More wet basements are caused by grading than by bad foundations. Soil settles against every house over the years until the lawn slopes toward the wall, downspouts dump beside the footing, and spring melt has nowhere to go but down your foundation. The fix is moving dirt, not injecting cracks.
We re-establish positive grade (the rule of thumb: 6 inches of fall in the first 6 feet), build swales to carry neighbour-shared water, and sort out downspout discharge. It's some of the highest-ROI work we do — often a few thousand dollars to fix what a five-figure waterproofing quote was chasing.
About 6 inches of drop in the first 6 feet (a 5–8% grade), then gentler positive fall out to the property line or a swale.
Partly — but keep finished grade 6–8 inches below your siding/brick line and below the top of foundation, or you trade a water problem for a rot and pest problem. And don't bury the weeping-tile cleanouts.
You can't legally dam natural drainage onto a neighbour, but a properly shaped swale carries it through your lot without soaking your foundation. That's the standard solution and it's permitted.
Late spring through fall — soil needs to be workable and dry enough to compact. Book before the fall rush if a wet basement is your motivation.