Well well well, lets start by saying one step forward and two steps back. I have been working through alot of issues as of late. Thankfully I have been successful in most of them. This spring I was wanting to start some outside landscaping around the house.

It has been long overdue in part by lack of monies, I wanted to ya know cut some trees, lay some boarders, do some painting etc. Well now I get to do something even better, last year I noticed what appeared to be a small hole in my yard beside a drainage line. I figured it might have been a small criter or something, well not too long after that my wife found about a 4ft sink hole. The hole itself into the earth isnt but about 1ft in diameter but inside is somewat of a cavern 4ftdeep by about 2ft wide. Well I knew something was up but didn't know what now there is 3 holes in the yard and I call a grader.

Grader says the place was developed back in the 80's when enforcement of regs wasn't as well enforced. The man who developed this property and the surrounding was known for being crafty when it came to saving money/time. Stump and tree burial is of course the cause of my problem. I also now know that another local home he built was actually victim of burial decomposition and sinking. The house actually sank as well, the guy had to sue the developer and the county for failing to regulate it properly. From the looks of the ground, I have alot of stuff burried. I don't know what to do now, the grader said that we can fix the three holes but over time we will have three or four more to fix followed by 3 or 4 more. Man this sucks, I hope that legally I can get some help. I wouldn't mind just getting out of the house haha if that is possible. Anyone delt with this issue before? If so how did it work out for ya?

 

Suing can be costly and time consuming with no guarantee you will win. Your situation sucks. I'd buy an old chevy and drive around through the yard until it swallowed it up. I would contact a new RE agent to clarify the laws and contact your HO insurance to see what it covers. (They might shoulder the legal fees to recoup from developer/city).

If you skip that, You'll just have to keep a pile of dirt and shovel and wheelbarrow handy and fill and tamp when one appears.

 

From the description, it just sounds like some stumps that have decayed. Though 20 some odd years is a long time, just keep filling them in.

It does sound like you are aware of any foundation problems to watch for. Just keep an eye out for cracks in cinder block there, or cracks in a monolithic slab. If there is a neighborhood wide problem, just get with a group and file a class action suit. That way you could pool your money with other's to retain the Lawyer, and then fight it on a contingency. You'll not really get anything out of it unless your structure is damaged.

When I built my house I left every tree on the property, except Gum, and Pine, and what was under the foundation. About 10 years later I decided to grow a lawn so I had the hardwood cut and the stumps ground down to the surface. Now about 10 years later I'm still filling in holes. Most of the time I fill it with peat from my swamp, and mix it with allot of lime. Then I plant ornamental trees.

 

I would imagine that I should have them do some digging just to see how much might be under there. If I have this entire neighborhoods stumps in my yard then it could be rather massive. Like I said the developer was a outlaw, tho hes dead now.

Im calling my lawyer tommorow, not really looking to sue anyone just going to get my rights and legal guidance.

 

What I would do is get someone to do some soil boring, to find out what's going on and evidence for what comes next. Depending on the outcome of that I would consult an attorney on the situation. You don't have to sue, but you should know what your legal rights are and if there is a remedy or recourse provided by law.

 

In all honesty, I don't know who you'd sue now that the developer is dead? Unless, of course, his company is still in operation.

Especially if you are in a somewhat rural area, stuff like this isn't/wasn't regulated, so I don't know how you could hold the local municipality liable? I think your most practical choice right now (without sticking a bunch of money into it) is to simply keep up with the holes as they develop and hope that it doesn't become too much of a PIA.....

 

The size of the holes you described, they are simply stump holes. A tree has as much growth under ground as it does above.

You could just buy a load of top soil from a local excavater company, and fill in the holes as needed.
You could also start your own compost so you'll have it as needed.

 

Well the grader came out today formally and inspected. Yep it was stumps, etc burried under ground. Its gonna be about 60ft long by about 20ft wide. Going to have to dig with the tractor from one end to the other, 4 dumploads of dirt and probley have a day or more to rebuild the yard with the dozer.

I think hes cuttin me a deal tho he said when hes done all I would have to do is reseed for grass for 850 bucks. I figured it would be more than that, its kinda making me want to get out of this house.

 

That does suck.

Maybe you could strip the sod and re-lay it

 

i say fill it up and sell the house

 

Problem is, legally you'll now have to disclose the problem, which will likely make most potential buyers leery without a "bargain basement" price on the home.....

 

That is a good point^^ will take in part.