Let's Save the Elkins Family's Home!

We were so excited to be homeowners! We arrived to start painting in preparation for moving day and found water bubbles on the ceiling. Shortly thereafter we were told our brand new home  had catastrophic roof damage and that our home was not safe to live in. We hadn't even unpacked our boxes yet! Yes, we had a roofer inspect the roof before we bought the house. He was the same roofer that installed the roof just 8 years before.  He told us the roof was fine. (He later admitted that he knew there were problems with the roof, but concealed that information until after we closed on the house) Yes, we also had many other inspections on the home and did all of our due diligence.  We asked lots of questions and verified everything with experts and professionals. Everyone told us that the home was in good shape. The sellers even filled out a Property Disclosure telling us that there were no issues with the roof. Right after the closing the sellers confessed that they had known of issues with the roof for a long time and INTENTIONALLY hid that information from us. Now we are stuck in a home that is unsafe with an estimate for repairs from the insurance company in the range of $60,000 to $70,000. The insurance company has deemed the damage a pre-existing condition and as a result won't cover anything.  We have hired an attorney who says we will likely win, but it will take a long time and may never actually collect any money. He is now requiring a retainer that we don't have, so we can't move forward on that option either.  We cant afford to live anywhere else because we are paying the mortgage on this house. We are really stuck in an incredibly bad situation and need  help to fight our way out and have a safe home for our family to live in.