Dream home nightmare
Donation protected
Help! The COVID pandemic has allowed me to work from anywhere, so I was finally able to move to somewhere I could afford to purchase a home! Surprise, poop everywhere and it's not worth it to sue re: property disclosure. Immune suppressed, need it fixed!
So what happened?
My dream come true turned into a nightmare when the septic started backflowing and the perimeter drains failed, directing sewage and water into the basement. The septic and perimeter drains were advertised as "old but working", but we quickly found out this isn't the case when it rains. If you want the long story, sit back and I will bring you through a media journey explaining how an immune suppressed MS patient ended up with dreams underwater. Otherwise you can skip to the bottom (past the timeline).
So lets look at the timeline...
September 28th
The search for a detached home brought me well out of the city. Powel River and Port Alberni were great options because you could get a home on a little bit of land. Since I am starting late in the game, I figure it will be good to have enough room to start a family and work on gardens... Get Chickens... You know, the dream.
We come across a place in Port Alberni. A 70's home, so a little work is expected. We ask questions and the realtor informs us that the septic people say the septic currently works, but it is an older system. They flush the toilet and it goes away, they say. Might also be worth taking a look at some key sections of the property disclosure statement, but I am having some trouble getting a screenshot that gofundme doesn't resize in a way that leaves it unreadable... Perhaps I can share it as a link... But basically it says this:
Section 2. Services
E. Are you aware of any problems with the sanitary sewer system?
No is ticked.
Section 3. Building
K. Are you aware of any moisture and/or water problems in the walls, basement or crawl space?
No is ticked.
Section 4. General
B. Are you aware of any material latent defect as defined in Real Estate Council of British Columbia Rule 5-13(1)(a)(i) or Rule 5-13(1)(a)(ii) in respect of the Premises?
No is ticked.
More about this later, as it becomes relevant in my story...
Tuesday December 1st
Possession day! So excited! Its all coming together! Friends come over to help load the moving truck and stay until the wee hours of the morning, but only a couple. Oi COVID.
Friday December 4th
Arrive for the first sleep in the new home! Woot! Finally I am turning into an adult, just a lot late.
Wednesday December 16th
What's that smell? Is it the dogs? The mill? No, its the shower floor, ewwwww. Alright, the septic must be full, I will have to get a pump truck in here. You can see just how high it got with the wet concrete...
And how it didn't go all the way down, just hangs out just below the drain cover.
Wednesday December 19th
The rain starts. And not a little. The water level in the shower continues to rise, so I contact a local family friend. Gary was a pipefitter before he retired, so maybe he can lend a little expertise. Get the "lay of the land", as he put it, and bring a spade so I can dig up my septic tank for pumping.
While he is here the rain really picks up, critical mass is reached! Septic starts overwhelming the shower and pouring into the basement. The perimeter drains cant keep up and pour in over the rear doorjamb and under the garage door. More water comes in from an old chimney that has no cap... I really wish I had time to take photos during this event, but Gary and I were so busy trying to keep the water at bay that we didn't have time. I also didn't want to touch my phone with dirty hands while cleaning up septic. I stacked all of my unpacked boxes up off the ground and started mopping like crazy. I built a berm on the rear step and we directed the lower eaves from the perimeter drain entries. Why aren't things draining inside, you ask? The interior drains are plugged with old shirts...
I took some photos the next day... Now here's a perimeter drain that isn't working.
The aftermath of the shower floor. Notice all the flecks, you can only imagine what that is. Looks like white and brown paint. Unfortunately I know what it is... Trust me, it is not paint.
That handy little red thing is how we managed to stop the inflow, Gary brought over what is called a "mechanical plug".
My berm on the back step, doesn't seem like much. It was enough to slow things down enough to stop it coming over the doorjamb. That little drain managed to keep up now (in addition to all the other things we did).
The garage was a little more complicated, I have to go out and buy sandbags for this one. Spent Christmas eve filling them, but I will include what it looks like with sandbags in a later photo.
Monday December 21st
Emergency septic pump to the rescue! This will solve my septic problem at least... or will it?
Gross, its definitely full up!
