Rowhome Property Damage Attorneys Serving Philadelphia, PA

Often more than one party: the contractor doing the work, the developer or owner who hired them, and sometimes an engineer or the party's insurer. Pennsylvania law also puts duties on an excavating owner toward the adjoining property. Sorting out who pays starts with the permits, plans, and an assessment of what physically caused the damage.

Photograph everything with dates, keep any earlier photos of the same areas, write down when you first noticed each problem, and report it in writing rather than by phone. If the work next door is permitted, the filings are public. Do not sign a release or accept a repair check before someone has looked at the full extent of the damage.

No. Homeowners policies often exclude earth movement while still covering other causes, and how the loss is characterized frequently decides the claim. We review the policy language against what actually happened, and we handle the bad-faith side of these disputes as well.

Yes, an old lien, a missing heir's signature, or a boundary discrepancy can hold up a closing indefinitely until it's resolved through a negotiated release, a quiet title action, or litigation.

Often yes. A professional survey combined with a negotiated agreement between neighboring owners resolves most boundary disputes without litigation, we reserve court action for cases where a fair resolution isn't otherwise realistic.

A sheriff sale is typically the final step in a foreclosure or judgment-collection process, and by the time it's scheduled, options for stopping it narrow significantly. Speaking with an attorney as early as possible preserves the most options.

Residential tenancies are heavily protected by state and municipal landlord-tenant statutes, while commercial leases are governed almost entirely by their own negotiated terms. That difference changes which arguments are available to either side.

Philadelphia sits in Philadelphia County, so a state court matter goes to the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, sits at City Hall and the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice. Federal claims are heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia is the region's densest mix of rowhome housing stock, large employers, and commercial tenancy. Whatever the matter, it is filed and heard in Philadelphia, though an initial case review does not happen at the courthouse. Court appearances come later, and not every matter reaches one.

Often more than one party: the contractor doing the work, the developer or owner who hired them, and sometimes an engineer or the party's insurer. Pennsylvania law also puts duties on an excavating owner toward the adjoining property, which matters in a rowhome city where your house shares a party wall with whatever the lot next door becomes. Sorting out who pays starts with the permits, the plans, and an assessment of what physically caused the movement.

Photograph everything with dates, keep any earlier photos of the same areas, and write down when you first noticed each problem. Report it in writing rather than by phone. Work next door in Philadelphia is permitted through Licenses and Inspections, and those filings are public, so the permits and plans can be pulled. Do not sign a release or accept a repair check before someone has looked at the full extent of the damage.

Yes. Residential tenancies are heavily protected by state and municipal landlord-tenant statutes, while commercial leases are governed almost entirely by their own negotiated terms. In a city with this much commercial tenancy sitting directly beneath and beside rowhome apartments, one building can produce both kinds of dispute. That difference changes which arguments are available to either side, so the first thing to settle is which kind of tenancy is actually involved.