Saving Our Home

Friends, Family & Other Generous FB users,

Hello! For those of you who don't know, my name is Lauren Thiel, and my fiancé, Ryan, recently bought a house about 10 months ago. Within these 10 months, we have never lived in the home. Not because we didn’t want to but because we have been forced to. Here’s our story…

March 31, 2022 was the signing of our very first house EVER! It also was my 36th birthday, and the day Ryan proposed to me right in front of our brand new house. The day was perfect. Best birthday ever! What could go wrong with 2022 after such a high like that?

We partially move in a couple days later because we knew there was a break in the sewer line from the inspection. Now, let me stop there. The inspection didn’t show any major red flags. when you walked through this house it looked move in ready. The only big item that needed to be fixed were the old windows. We knew this going in. Nothing was red flag. Now let me continue….

So, we scheduled to fix the sewer line the following week. We start organizing and getting excited about our next adventure. 

Once we finally move in after the sewer line was “fixed”, that’s when everything started to crumble.

Spring slowing started to hit, which meant rain, and our roof had leaks everywhere. Every room on the 2nd floor was raining within the house. Buckets of rain. This was definitely not a new leak. We needed a new roof ASAP. Small issue, we have original slate and live in a historical district. Slate is expensive and we couldn’t afford that. We had several different contractors come out to source both slate, composite slate and shingles. 

So, we went against the historical district and put a beautiful shingle roof on immediately. And, because we had slate on our room, it’s more expensive and difficult to remove. Plus with all the water damage, the total cost was $31,000. 

We are still dealing with the consequences of removing the slate to this day. The board is not happy. But, we did what was necessary to save our home. 

Back to the sewer line, everyday we had water in our basement. We had plumbers out daily to understand what was going on. It finally boiled down that we had to go back to the sewer line and redo it. This time from the house to the alley.

Once that work was completed, we moved back in, kind of. Michigan had a massive rain storm in early June. We woke up to 5 inches of water in our basement, backyard flooded, and our new sewer line completely backed up with rain/sewerage water. Why? This is all new. This shouldn’t happen.

We instantly called the crew that just installed our new line and they too were flabbergasted. Turns out the line is still broken but from the property line to the city connection within the alley. This is a major issue and major expense.

Let me quickly break down how much we’ve already paid for the two fixes. $5000 for the first and $8,000 for the second. Totally 13,000.

We were able to get the city connection fixed late summer after waiting several weeks for permits and the city to approve the work. The total cost for this was $15,000. 

At this point, we did not try to move back in because we started renovations on the interior due to water damages from the roof leaks. We found extensive mold and joists that were rotted.

Our house has been sitting down to the studs for months. As of recent, we’ve finally started to see some progress because we’ve been doing most of the work ourselves. I was laid off from my engineering role back in October, so I’ve spent everyday working on the house. Ryan is going to school full time to be a Physical Therapist and the other days he is working at the Detroit Athletic Club as a personal trainer. When he’s not at school or work, he’s helping me.

We are not experienced by any means, but we are learning along the way. It’s definitely thrilling to know you’ve done this to your home. You built this!

To add to the mix of water and sewage issue, we found our coffered ceiling in the dining was starting to crack in multiple areas. We brought in a structural engineer to understand the situation. Turns out the previous “flipper” took out two necessary walls that were holding up the original bathroom. This original bathroom has 4/5 inches of cement under the tile. When those walls get removed with no headers, the house starts to sink. 

My fiancé and I never thought this would be our story. And every time something positive would happen, the negative would be even strong. It’s been an emotional, tiring, stressful and LONG 10 months. We’ve had SEVERAL contractors. Some that have been loyal. Some that have screwed us. It’s been a long process. In the end, you have to try and be positive… try! 

I don’t wish this type of situation on anyone else and I only hope we come out of this stronger than ever with a beautiful home we can start our lives in…. Together!

Because of all this craziness, we have decided to postpone our small wedding ceremony scheduled for June of 2023 that was planned to be in our backyard. We can only think about getting a roof over our heads at this point in time. 

We are in over our heads financially. When we bought this house last March I had a stable job. I had a decent amount of money in my savings. The home looked “move in ready” and the inspection report had no red flags. We felt like everything was in a good place. 

This home is what you call a lemon. And, we’ve done our part to keep it standing and stable. We are seeking legal action on the previous owner, but this is not the answer. It’s only justice. 

Losing my job has put a major wrench in this difficult situation. If I had a job right now, we would be able to swole this difficult situation a little differently. But, that’s not the case. 

And; Unfortunately, my mortgage doesn’t allow deferment or forbearance. We have already taken out a personal loan to help out our financial situation, which doesn’t make monthly payments any easier. We only have 5/6 mortgage payments left until the money is gone. We are on the verge of foreclosure/bankruptcy and that is terrifying. 

We am humbly asking for your help. Any help. This is very difficult to ask and this was even harder to write… This applies to not only monetary donations, but also best wishes, words of advice, and moral support. I understand everyone is struggling and going through tough times right now. Every little bit of love and kindness makes a world of difference during these difficult times. :) 

Thank you so much! And, thank you for reading our story. 

 Lauren & Ryan