Uh oh, this isn't good:
Are you a septic expert? Do you know what this means? Because I didn't. The pumper was saying that this is the septic field pushing back into the tank, meaning the water table was over the drain field. THIS is why the septic is backflowing into the shower, not because the tank was full.
Time to call Roto-Rooter.
Wednesday December 30
Roto-Rooter shows up and does a field inspection. The results aren't good, "Camera inspection was performed on the septic field. There appears to be only one field line (four-inch PV). Septic field line is totally submerged (in ground water). Due to seasonal highwater table this system is in a performance malfunction. To the best of my knowledge the septic field has not operated properly for years during the rainy season."
What you are looking at here is the camera. It shows the drain field as completely submerged. If you know about septic fields, which I didn't, this is a bad thing.
That's a whole lot of money!
Why is the GoFundMe for $35,000 you might ask? Why not buy a small car instead? Because the cost it will take to fix this septic field. According to RotoRooter, the type of field to overcome this issue is called an "engineered field". It basically means they pile up a whole bunch of expensive engineered sand (around 10-15k worth) and pump your liquid UP to the top of this mound. This gives the black water time to percolate down. Natural bacteria eats it up and turns it into something safe for the water table. Who knew? There is also a 4k registration with the health authority. It all adds up quickly. I have been shopping around to find the lowest price, 35k for both the septic and perimeter drains still leaves me out of pocket, but certainly within my grasp.
But wait a second, hasn't worked for years?
You caught that did you? The field inspection says there was no way this could be working correctly. For a long time. And this will bring us back to the disclosure statement. The sellers clearly indicated there were no known issues. But what is a materiel latent defect? From the PDS, "a material defect that cannot be discerned through a reasonable inspection of the property.... that renders the real estate unfit for habitation". Does sewage and perimeter drain backflowing into your basement render a property unfit for habitation?
Why not sue?
Suing seems like the easiest answer, but as it turns out things aren't exactly like they are on TV.
I suppose the first thing I should mention is the burden of evidence. We have to come up with concrete evidence that the sellers in fact knew this was a problem; at best we have the stories the neighbors related and no actual physical evidence.
The fact is, perimeter drains and septic tanks have an expected lifespan. This is taken into account when awarding settlements. Additionally, betterment is a fancy little legal term that means your property increases value for the work being completed. Therefore you only get the difference between the amount it was made better and the damages incurred. At least, that was how I understood it when the lawyers explained it to me.
After speaking to a number of lawyers the general lesson was the amount of settlement minus legal fees would leave me in about the same situation I am in now, or worse. Broken septic, and perimeter drains with little to show for it aside from a debt from a lost case, or a pittance that is barely enough to cover legal fees. Additionally, the process would take a long time and I need to have a sanitary system installed soon.
But, did they know?
The simple answer is... probably. Speaking to one neighbour, they saw them hooking up a pump into the perimeter drain system and pumping water out to the ditch. Another neighbour says that he received a call from a distraught previous owner because there was inches of water in the basement. I think they knew. Is there enough evidence to prove it? Not likely.
Why not sell?
Simply put, I would lose my shirt. Unfortunately a home that requires $35,000 of work has a greatly reduced value. I would not be able to recover our mortgaged amount, down payment and fees.
How can you help?
You don't have to donate, but share! If I can get this in front of 3000 people willing to donate $10, I can make this happen! If you work for a company that can provide discounts to the engineers that will also help, just let me know and I will lower the goal accordingly.
And that about sums it up...
I was late entering the real estate market; I was always worried the bubble would pop right as I got in and I would lose my shirt. I was extra cautious because I have a much shorter working expectancy than the average person as my MS will eventually catch up to me. However, in 2018 I started a new treatment regime that kills off all of my lymphocytes, the theory being my immune system would be reset and the MS would not be attacking my brain. Great, I thought, as this could extend my working years! Time to finally take the plunge...
Just didn't expect to be defecating in a bucket and cleaning up other people's feces in my basement while I was immune suppressed. If there is one thing to learn from this whole ordeal, it's buyer beware. Any lesson I can pass on to others is to assume sellers are misrepresenting, or at least not telling the whole truth. Be careful and thank you for reading.
