Help family with disabilities rebuild their house
Donation protected
In December of 2018, my parents, Dan and Sandy, bought a beautiful house. It hadn’t been lived in for years, but it was still inhabitable; it just needed some updating and made ADA accessible due to the fact that the entire family has a wide variety of disabilities. They had found a contractor through their realtor, as they were new to the area, and they assured them that they would be able to complete everything by August of 2019. Thrilled, my parents hired them and waited.
They still wait.
To make a long and heartbreaking story short, the contractor never finished the job. In fact, the work that was done was grossly incompentent. The contractor failed to get permits for the work. The work that had been done failed the inspections done by the city. Everything has had to be torn out and redone by a different contractor. The house that was once livable has now been deemed uninhabitable. My parents have tried seeking legal help since October of 2019 to regain the money that was given to the first contractor so that they can finish the house. However, they have come to find out that there is no legal recourse available to them. In fact, there are no laws pertaining to this in the State of Iowa that protect vulnerable people under the age of 65, or to any consumer who hires a contractor for that matter. There is also no such thing as a general contractor license in Iowa, according to the Attorney General’s office. So in a nutshell, the contractor can get away with it, and my family continues to have a house that they can’t live in.
They have been seeking any avenue available to them, but keep finding that there is nothing that anyone can do. So I am asking anyone reading to help. My family does not have the money to finish what needs to be done. All they want is to be able to live in an accessible house that meets their unique needs. If you can do anything, from a donation, to sharing this, to even a prayer, I think I can speak for everyone when I say thank you.
They still wait.
To make a long and heartbreaking story short, the contractor never finished the job. In fact, the work that was done was grossly incompentent. The contractor failed to get permits for the work. The work that had been done failed the inspections done by the city. Everything has had to be torn out and redone by a different contractor. The house that was once livable has now been deemed uninhabitable. My parents have tried seeking legal help since October of 2019 to regain the money that was given to the first contractor so that they can finish the house. However, they have come to find out that there is no legal recourse available to them. In fact, there are no laws pertaining to this in the State of Iowa that protect vulnerable people under the age of 65, or to any consumer who hires a contractor for that matter. There is also no such thing as a general contractor license in Iowa, according to the Attorney General’s office. So in a nutshell, the contractor can get away with it, and my family continues to have a house that they can’t live in.
They have been seeking any avenue available to them, but keep finding that there is nothing that anyone can do. So I am asking anyone reading to help. My family does not have the money to finish what needs to be done. All they want is to be able to live in an accessible house that meets their unique needs. If you can do anything, from a donation, to sharing this, to even a prayer, I think I can speak for everyone when I say thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Chelsea McCafferty
Organizer
Council Bluffs, IA
Daniel Roberts
Beneficiary
