FUNDRAISER | Help Ward 8 First-Time Homeowners With Their Nightmare
“In 2017, nine working-class women became first-time homeowners in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington DC. Becoming a first-time homeowner is a great accomplishment and quite challenging. Unfortunately, our challenges are unique and go far beyond the usual problems a new homeowner would expect to face in a newly built home.
The problems with our homes started off as small problems, minor cracks in the walls and mold in a few homes. The problems quickly spread to over half of the units in our development. Mold spores have forced some of us to leave our homes several times and forced us to dispose of sentimental and valuable personal belongings. Small cracks in the walls grew into huge holes. Within the first year of living in our homes, the walls, floors, windows, and doorways began to change.
As new homeowners, we trusted the developers when they told us that this was a natural part of the settling phase of any newly built development. The developer made repairs, but the problem reappeared after a few months and worsened. Walls and floors begin to crack, and our homes have substantial gaps in the foundation underneath our carpet. Several of us have enlisted the help of structural engineers and contractors and have been told that our homes are not structurally sound or safe for our families to live. Based on these reports, some of us have been forced to move indefinitely and others on the lookout for new homes.
The nine of us, most of which are mothers of young children, have stood together and sought legal counsel. With the assistance of our lawyers, we were able to highlight our plight to the government and news media.
Here is where we need your help, we need financial assistance to move out of our homes and pay for the legal fees to fight the developer, Stanton View Development (owned by Donte Lee and Jerry Vines) as they have chosen not to help us but instead they have recently filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying for their negligence.
The last 4 years have been an uphill battle for us nine women. Homeowner Homeownership was our American dream come true, sadly, this dream has now turned into a nightmare that we are praying to wake up from. Any and all help is appreciated.”
