We have a real mess we're trying to fix but we've over thought everything and now we're totally lost.

1. Our house is on a negative slope and we're obviously getting runoff from our neighbors

2. We're in Georgia and we get a lot of rain and the gutters aren't holding all the water and we're having overflow.

3. We have many trees and when digging we're running into tons of large roots. Also, the soil is sandy and has lots of clay so what the h e double toothpicks does that add up to? HELP

4. Don't know which system to use, French drain, catch basin, underground pipe system.

5. We've over thought it to the point my husbands got all 3 going on and he's been working on it for over a week now and and he's 62. Poor man. Also, he's starting to MacGyver thing's and that scares me.

6. Laws in Georgia say any damage due to neighbors runoff they are not liable but at the same time they can't make any changes. Apparently you can't change the natural flow of water even if it's causing problems. Being at the base of the it I think it's okay to route the water to the storm drain.

7. The storm ditch on the side and front of our house and a storm inlet at the corner of the property which is on city property but it looks like it's plugged up. I've call the appropriate people twice and was told they'd come out (twice) but no one has.

We need drainage for dummies. Yes, I know we should have called a professional but we just bought the old house 1 year ago and have put everything we have into it. No lectures please.

Anyway, can anyone help before we really and truly screw it up.

Thank you.

Also, this house is 50+ years old, why hasn't any of the previous owners worked this issue out or are we again over thinking it and we should have just left things alone.

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