My name is Kayden, and my 18 month old son and I were recently left homeless after a dream house purchase turned into a living nightmare ….

I purchased the home in May of 2025, after several months of looking for my first time home. I was hoping for a safe place for me and my son. After months of looking and 12 home viewings, I finally found one I loved and after viewing it immediately placed an offer.

We had 3 inspections completed between a general inspection (who completed 2 separate inspection's) the appraiser, and a crawlspace inspection. I thought I was well educated with the ins and outs of the home and felt that I could handle a few minor things that weren’t pressing issues, and agreed to purchase the house.

2 days into living in my home, everything started to fall apart….by the second week, every major system in the house was malfunctioning in one way or another. The HVAC was advertised as brand new, it wasn’t and in fact, it was completely trash. The septic lines leak, thus furthering the damage to ventilation and insulation in the belly of the home. The septic tank has yet to be located, and according to the health department, there is no record for a permit to place a tank. The electrical is spliced at nearly every wall joint and the panel is not large enough to handle the houses needs. The ‘brand new’ hot water that was installed prior to purchase, was a natural gas heater and not propane, so in order to have hot water we had to pay to replace it. I had squirrels take up residence in my bathroom vanity because of grossly over cut holes for plumbing into the sink. Now because of the water leakage, and the sewage lines sagging we have mold growth…..

Overwhelmed and defeated, I left home to travel 7 hours away to visit family and take a break. During my time here in Iowa, I fell and broke my ankle. I had to have surgery 2 days later where a plate and 10 screws were put in to repair and stabilize my ankle. I was unable to bare any weight, walk or stand on my ankle for 10 weeks, and then I had to complete 6 weeks of therapy thereafter. Unfortunately, during this time I was unable to go back to work…..

By the time I was able to walk, drive and work again, it was winter and I was left with a horrible choice….stay in my home with no heat, exposed water lines, sagging wet ventilation, and expose my baby to all of those issues PLUS mold, or stay with my parents….so we made a trip back to Arkansas and packed my belongings into boxes and moved as much of it as we could to my mothers house in Iowa….

Since these issues happened, I have documented everything. I have filed countless complaints with every board you can think of, I have even gone as far as to file a complaint with HUD, which is the governing body of FHA…

While I know that these complaints will work themselves out, I am still left with a choice, do I fight this wrong, do I file bankruptcy, do I attempt to fix the house…is there any fixing the house?

I choose to fight. I deserve better, my son deserves better. We deserve justice and a safe place to live in.

I know this is a tall order…

I know this is going to take time…

I know this might be an ugly fight, and one I might lose, but I have to try….

So I’m begging you, $1, $5….anything to get me closer to getting a lawyer for this fight. For me. For my son. For our financial future.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

All our love,

Kayden & Stetson