Major plumbing problems discovered

Demolition begins on my house. The master bedroom becomes a storage room for fixtures, parts, and appliances that are uninstalled.

At the same time, drywall is removed to allow migration of the main electrical service panel from the illegal walk-in closet location to inside the bedroom.

All of the cable TV, telephone, and low voltage wires have been discovered to be disconnected near the main service fuse box and simply covered with gypsum, sometimes with giant globs of drywall mud.

The laundry machines are unhooked. The laundry tub and cabinet are removed.

We discover a floor drain that was intentionally covered by the laundry tub base cabinet, and a number of other disturbing problems. With the drywall removed, it is easier to see the backwards Y-union and how the drain pipe was cemented into the cleanout access.

The bathroom vanity cabinet and sink are removed. The toilet is removed. The bathroom floor tile is removed. Some of the bathroom floor concrete is broken up to investigate improper drain pipes.

Drywall on the outside of the bathroom wall is removed to inspect the shower and toilet plumbing. Again, you can see that there were never any drain vent pipes installed.

The drywall ceiling of the laundry room is removed to reveal that one of the floor joists has been illegally cut more than 1/3rd of the way through to allow the upstairs bathtub drain pipe to pass through it. This leaves the joist severely weakened.

Devastating News

I meet with my attorney to discuss my legal options. Over the course of a 2 hour meeting, he lets me know that our real estate laws are set up to favor the sale and ensure that the transaction takes place, but offers no real protection for home buyers. He tells me that finding the responsible parties and getting a court judgement against them might be possible, but the likelihood of collecting any compensation from them is slim to none. Those responsible took great care to run the transaction as a 1031-Exchange through the IRS, and they provided outdated contact info. My attorney also suggests that the Seller knew exactly what they were doing, that they had performed this type of fraud before, and that they probably used offshore bank accounts. I am told that my options are:

  • Abandon the house, forfeit my mortgage and ruin my credit for another 8 years.
  • Pray for some kind of disaster, such as a fire, that would be covered by my insurance.
  • Prepare to pay tens of thousands of dollars on the repairs out of my own pocket.

It’s at this moment that I realize I have been utterly ruined. I am devastated, can barely manage a phone call with my stunned parents, and spend the entire night awake and sobbing.

Detective work

I contact a Detective at the Anoka County Sheriff’s Department who refers me to an Anoka County Civil Investigator. I speak with the Investigator who admits that my case “certainly sounds like ‘theft by swindle’.”

I vow to challenge the law at the city, county, and state levels to ensure that no Minnesotan is ever the victim of predatory remodeling again. I call for help from my network of creative friends and media resources, urging that we begin by starting a campaign to raise awareness of predatory remodeling.

Demolition on my house also continues, and the concrete beneath the downstairs bathroom is broken up to reveal a zig-zag of drain pipes that use illegal fittings and another backwards Y-union.

Faucet handle falls off

I discover more problems with my house when my upstairs bathroom faucet handle comes off. Again,  this is not a huge deal, but when combined with other small issues, it helps paint a picture of the cut corners and cavalier attitude that went into remodeling my house. I continue to update the spreadsheet and photo-document everything.

Updating the Investigator

I call the Anoka County Investigators Office and report the new discoveries in the ongoing situation. The investigator believes it is a criminal case and asks me to present all of the documentation on the purchase of my home, photos of the problems, and estimates for repairs.

Were they load-bearing walls?

My dad takes photos of the trusses in my attic and emails them to a civil engineer with decades of architectural experience. We’re hoping he can determine if the trusses are manufactured or not, and if the walls that were removed from the main level of the house were load-bearing.

Main level is ceiling is safe

Over a dozen general contractors have looked at the house. One of them finally sends me an estimate in writing, totaling around $65,000.

I also hear back from the civil engineer who reports that the roof trusses are manufactured with a “Double Howe” design, and that the removed walls in the main level were not load bearing. The missing support column in the basement needs to be replaced immediately, however.

Our yard is full of shingles!

While trying to manage the overgrown back yard, I discover some roofing shingles scattered around the entire lawn. There are too many to count, and they have killed the sod beneath them. We know the flipper installed new roofing without a permit. Were these old shingles dumped in our back yard instead of being properly disposed?

Another TV interview

WCCO’s Liz Collin does a follow-up interview with me regarding my home crisis and what I plan to do about predatory remodeling.