A local couple says they know they made mistakes in the house buying process, but that doesn't excuse the actions of a local builder. Local 12 Troubleshooter Howard Ain says although the handicapped couple paid a lot of money, they have little to show for it.
Marilyn and Jeff Welsch were looking to move out of their small apartment. They found a previously foreclosed house in Independence that was up for sale by a home builder. Marilyn says the seller, a home builder, drew up a sales contract last August, and said he'd make repairs so the Welch's could move in. "He said it would be done in November and then he just kept coming up with excuses and excuses."
The contract said the Welsch's would buy the house, then Coulson's Company would then fix it up for them. Work was done removing kitchen and bathroom fixtures. "Can you live there? No, there's no bathroom, no kitchen. My husband's hospital bed is in there because we didn't have room to put it into the apartment."
Bank records indicate the Welsch's have so far paid more than $140,000 for this house and the needed repairs but, as you can see, a lot is left to be desired and they haven't seen the contractor for months. "We just sank everything we could into the house because it was going to be the last place we were going to be."
Now they don't even have the code to get into the house, even if they wanted to do so. Homes of Heartland lists its address in Independence but people at that address say the builder moved out months ago. "We were kind of stupid. We thought he was a nice guy and its our fault but I don't want anything like this to happen to anyone else."
Howard has also been unable to reach the builder. He told the Welsch's to contact the police. They have and now they have an attorney as well.
In addition, Howard learned even though the Welsch's paid for the house, it's not recorded in their name, it's still in the name home building company.
