Brandon Twp.- A real estate sign in front of the home at 2330 S. Ortonville Road advertises it is for sale.
But what is in back of the home advertises big problems.
The vacant home has a walk-out basement, what could be considered a good selling point, but instead is a liability. The backyard is a swamp and the house has suffered damage from standing water in the basement, up to 5 inches.
Next-door neighbor Jack Irons is angry about the situation, caused, he says, by the new Long Lake Village housing development behind the existing M-15 homes.
He notes the low-lying property has had problems in the past, but was never flooded to the extent it is now. He believes the major problem began last summer when land balancing was completed by Centex Homes. Irons says the fault lies with Silverman Companies, a land developer who sold the property to Centex.
‘I feel it is an engineering failure,? says Irons. ‘No one ever mentioned land balancing (when public meetings were held regarding development), so when they started balancing the land, the neighbors were completely shocked. No trees were saved. We know of a number of ponds that were filled in and houses built on top. There is a huge amount of wetlands gone and all the water flow was redirected. Why is all this water standing there? It falls in the lap of the township engineer and Hubbell, Roth and Clark (the engineering firm for the site).?
Irons has taken on defending the property, in the absence of an owner, because it is affecting his and his neighbors? property values. He is also concerned with mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus caused by them, although the Oakland County Health Department has been out and told Irons there is no health threat or e.Coli present in the water, which stands over the home’s septic.
Brandon Building Director Tim Palulian says the problem is not a result of the development’s grading, but instead the current situation is a result of quick melt-off of snow, heavy rains and was exacerbated earlier this month when Centex was flushing their hydrant system and a hose to a hydrant close to the M-15 homes broke and continued to run water, unmonitored, flooding the basement of the home next to Irons?.
The building department was notified and Palulian says he went out and alerted Centex they needed to pump immediately. Pumping began May 11, but the pump was found not to be working last week and Palulian told them they had to pump until the water was gone, which could take up to a week, longer if it rains.
‘If Centex fails to abate this condition, the worst of which is caused by them directly, we will take legal action to force them to abate this condition,? Palulian said. ‘Whatever damage this house has suffered, Centex will have to deal with.?
Palulian believes that once Centex get their final grade set for the models built and they get groundcover, the water that comes off the Centex property will not be more contributive to the water condition at 2330 S. Ortonville Road than it was before Centex developed the property.
He agrees with Iron, however, that condemnation of the home is a possibility.
‘There is a lot of deterioration of the house, rot,? Palulian said. ‘If there is no potential for putting a septic system anywhere by that house except for the rear, condemnation is more likely. There is no way any septic system can go in that yard. When you get a rainstorm, it will fill up again. At this point, the only logical thing to do is close out the basement and convert to a daylight basement. Block it up and have windows four feet off the floor and fill the backyard.?
Palulian is currently doing a title search to see who owns the home.