Homeowners Wading in Unknown Waters

Thank god this photo is not a real one, but I have seen backyards almost as bad in the Capital Region.

I have worked for the City of Albany for 7 years and have lived here for the same amount of time (becoming a homeowner here in 2020). I first started working at the Albany Water Department back in 2016 and I am now with the Department of Engineering in 2024.

During my time with the City, I have fielded numerous calls from residents, usually new homeowners, who were calling for help as their backyards were flooding after major rainfalls or snowmelts. Often, their basements would also flood.

It was the same story almost every time: "..but I had my home inspected, they didn't say anything about this" and you can certainly believe the previous homeowner never disclosed this information during the closing of the sale (even though the City would often have records of previous complaints received about similar issues on the property by the previous owners). The City usually has no responsibility to address these issues as they are on private property. To make matters worse: Almost all homeowner insurance policies explicitly do not cover stormwater damage or backyard flood mitigation.

It just broke my heart: After paying commissions to a real estate agent whom they trusted, paying a fee to a home inspector they trusted, and then taking out a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar mortgage to pay the previous homeowners (whom were dishonest, and you can hardly blame them): These "new homebuyers" are now on the hook for paying out additional thousands of dollars to try to remediate issues which none of the former parties made them aware of. They will also be paying taxes into a government which cannot help them.

But the worst part of all: No one even told them it was something to look for.

If I was not in this field, then you can better believe that I would be assuming a "Home Inspector" would also inspect the area immediately adjacent to the home (i.e. the front, side, and back yards). This simply just is not the case and for some reason, "residential engineering inspections" are just not a thing -- until now.

One of the main reasons I started CMCS is to tackle this issue. We offer reasonably priced engineering services to new homebuyers which supplement the required typical home inspection. Things we can note and flag in our inspections, include:

• Backyard Ponding (as discussed above)

• History of sewer back-ups during rainfall events

• Sewer service conditions

• Water service conditions (e.g. checking for lead pipes)

• Slope and retaining wall concerns

• Examination of decks, trees, and other ancillary structures on the property.

• Other issues specific to the local region.

I also plan to spread awareness by working with municipalities, home inspectors, and real estate agents to raise awareness of these all-too-common residential home issues. At the very least, I want potential home buyers to ask their purchasing team direct questions about the items above. This would already be a big improvement versus the pure ignorance to these issues today.

These services are certainly not a big "money maker" for CMCS, but they are close to my heart and I am always happy to help the everyday person who is just trying to find a place to call home. Please call CMCS to evaluate your prospective property today!