‘Really disgusting’: Homeowner says part of backyard caving in, blames construction

A Lancaster homeowner says Ryan Homes’ new construction next door caused his yard to erode and his fence to sink. He turned to Action 9 after the builder’s initial attempts to fix the problem left gaps and trenches, leaving neighbors concerned.

John Zimmermann’s says Ryan Homes started building a house on the lot behind his in Lancaster.

He says the company put up a wall for the new home.

Action 9: woman can't believe sink hole that formed in her backyard

He says, to their credit, they filled the gap with dirt to secure yards like his.

However, Zimmermann says the wall cracked.

"So, then they had to come in and dig all this out," he said.

He says they left a trench and that his yard couldn’t take it.

“All my land down here is eroding,” he said.

He also says his fence post was sinking.

Zimmermann used ropes, “to tie it off so that if it did drop, it would only drop a few inches like the one over there that did drop.”

His neighbor posted a sign to warn his lawn service.

Zimmermann says he contacted Ryan Homes and, “They say they have a plan, but I don’t know what it is.”

He says he waited about a month and a half before turning to Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke for help.

“It’s something that is really disgusting to me that we’ve invested [in this] and they seem to be uncaring about it,” he said.

Stoogenke reached out to the builder and, exactly one week later, Zimmermann told him Ryan Homes filled the gap -- shoring up his yard -- but that his neighbor still had problems.

Action 9 called Ryan Homes and asked for the media contact. The person who answered asked for a lot of detailed information and promised to have someone get back to Action 9, but no one did in time for this report.

Action 9 hears complaints about developers next door often.

Advice:

Document everything. That means pictures, video, emails.
If the builder doesn’t budge, you can contact your local government. Not sure which agency? Start with code enforcement.
You can file a complaint with the state’s general contracting board.
If all else fails, you may want to talk to an attorney.

VIDEO: Builder promises to fix erosion, but homeowner says it never followed through