texas

Foster Family Wakes Up to Flooded Backyard at New Home

Many people wish for waterfront property, but you don't close your eyes at night and wake up to it the next day – unless you're the Perkins family in Waxahachie.

Raymond and Anita Perkins bought a new construction home, and then the spring rain storms started.

"When we woke up that morning, I remember my wife saying, 'Oh, my God, you've got to see this,'" Raymond Perkins said.

Their backyard was transformed into something out of a Louisiana swamp.

All the water from the new neighborhood appeared to flow down the street and into their backyard, where it just sat.

The Perkinses contacted the builder and the county trying to keep cool about the situation, and Raymond Perkins said the builder told them it wasn't their responsibility.

Then the couple got word that the flooded backyard was about to impact something much more important.

The couple raised foster children when they lived in Missouri and had applied to be foster parents again, now that they live in Texas closer to family.

"The state came out, that operates foster care," Raymond Perkins said.

He said a social worker told him they couldn't get foster kids here with the flooded backyard.

"This shouldn't have happened," Raymond Perkins said.

NBC 5 Responds made one phone call to the builder, who assured us plans to fix the yard were already in place, saying, "This is a low area. Beyond that point at the rear of the yard, that should have been built up a little higher."

"We are not passing blame, but just need it to be dry so we can repair," the builder said.

They did repair it, and Raymond Perkins calls it "good, solid soil."

Anita Perkins invited NBC 5 to the first barbecue in the new, dry yard. They said they have since been approved to receive foster children and were expecting two brothers shortly.

If you are buying a new construction home, there are many things to keep in mind, including:

Remember to read your contract when you build a new home.

Make sure you have protection for everything from dirt to the dishwasher.

If you run into any problems, you should have written proof in your contract of what the builder must repair.

Hiring a builder with a solid reputation is key.

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