So what happened?
My dream come true turned into a nightmare when the septic started backflowing and the perimeter drains failed, directing sewage and water into the basement. The septic and perimeter drains were advertised as "old but working", but we quickly found out this isn't the case when it rains. If you want the long story, sit back and I will bring you through a media journey explaining how an immune suppressed MS patient ended up with dreams underwater. Otherwise you can skip to the bottom (past the timeline).
So lets look at the timeline...
September 28th
The search for a detached home brought me well out of the city. Powel River and Port Alberni were great options because you could get a home on a little bit of land. Since I am starting late in the game, I figure it will be good to have enough room to start a family and work on gardens... Get Chickens... You know, the dream.
We come across a place in Port Alberni. A 70's home, so a little work is expected. We ask questions and the realtor informs us that the septic people say the septic currently works, but it is an older system. They flush the toilet and it goes away, they say. Might also be worth taking a look at some key sections of the property disclosure statement, but I am having some trouble getting a screenshot that gofundme doesn't resize in a way that leaves it unreadable... Perhaps I can share it as a link... But basically it says this:
Section 2. Services
E. Are you aware of any problems with the sanitary sewer system?
No is ticked.
Section 3. Building
K. Are you aware of any moisture and/or water problems in the walls, basement or crawl space?
No is ticked.
Section 4. General
B. Are you aware of any material latent defect as defined in Real Estate Council of British Columbia Rule 5-13(1)(a)(i) or Rule 5-13(1)(a)(ii) in respect of the Premises?
No is ticked.
More about this later, as it becomes relevant in my story...
Tuesday December 1st
Possession day! So excited! Its all coming together! Friends come over to help load the moving truck and stay until the wee hours of the morning, but only a couple. Oi COVID.
Friday December 4th
Arrive for the first sleep in the new home! Woot! Finally I am turning into an adult, just a lot late.
Wednesday December 16th
What's that smell? Is it the dogs? The mill? No, its the shower floor, ewwwww. Alright, the septic must be full, I will have to get a pump truck in here. You can see just how high it got with the wet concrete...
And how it didn't go all the way down, just hangs out just below the drain cover.
Wednesday December 19th
The rain starts. And not a little. The water level in the shower continues to rise, so I contact a local family friend. Gary was a pipefitter before he retired, so maybe he can lend a little expertise. Get the "lay of the land", as he put it, and bring a spade so I can dig up my septic tank for pumping.
While he is here the rain really picks up, critical mass is reached! Septic starts overwhelming the shower and pouring into the basement. The perimeter drains cant keep up and pour in over the rear doorjamb and under the garage door. More water comes in from an old chimney that has no cap... I really wish I had time to take photos during this event, but Gary and I were so busy trying to keep the water at bay that we didn't have time. I also didn't want to touch my phone with dirty hands while cleaning up septic. I stacked all of my unpacked boxes up off the ground and started mopping like crazy. I built a berm on the rear step and we directed the lower eaves from the perimeter drain entries. Why aren't things draining inside, you ask? The interior drains are plugged with old shirts...
I took some photos the next day... Now here's a perimeter drain that isn't working.
The aftermath of the shower floor. Notice all the flecks, you can only imagine what that is. Looks like white and brown paint. Unfortunately I know what it is... Trust me, it is not paint.That handy little red thing is how we managed to stop the inflow, Gary brought over what is called a "mechanical plug".
My berm on the back step, doesn't seem like much. It was enough to slow things down enough to stop it coming over the doorjamb. That little drain managed to keep up now (in addition to all the other things we did).
The garage was a little more complicated, I have to go out and buy sandbags for this one. Spent Christmas eve filling them, but I will include what it looks like with sandbags in a later photo.
Monday December 21st
Emergency septic pump to the rescue! This will solve my septic problem at least... or will it?
Gross, its definitely full up!
Uh oh, this isn't good:
Are you a septic expert? Do you know what this means? Because I didn't. The pumper was saying that this is the septic field pushing back into the tank, meaning the water table was over the drain field. THIS is why the septic is backflowing into the shower, not because the tank was full.Time to call Roto-Rooter.
