm land, according to the builder they tested the land to see if it was dry or wet land. They must of missed our area. I agree that it’s probably time to get a lawyer. Thank you for responding, I feel like someone is listening to us, appreciate it!

-Give more info about this community (how many homes, who was the builder, etc)

-What is the terrain like?

-What kind of weather have you been having lately?

-Are your neighbors having the same problem?

-Is there something unique about your exact lot that is exaggerating this problem?

It's very surprising and unusual that the builder would be willing to move you to a new home. If you have already purchased and closed escrow on your current home, moving you is easier said than done.

You'll be best getting a real estate attorney. But you might get some good free advice here if you give more information.

[Alicia Koback]

This is a new subdivision. We are the first Street. The homes across the street do not have water problems, our homes on this side there are three homes that have water coming out constantly. this used to be farmland and the builders told us that the land was tested to see if this was wet or dry land. I think they forgot our area. Wisconsin has cold winters and beautiful spring and summer. This is what worries me spring brings a lot of rain. I’m no expert on sump pumps but I know they shouldn’t be running every 20 to 40 seconds for over four months. Please someone tell me if I’m wrong please let me know. And I agree I think it’s time to get a lawyer. Thank you so much for responding to me. I feel like someone is listening to us appreciate it.

[Bruce Woodruff]

@Alicia Koback You absolutely are not out-of-line here! In addition to just being plain wrong and a horrible way to do business, this is also most likely highly illegal. Excessive water cause MOLD and that is a big no-no nowadays. And on a brand new home? 

Here's what I'd do: 1) Set up a sit-down meeting with the management of this company, 2) Don't ask, DEMAND that they give you a new house in an area that has been cleared for underground water, 3) Give them a time limit, I'd suggest no more than 1-2 weeks to hear back about a positive solution, 4) Contact an attorney today and have them standing by to move aggressively towards this builder if you do not get the right answer, 5) DO NOT back down an inch, no matter what they say. 6) Don't forget the power of the Media in general especially Social Media, something as egregious as this could ruin this company.

And always remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease....Get after this!

[Alicia Koback]

I can’t thank you enough, you actually brought tears to my eyes because we’ve been so lost. We are going forward and waiting for a call back from the builders, if we hear nothing next few days we have a lawyer in mind and will hopefully find a solution, God bless you!

[Peter Falk]

Yes, it certainly sounds like a high water table area to get that much water constantly filling up the sump pump.

Just a reminder that in the winter to unhook your long exterior sump pump drain house if you have one outside, as the water inside will freeze in the line and the water the sump tries to push out will have nowhere to go and run back into the sump pit.  I know that makes erosion around house worse in the winter as water shoots out closer to the foundation, but that's what I was told to do and makes sense to me.  Good luck

[Alicia Koback]

We did notice this started to happen in December and and took the pipes off because they were frozen. I think this is the time that the water stopped for a few weeks but now it’s flowing again every 20 seconds. Thanks for the information.

[Matthew Paul]

@Alicia Koback Sounds like a high water table . Good news if the sump pump is working and the basement hasnt flooded , the builder did the drain tile right and things are working as they should . Bad news is , yes when the sump pump fails , the basement will flood . Or when the electric goes out .  Honestly there isnt much the builder can do to get rid of ground water . 

Some solutions , a back up generator will keep the pump running , a battery back up system will help if the pump fails , but they are only good to run so long . And there is something I have done many times in similar situations , a second sump pump tied into the drain tile , the float set a bit higher than the primary pump . If the first pump fails the water rises higher in the second pit and that pump takes over until the primary is replaced .

Most od all ... But 1 or 2 spare pumps so you have them ready in case of a failure 

[Bruce Woodruff]

Quote from @Matthew Paul:

@Alicia Koback Sounds like a high water table . Good news if the sump pump is working and the basement hasnt flooded , the builder did the drain tile right and things are working as they should . Bad news is , yes when the sump pump fails , the basement will flood . Or when the electric goes out .  Honestly there isnt much the builder can do to get rid of ground water . 

Some solutions , a back up generator will keep the pump running , a battery back up system will help if the pump fails , but they are only good to run so long . And there is something I have done many times in similar situations , a second sump pump tied into the drain tile , the float set a bit higher than the primary pump . If the first pump fails the water rises higher in the second pit and that pump takes over until the primary is replaced .

Most od all ... But 1 or 2 spare pumps so you have them ready in case of a failure 

 Your solutions are great, of course, but shouldn't she have been forewarned of this before she bought the house? It sounds like this is news to her..

[Alicia Koback]

We had no knowledge of a high water table or if this is what’s causing the problem. We left a message with a lawyer today and we’re hoping they call us back. Not sure if anything can be done but hoping they’ll be able to help us. I would think it would be illegal to sell a home like this.

[Alicia Koback]

We had no knowledge of a high water table or if this is what’s causing the problem. We left a message with a lawyer today and we’re hoping they call us back. Not sure if anything can be done but hoping they’ll be able to help us. I would think it would be illegal to sell a home like this.

[Matthew Paul]

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

Quote from @Matthew Paul:

@Alicia Koback Sounds like a high water table . Good news if the sump pump is working and the basement hasnt flooded , the builder did the drain tile right and things are working as they should . Bad news is , yes when the sump pump fails , the basement will flood . Or when the electric goes out .  Honestly there isnt much the builder can do to get rid of ground water . 

