My name is Michael McCabe. I am currently fighting to keep my house. I had a house fire in August of 2024. There was a company that showed up the day of the fire and said they would do all of the work for around $100,000. Then they proceeded to completely gut the house, top to bottom, first and second floor, without permission from the insurance company or me. That took roughly 3 months, and then it sat for 3 months while nothing was done. Then they gave me a bill for $99,000. So while trying to figure all this out, another 3 months went by. I finally got another contractor who said they could do everything for around $80,000. They got approved by the insurance to do the windows, siding, and the roof. So all in all, that contractor got about $130,000, and they still did not complete the work. It took them 9 months, and they still did not complete the job. They left the basement completely unfinished—no wiring, no drywall, nothing. This was because the city found out that this contractor didn't do the proper inspections on the house, so the kitchen had to get ripped out again so that we could have a rough inspection, then get the walls put back on and the cabinets put back up. At this point, they just stopped replying and stopped doing the work. They wanted me to sign a new contract that said they didn't have to do the basement, and I would still give them the last $7,500. I told them no, you're going to do the basement like we originally agreed on. So I stopped coming out of pocket to get the house done so that me and my family can move back in. At this point, my two youngest children are in Maryland with their grandparents, my oldest son is living on my aunt's couch so that he can continue going to school, I'm living in a minivan, and my fiancée is living in my pickup truck. I've had enough.

I started paying out of pocket so that we can move back in, and I have been slowly putting the house back together ever since. We were dislocated from the house for 18 months. Fast forward to the present day, I am now currently trying to fight a construction mechanic's lien foreclosure from the first contractor who overcharged and did a ton of work that they weren't even supposed to do. They are now trying to foreclose on the house for $47,000.