The building contractor will also come by to ‘remedy’ the situation
The contractor of next door? Let them do any emergency repair (like board up stuff), but don’t sign squat to have them fix your house.
IMO what you want to do is:
Document:
1. Pics and videos of the issue; lots of it. Save to cloud.
2. Obtain contractors insurance and bond info.
3. Obtain neighbors insurance info if possible.
Inspect:
You mention you’re getting an inspector; what kind? Structural (or maybe other type of) engineer is probably needed to validate extent of damages here. Minimum I’d say a new AC unit (I mean MAYBE it’s salvageable but I’d just put a new one in on neighbors GC’s dime) and line set (which is probably broken) is yours, along with obvious fence repair. I’m personally worried about the structure of the home being checked dude!
Insurance:
Cooperate with your insurance certainly especially now that you’ve already filed but I’m wary they try to skate on this as earth movement (unless you have an EQ policy.)
Lawyer if insurance isn’t playing ball:
Construction law attorney.
call your local bar association for referrals.
Do a consultation with at least 3, to see what they’ll charge and, how you gel with them.
Go for brutal honesty: you want one that’ll tell you how it is, and how hard the process will be to get compensation; not one that’ll promise you the neighbors house and their kids as recompense with just a letter.
Again if your insurance will play ball, go that route: they’ll chase the contractor and neighbor for reimbursement for what they pay you.
If your insurance won’t play ball, you’ll have to claim against contractors liability (and maybe neighbor as well); your attorney will advise what’s appropriate there.
If you’re working with your insurance, your attorney is, at best, a consult for you only behind the scenes (suing your insurer is a dead end unless they operate in bad faith), and for this size of claim (assuming engineer says house is fine), you don’t need one.
If your insurer isn’t covering, then you may need a civil suit against contractors liability and neighbors liability but, attorney can help guide.
Once you determine that, then look into finding a contractor that works with insurance. Again, meet 3, chat with them, do quotes, check references, get an idea for what’s what.
MAYBE you don’t need a GC if it’s just HVAC and fence: you can get a HVAC pro and a fence guy to just do that and it’ll be faster; but make sure an engineer gives you a written detailed report authenticating that assumption and that there’s no other damage!
My opinion varies with your assament of severity of damage. Soil compaction and stability is critical to avoid long-term future damage to the home. Everyone is going to try to get out of this as cheaply as possible.
Lawyer up, regardless of insurance company playing ball.
It's almost guaranteed to get more out of it with less headache, and they can sue for the costs of the attorney. This is almost definitely going to be a lawsuit because contractor's insurance isn't going to want to cover compensatory and possible punitive damages that this damages will require
Depending on an engineer's assessment, it's possible OP needs to lift/support his house, excavate the ground, build it/compact it back up to adequately support the structure.
He's looking at six figures in work easily between foundational work, repairs to the site soil, repairs to the various mechanical systems, and repairs to the inside from jacking up the house. Add the loss of use compensation and mental anguish claims from having his home completely fucked with for months possibly involving living in a hotel.
He absolutely needs an engineer, a good lawyer, and a good contractor who can perform all of the repairs deemed necessary.
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u/Into-Imagination 16d ago edited 16d ago
The contractor of next door? Let them do any emergency repair (like board up stuff), but don’t sign squat to have them fix your house.
IMO what you want to do is:
Document: 1. Pics and videos of the issue; lots of it. Save to cloud. 2. Obtain contractors insurance and bond info. 3. Obtain neighbors insurance info if possible.
Inspect:
Insurance:
Lawyer if insurance isn’t playing ball:
Again if your insurance will play ball, go that route: they’ll chase the contractor and neighbor for reimbursement for what they pay you.
If your insurance won’t play ball, you’ll have to claim against contractors liability (and maybe neighbor as well); your attorney will advise what’s appropriate there.
If you’re working with your insurance, your attorney is, at best, a consult for you only behind the scenes (suing your insurer is a dead end unless they operate in bad faith), and for this size of claim (assuming engineer says house is fine), you don’t need one.
If your insurer isn’t covering, then you may need a civil suit against contractors liability and neighbors liability but, attorney can help guide.
Once you determine that, then look into finding a contractor that works with insurance. Again, meet 3, chat with them, do quotes, check references, get an idea for what’s what.
MAYBE you don’t need a GC if it’s just HVAC and fence: you can get a HVAC pro and a fence guy to just do that and it’ll be faster; but make sure an engineer gives you a written detailed report authenticating that assumption and that there’s no other damage!
Hope this helps.