My grandfather (Tony) is a 71-year old Air Force Vietnam Veteran who served at airfields across Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He and my grandmother (Cindy) are going to lose their modest retirement home! The structure is so badly compromised that it might collapse and they have no place to go.
Eight years ago, my grandparents, instead renting as they had for almost four decades decided to use Tony’s VA benefits to buy a home. This would enable them to take care of my elderly great-grandparents. They found what they were looking for in the 2500 block of Rockmart Road in Villa Rica, Ga.
Carroll County building inspectors had given the home their stamp of approval. A Veterans Administration inspector gave his okay. They even hired an inspector of their own who said there was no reason for them not to buy the one-story frame house.
Eight years later, my grandparents are trapped in a house that is literally sinking into the earth, much in the way their case is sinking through the cracks.
Over the past year my family has wanted to visit and stay with them, but couldn't because the home is unsafe.
The house began to collapse last year, eventually crushing the septic lines underneath. The master bath filled with sewage and became unusable. Raw sewage spilled into the yard and drained underneath the house, causing it to sink even faster. The walls cracked. The paint peeled. The front door became a load-bearing wall, immovable, inoperable and dangerous.
"There is no way of remedying the slab without totaling entire house,” wrote Andy Powell of Alchemy Polymers after an exhaustive examination of the fast-settling home. “Our company owner has experience as a homebuilder. He's explained that it's the unseen things that worry him the most. Stress on electrical wiring. Doors can't open because of the wracking and twisting of the house. It is an escape hazard. The crumbling slab will most likely require all plumbing be replaced. The house is not repairable. It wouldn't be cost effective.”
Their insurance claim was rejected and now they are faced with losing their retirement home. In addition, they will have to pay over $30,000 in taxes (as earned income) on the balance of the mortgage, plus the bank will ruin their credit even though they have never missed a payment and continue to make monthly payments.
We ask that you to please pray for my grandparents, spread awareness of their situation by sharing this Gofundme link, and donating if possible to help support them in buying a new house. Any amount will help.
These pictures don't even begin to show the total destruction of my grandparents home!
The top three pictures shows how all of the doorframes look! The bottom picture is of the garage floor.
Link to news video:
http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/local-veterans-house-is-crumbling/vDFzRf/
Eight years ago, my grandparents, instead renting as they had for almost four decades decided to use Tony’s VA benefits to buy a home. This would enable them to take care of my elderly great-grandparents. They found what they were looking for in the 2500 block of Rockmart Road in Villa Rica, Ga.
Carroll County building inspectors had given the home their stamp of approval. A Veterans Administration inspector gave his okay. They even hired an inspector of their own who said there was no reason for them not to buy the one-story frame house.
Eight years later, my grandparents are trapped in a house that is literally sinking into the earth, much in the way their case is sinking through the cracks.
Over the past year my family has wanted to visit and stay with them, but couldn't because the home is unsafe.
The house began to collapse last year, eventually crushing the septic lines underneath. The master bath filled with sewage and became unusable. Raw sewage spilled into the yard and drained underneath the house, causing it to sink even faster. The walls cracked. The paint peeled. The front door became a load-bearing wall, immovable, inoperable and dangerous.
"There is no way of remedying the slab without totaling entire house,” wrote Andy Powell of Alchemy Polymers after an exhaustive examination of the fast-settling home. “Our company owner has experience as a homebuilder. He's explained that it's the unseen things that worry him the most. Stress on electrical wiring. Doors can't open because of the wracking and twisting of the house. It is an escape hazard. The crumbling slab will most likely require all plumbing be replaced. The house is not repairable. It wouldn't be cost effective.”
Their insurance claim was rejected and now they are faced with losing their retirement home. In addition, they will have to pay over $30,000 in taxes (as earned income) on the balance of the mortgage, plus the bank will ruin their credit even though they have never missed a payment and continue to make monthly payments.
We ask that you to please pray for my grandparents, spread awareness of their situation by sharing this Gofundme link, and donating if possible to help support them in buying a new house. Any amount will help.
These pictures don't even begin to show the total destruction of my grandparents home!
The top three pictures shows how all of the doorframes look! The bottom picture is of the garage floor.
Link to news video:
http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/local-veterans-house-is-crumbling/vDFzRf/
Link to news report:
