We have a SIGN...and our first major roadblock

According to Baltimore City law, we must get our adjacent neighbors’ permission to dig out our basement. Considering our basement height is currently 6’…and Mike is 6’3”...this is clearly an important piece to our overall design plan. We are planning on digging it out to 8’ to fit that awesome family room, third bedroom, third bathroom, washer/dryer, and storage. The reason why we have to get permission from neighbors is because we have to “underpin” both sides of the house, underneath the current walls that we share. This can disrupt neighbors’ homes. But it’s a totally safe process, and it’s being done ALL over Canton.

Normally, neighbors are thrilled to get approached for something like this. It makes these 100-year-old structures more structurally sound (ours was built in 1915!). It helps prevent flooding. And – this is the real reason people like it – it makes it cheaper for them if they ever want to dig out their basement. It’s a costly endeavor, and one side of their house will already be done for FREE! Even if they don’t dig it out themselves, it’s good for resale value to tote that one of their basement walls is underpinned.

So, Mike and I were more than happy to approach our new neighbor, with our contractor Joe, to get her to sign the papers that he had sent previously, so that we can get the permit and move on. We walked over to our demo’d house, and saw this sign:

 

Woo-hoo! The court date to get the extension put on the back of our house is our 2-year wedding anniversary! “It’s fate,” I thought. The neighbor to our north had already signed the papers, so just one more neighbor to go. We happily knocked on her door, not a care in the world, excited to talk to her about her free home upgrade, courtesy of us. Aren't we the BEST neighbors?? We knocked once, then knocked again. We figured she wasn’t home, so Joe, Mike, and I were just chatting outside. About five minutes later, an older woman finally answered her door in her robe. She said she was sick, so she couldn’t talk long. We introduced ourselves, explained who we were, and asked what she had signed the papers to give us permission to dig out our basement. She said she had sent the papers over to her brother to look over, and he told her not to sign them. So she’s not going to.

UMMMMMMM….WHAT?!?!? I can’t even imagine the shocked/disappointed look that both Mike and I had on our faces. Our whole.entire.plan. revolves around having a finished basement. We are not going to move into another 2-bed, 2-bath house in Canton! It’s just not going to happen! What the heck?!?

Her major concern is that she’s heard of bad things happening to people’s homes after signing the permission forms. No real concrete evidence, just some random stories. She did bring up a concern about another house that Joe had done up the street that had a “rancid substance” coming out of a pipe from the house. We checked it out…and it’s water. Nothing rancid about it – normal water, that could have possibly flooded a basement and a neighbor’s basement, but instead was being pumped out of the house.

We ended up talking to her for about 45 minutes. She was very sweet – said things like “you’re the exact caliber of people that I want living next door to me”. When it comes down to it, she just doesn’t really understand the process or what is going to happen or what the risks are. So she’s simply taking the advice of someone who “is smarter” than she is – and he told her not to do it.

Mike and I were obviously SO upset by this news. I think we went all the way home in silence. After the initial shock wore off, we sprang to action. As Joe said, “This is only the first refusal”. Mike and I crafted a letter that addressed all over her concerns, and included some veiled threats (sorry – we had to!). The ONE thing that is keeping us from completely going over the ledge is that supposedly the law is going to change in November, and you will no longer need neighbors’ permissions anymore. Who knows if this is actually going to happen, but we sure talked about it in our letter as if it’s happening. We said that while we still need her permission, she might as well put language on the contract that will make her feel more comfortable. Come November, she may not have that chance. We also said that if we don’t get to build out our basement, we will not live there. Who knows what “caliber” of the people will rent it from us? We also tried to explain all the benefits to her - and reiterate how if on the offchance something goes wrong, we are responsible.

So, we are at a standstill. An expensive, stressful, standstill. IF we finally get her permission, you may hear Mike and I rejoicing from your house. IF we don’t get her permission and IF the law passes in November, then we will proceed as planned. Sucks that we have to pay two extra mortgages and piss off a neighbor along the way, but such is life. IF we don’t get permission and IF the law doesn’t pass in November…this blog may all be for nothing. Sigh. Fingers crossed!!