Some solutions , a back up generator will keep the pump running , a battery back up system will help if the pump fails , but they are only good to run so long . And there is something I have done many times in similar situations , a second sump pump tied into the drain tile , the float set a bit higher than the primary pump . If the first pump fails the water rises higher in the second pit and that pump takes over until the primary is replaced .

Most od all ... But 1 or 2 spare pumps so you have them ready in case of a failure 

 Your solutions are great, of course, but shouldn't she have been forewarned of this before she bought the house? It sounds like this is news to her..

 Thats hard to say , since the drain tile and pump are working as they should .  

[Marcus Auerbach]

@Alicia Koback I think I know your subdivision and don't think you don't have a high water table. This is a very fixable problem 9 out of 10 times, no laywer needed. Most likely you are recirculating the same water over and over, meaning you pump it out and it comes right back in through your drain tile system. When your house was built the exterior was backfilled with #2 stone, so it takes the water literally a few seconds to run back down to the base of the foundation. So the idea to run a pipe to the street is good. You said you disconnected it in December, is that correct? 

Ask you builder to also capture the water from the gutter down spouts in the same pipe and run it out to the street. Your roof is a giant water collector and during a hard rain you have literally hundreds of gallons of water shooting out of the downspouts (you are right to worry about spring). But it is easy to capture the water and run it out to the street culvert.

You can also get a backup sump pump with a battery backup for peace of mind. Your power lines are under ground, so you are probably fine with power outages, but it's good to have a redundant system (I have one in my house).

Feel free to send me a DM with some details, if you are cool with it I'll look at the lot next time I am there.

[Mike Dymski]

Best replies I have read on the forums in a while.  Kudos to the members who replied.

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Alicia Koback:

hello, we moved into our newly built home in November 2022. we’ve had our sump pump running every day and water coming out every minute of every day. we had the builders come out and they decided to run a pipe to the road because we now have a small pond between our homes. My question is what can we do as buyers for this problem, we have a year warranty on the house but the sump pump will eventually break and we will have a flooded basement. We are so worried about the future of our investment now that we don't know what to do? We told the builders we want a new home on a different lot and they said there are things they can do but haven't heard anything after that. Do I keep calling them, get a plumber out here to tell is why this is happening, or get a lawyer? we are seniors and this was our last retirement home, this is so disappointing 

 I bought a house in 2014 and had the same problem. There was a property above mine with 20 acres of irrigated fields. Their water was not draining properly, ran onto my property, and elevated the water table. Wyoming law prohibits water from traveling from property to property. Once we notified the neighbors, they cleared their ditches, routed the water properly, and the problem went away.

You may have the same opportunity, but it shouldn't be your responsibility. I would demand the builder remedy the situation. They may have to install a French drain around your home to channel the water away.

[Alicia Koback]

Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:

@Alicia Koback I think I know your subdivision and don't think you don't have a high water table. This is a very fixable problem 9 out of 10 times, no laywer needed. Most likely you are recirculating the same water over and over, meaning you pump it out and it comes right back in through your drain tile system. When your house was built the exterior was backfilled with #2 stone, so it takes the water literally a few seconds to run back down to the base of the foundation. So the idea to run a pipe to the street is good. You said you disconnected it in December, is that correct? 

Ask you builder to also capture the water from the gutter down spouts in the same pipe and run it out to the street. Your roof is a giant water collector and during a hard rain you have literally hundreds of gallons of water shooting out of the downspouts (you are right to worry about spring). But it is easy to capture the water and run it out to the street culvert.

You can also get a backup sump pump with a battery backup for peace of mind. Your power lines are under ground, so you are probably fine with power outages, but it's good to have a redundant system (I have one in my house).

Feel free to send me a DM with some details, if you are cool with it I'll look at the lot next time 

[Jack Deer]

Quote from @Alicia Koback:

My question is what can we do as buyers for this problem, ...

Tell the builder that you will be putting up some signs in 2 days and will do social media as well. Let the prospective buyers see what they'll be signing up for if they buy here. Be polite but firm.

[Marcus Auerbach]

Quote from @Alicia Koback:

Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:

@Alicia Koback I think I know your subdivision and don't think you don't have a high water table. This is a very fixable problem 9 out of 10 times, no laywer needed. Most likely you are recirculating the same water over and over, meaning you pump it out and it comes right back in through your drain tile system. When your house was built the exterior was backfilled with #2 stone, so it takes the water literally a few seconds to run back down to the base of the foundation. So the idea to run a pipe to the street is good. You said you disconnected it in December, is that correct? 

Ask you builder to also capture the water from the gutter down spouts in the same pipe and run it out to the street. Your roof is a giant water collector and during a hard rain you have literally hundreds of gallons of water shooting out of the downspouts (you are right to worry about spring). But it is easy to capture the water and run it out to the street culvert.

You can also get a backup sump pump with a battery backup for peace of mind. Your power lines are under ground, so you are probably fine with power outages, but it's good to have a redundant system (I have one in my house).

Feel free to send me a DM with some details, if you are cool with it I'll look at the lot next time 

 I see you responded to me, but the message got lost. Just got back from vacation. Did you make some progress?