Taverner Family Support

When Joe and Britt purchased their home in late 2016, they thought they were purchasing their dream home.  Recently remodeled, with all work permitted and to code – they were looking forward to raising their then 6-month-old baby boy in their new house.  Joe is a long-time service member, who makes incredible sacrifices to provide for his family, as well as our nation.  Britt works full time in a high-stress position in a technical company, and both simultaneously manage to care for their amazing little boy – who is growing quickly and just celebrated his second birthday. Britt and Joe have been through a tremendous amount, including difficult deployments, the passing of their first child, and more – and have always done so with grace and courage.  This new home was supposed to be a new start for their family, a place to create joyful memories, to raise their little boy, and to build a bright future and work towards their long-term goals and dreams.

What was supposed to be a dream home turned out to be their worst nightmare.  The seller, the real estate agent, and the property inspector colluded to falsify the soundness of the home – knowing that there were multiple shortcuts that were taken during the course of construction that would turn out to be dangerous and requiring the entire home to be rebuilt from the studs up and out.  They’ve either pleaded poverty, declared bankruptcy, or weren’t carrying insurance, and there appears to be no financial recourse against them, despite every attempt to take them to task for not only what they’ve done, but for what they’ve admitted they did. 

 A rainstorm hit a few days after they moved in and the supposed new roof leaked so much that the walls and ceilings filled with water, bubbling and breaking and pouring flooding water into the bedrooms for both themselves, and the 6-month-old baby.  This however, was only the beginning.  As it would turn out, the foundation would need to be replaced, as it had been completely removed and had only jacks holding up the two-story home.  There was no foundation under their bedrooms as it turned out, and instead a porch had been enclosed with nothing more than drywall and siding to protect the family in their bedrooms.  This also meant, that without proper ventilation, mold had grown over a foot thick under the floor boards of the bedrooms.  The framing would have to be redone, as the seller had removed load-bearing walls and altered load carrying beams throughout the home (even prompting the engineer to have a temporary beam installed to support the whole of the home and keep it from collapsing). They had a carbon monoxide leak in the water closet as the water heater flue hadn’t been installed correctly – and luckily was found, as the leaking carbon monoxide was pooling just outside the baby’s room. The fireplace had been covered up with non-fire rated brick, with a thin layer of mortar, and the bricks came tumbling down out of the fireplace into the living room, the bath tub collapsed one night with the baby in it (luckily he was unharmed), the whole of the house, as they would find out, had been flipped in such a poorly executed manner, that there was no aspect salvageable save for the front porch, which has stood the test of time for 107 years. 

 They would eventually find out, that a Code Enforcement case had been filed against the seller by the City prior to their purchasing the home, however – the city failed to follow up when he failed to comply with the order providing plans and pulling permit, and no fines or paperwork were ever filed which would show on title.  However, the code enforcement case stayed with the property, and therefore Britt and Joe inherited it.  Which meant, that every single aspect of the home needed to be brought up to code, a home that was originally 105 years old when they bought it.  This would mean that aside from fixing the issues they already had, they would also need to ensure that all plumbing, electrical, materials, Title-24, etc, met current building code, the list was long and continued to grow. 

 They took out a second on the home to pay for the temporary fixes needed to make it so that they could continue to live in the home while they secured their permit, as well as pay the city submittal and permit fees, the architectural fees, the engineering fees, and more.  It has been an incredibly long and arduous process that has placed this hard-working family in immense debt, and they are now looking at a $250,000.00 cost to make the house, that they paid full price for, a functional and most importantly, safe home.  They are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination and are at a loss for where to go next.  They will have to live out of their home for 5 months during construction and will have to pay for this cost as well. To say this is a staggering cost for anyone is obvious, and this family has done nothing but work hard and sacrifice so much for the those around them.  It’s all we can do to ask for help from others to help get them back on their feet, back in their home, and living the life they intended.

 Any help, even the smallest amount will help, and would be more appreciated than can be put into words.  We ask that you please share this story and help us to get them to a place where they can feel good about the American Dream again.

 This statement is that of the individuals involved and does not necessarily represent the views of DoD and its component organizations