Save the Dorsey Household
SUMMARY:
Some of you may know we built a home on land in northwestern Carroll County. The 13 month build was a nightmare to say the least. Once construction ended we spent over $150,000 in addition to the mortgage in the first few months correcting mistakes that resulted from the build. There were major issues with EVERY aspect of the build. For 5 weeks we lived separately while our new home was repaired so that one of us could be present on site at all times to manage the additional construction. This cost is not including the work we did ourselves or the work by provided volunteers. We are now stretched thinner than ever as we face these unexpected debts while we see the to the needs of our disabled two-year-old while baby # 2 is on the way.
JUST when we thought our home-construction nightmare was over our newly-finished basement was flooded with storm water which backed up from a failed drain. Consequently, our brand new finished basement will now have to be gutted. At this point we brought in an inspector to provide a more detailed assessment of the home. The inspector found several more unknown issues with the home that would cost us upwards of about $150,000 to fix. In addition to the flooding, water leakage occurred in our master bedroom ceiling and main hall as well. It was made clear during the same storm event that our roof vents had failed. We immediately sought out legal counsel who provided estimated costs as high as $80,000 to mitigate this issue on our behalf to the fullest extent possible. We then moved out of our new home so that it could be cleared of any mold and water damage in preparation to rebuild what was lost. We’ve been relocated to a local hotel for the time being until our home is livable once again.
We never wanted to get to this point of begging for help. Our fear is losing our home. We've been selling what personal possessions we can but it's not near enough. We're in need of financial assistance. If you’d like to contribute monetarily, we would be grateful for any and all help. We are trying to make sense of all the hardships we’ve faced over the last few years. There are no answers. We are feeling defeated with strong desires to run away but the only option is to keep moving forward which has led us to create this request. The following is a fuller description and timeline of our journey. Thank you for reading. God bless you and yours.
DETAILED TIMELINE:
Hi, my name is Ryan Dorsey and my family has been facing continuous hardships since 2018. We are desperate for any help to go towards the astronomical costs we are currently facing. 2018 was the year that my wife and I decided it was time to start a family. Early that year we were attempting to buy land and build our forever home. The land we settled on turned out to have multiple legal issues and despite the approval we received from our real estate attorney, the land ended up having a bad title. This situation pushed us to the point of considering bankruptcy and led us to sell our townhome in Baltimore while we moved in with family and friends to help support us in the interim. We were fortunate enough to recover a fraction of our losses from a title insurance claim. In the end we were able to sell the property for less than we purchased.
During this transition we quickly tried to buy an older home, which fell through as well. As all this was happening, we learned that we were pregnant with our first born, Natalie in the winter of 2019. Sadly, just two weeks before Natalie was born later that year, the doctor discovered that our baby had suffered two strokes in utero and was left with severe brain damage, hydrocephalus, and cerebral palsy. Natalie survived delivery despite the odds predicted by professionals. She has undergone three brain surgeries since her birth due to the complications that were brought on by the hydrocephalus. She is currently enrolled in daily therapy provided by Kennedy Krieger Institute.
In early 2020 we were able to find another piece of land to build our forever home. Again, tragedy struck. The builder we had originally signed a contract with backed out of our contract at the last minute. We were scrambling to find another builder as quickly as we could due to the fines the bank was threatening us with. We felt fortunate when we were able to find a new builder.
The new builder came highly recommended and even had awards for work that he had done previously in the county. As soon as construction began, we noticed that there were several things off about this builder. He was having us take up some of the construction management responsibilities on our own and was making a lot of excuses for why he had to add on additional charges to our build. Major construction delays were becoming a regular occurrence and none of them were COVID related.
As we neared the end of our contract in early October 2020 he was nowhere near close to being done as promised. Construction dragged on for another eight months after that. Throughout the entire process we requested corrections to no avail. Since the build was dragging on, we had to move in with family again as our temporary lease was up for the apartment we were renting from gracious friends. In the end our builder defaulted and left the job abandoned. We then terminated the contract with the help of an attorney in order to have others undo and redo what was needed at the house. As we assessed the situation, we found out that there were major repairs that needed to be done to the house to get it to the point of completion all while unpaid contractors were showing up at our property demanding payment that they never received from the builder.
At that time, materials were extremely expensive and we were struggling to find contractors to come in and finish the work. In the end, we had to use multiple contractors to make the repairs and had upwards of 20 different companies come out to finish the work over the course of a 4 month period.
On September 1st we had finally finished up almost all of the major repairs that we knew of. Later that day, what remained of hurricane Ida came up from the gulf and hit our hometown of Taneytown, Maryland. As the storm ragged that evening, water covered the entire floor of our finished basement wall to wall. Once the storm was over, water levels in the lower level reached 3-4 inches throughout. A majority of our personal items that were stored in the basement were ruined and the entire basement would have to be gutted which will include the loss and removal of all of our new flooring, cabinets, trim, doors, and furniture. To make matters worse, once the basement is gutted, we will have to pay for a company to investigate and repair the failed drains which could amount to thousands more. There was also a leak in our roof during the same storm and with further inspection by professionals they discovered multiple roof issues as well as other exterior issues that will need to be addressed in the near future. The major construction we are now facing AGAIN has made the house unlivable. We have already spent over $150,000 in the past several months to get our home in a livable state. We’ve spent all of our savings and are now almost $40,000 in debt due to a loan we had to take out to pay for the remaining repairs on top of the mortgage.
We moved into a hotel for the time being which at least for this first month we know is covered by our insurance company. We’ve been told that the repairs will not be completed until Thanksgiving at the earliest. We are in shock of all that is happening.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story.
