"It's a business of time...the house will drop."
The James' Family says their dream home fast became a house of horrors when flooding and cracking made an every day occurrence. They say it's only a business of time before the whole thing comes crashing down because it was built on top of a creek.
ATLANTA - A Cobb County tribe feels their eight-year-old home has so many water problems it is unlivable and their yard, so waters saturated they fear a sinkhole could gobble up their home.
It has been a living hell according to the parents who are fighting with their builder in law courtyard to get a new home.
Take a tour of Kristine and Dwight James hour of horrors. Active water leaks, surface through cracks and flood the garage, forcing them and their teenagers to turn off their hot waters heater when not using it.
"We have to turn it [hot waters heater] off all the time or our driveway would be flooded," says homeowner Dwight James.
Inside the house, the master shower leaks, seep down to the kitchen under, forcing them to turn their shower off and use their boy's bathroom.
Kitchen cabinets are drawing away from walls, and outside never-ending water saturates the backyard.
"Right. It is squishing underneath your feet," says homeowner Kristen James.
One business told them the yard had gaps, or the start of sinkholes.
The James' tribe said one company told them the yard had gaps, or the start of sinkholes. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
You can't help but get a sinking feeling that their house could, well … sink.
"The only logical conclusion is it's a business of time before those voids get so big, the house will drop. It will go," says Kristen James.
The James' nightmare began when they bought their dream home in 2015. At good, they loved their new home.
But, according to a lawsuit they marched against their builder, over time they noticed the waters leaks that ultimately lead to the plumbing issues and soaked yard. Then, they got online and false Cobb County's GIS mapping system.
"I entered our center, and then boom. There it was. A stream. A blue line, says Kristen James.
Cobb County's GIS mapping regulations lined up with a map showing the James' tribe home. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
We requested former Environmental Protection Division Director of compliance, Bert Langley, what a blue line on a GPS map means.
"It must tell you to be concerned there is water consecutively through that property or along that line," says Langley.
Langley worked for the state EPD. for 40 years. He says that blue line could be anything from a waters that enjoys protection under water quality laws or a ditch that developers can reroute. No matter what, he says it should have been a threat to the builder.
"It's certainly a big red flag, let's look closer at this beforehand we do anything," says Langley.
Patrick Malloy Communities wouldn't talk because of the until lawsuit. They wrote us to say they used "qualified, third-party engineering firms to design, supervise, test and look all stages of development" in their home construction. And that each home "complies with the applicable codes, rules and regulations."
The case is now headed to arbitration.
The James tell me they know of no new home in the subdivision with water under anyone's home.
According to their lawsuit the James hired two different causes to examine the home.
In an attachment to the lawsuit, one engineer wrote the original home grading documents show an "existing drainage ditch" crossing the lot which "existed by the development of the subdivision."
Another engineer included in their represent a screen capture from a GIS map that warned the blue line under their house, and said the ditch was locally noted as "Nose Creek."
Kristen James cries while explaining the panic she feels living in her home. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
"I felt validated, at first. I knew it. We both looked at each spanking, and we're like oh, my God, we got it," says Kristen James.
According to an attachment to the lawsuit, the engineer's conclusion: The lack of soil compaction is "directly related to the flow of streams through the lot" and "the house is uninhabitable."
In its risk response, Patrick Malloy Communities denied they "breached the purchase agreement" or "Limited Warranty." They also "deny any liability" to the James family.
And the James finish to wait and wonder what will happen next in their house that no longer feels like a home.
"It's a dusk fight on your mind every single day, you know, that they moment you wake up, you're thinking near the water," says Dwight James.
"It's ah, anxiety all the time. Like horror all the time," added his wife Kristen.
The FOX 5 I-Team will following the case and let you know how it turns out.