Wednesday December 30
Roto-Rooter shows up and does a field inspection. The results aren't good, "Camera inspection was performed on the septic field. There appears to be only one field line (four-inch PV). Septic field line is totally submerged (in ground water). Due to seasonal highwater table this system is in a performance malfunction. To the best of my knowledge the septic field has not operated properly for years during the rainy season."
What you are looking at here is the camera. It shows the drain field as completely submerged. If you know about septic fields, which I didn't, this is a bad thing.
That's a whole lot of money!
Why is the GoFundMe for $35,000 you might ask? Why not buy a small car instead? Because the cost it will take to fix this septic field. According to RotoRooter, the type of field to overcome this issue is called an "engineered field". It basically means they pile up a whole bunch of expensive engineered sand (around 10-15k worth) and pump your liquid UP to the top of this mound. This gives the black water time to percolate down. Natural bacteria eats it up and turns it into something safe for the water table. Who knew? There is also a 4k registration with the health authority. It all adds up quickly. I have been shopping around to find the lowest price, 35k for both the septic and perimeter drains still leaves me out of pocket, but certainly within my grasp.
But wait a second, hasn't worked for years?
You caught that did you? The field inspection says there was no way this could be working correctly. For a long time. And this will bring us back to the disclosure statement. The sellers clearly indicated there were no known issues. But what is a materiel latent defect? From the PDS, "a material defect that cannot be discerned through a reasonable inspection of the property.... that renders the real estate unfit for habitation". Does sewage and perimeter drain backflowing into your basement render a property unfit for habitation?
Why not sue?
Suing seems like the easiest answer, but as it turns out things aren't exactly like they are on TV.
I suppose the first thing I should mention is the burden of evidence. We have to come up with concrete evidence that the sellers in fact knew this was a problem; at best we have the stories the neighbors related and no actual physical evidence.
The fact is, perimeter drains and septic tanks have an expected lifespan. This is taken into account when awarding settlements. Additionally, betterment is a fancy little legal term that means your property increases value for the work being completed. Therefore you only get the difference between the amount it was made better and the damages incurred. At least, that was how I understood it when the lawyers explained it to me.
After speaking to a number of lawyers the general lesson was the amount of settlement minus legal fees would leave me in about the same situation I am in now, or worse. Broken septic, and perimeter drains with little to show for it aside from a debt from a lost case, or a pittance that is barely enough to cover legal fees. Additionally, the process would take a long time and I need to have a sanitary system installed soon.
But, did they know?
The simple answer is... probably. Speaking to one neighbour, they saw them hooking up a pump into the perimeter drain system and pumping water out to the ditch. Another neighbour says that he received a call from a distraught previous owner because there was inches of water in the basement. I think they knew. Is there enough evidence to prove it? Not likely.
Why not sell?
Simply put, I would lose my shirt. Unfortunately a home that requires $35,000 of work has a greatly reduced value. I would not be able to recover our mortgaged amount, down payment and fees.
How can you help?
You don't have to donate, but share! If I can get this in front of 3000 people willing to donate $10, I can make this happen! If you work for a company that can provide discounts to the engineers that will also help, just let me know and I will lower the goal accordingly.
And that about sums it up...
I was late entering the real estate market; I was always worried the bubble would pop right as I got in and I would lose my shirt. I was extra cautious because I have a much shorter working expectancy than the average person as my MS will eventually catch up to me. However, in 2018 I started a new treatment regime that kills off all of my lymphocytes, the theory being my immune system would be reset and the MS would not be attacking my brain. Great, I thought, as this could extend my working years! Time to finally take the plunge...
Just didn't expect to be defecating in a bucket and cleaning up other people's feces in my basement while I was immune suppressed. If there is one thing to learn from this whole ordeal, it's buyer beware. Any lesson I can pass on to others is to assume sellers are misrepresenting, or at least not telling the whole truth. Be careful and thank you for reading.
Organizer
Dylan Fowler
Organizer
Port Alberni, BC