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Botched roof replacement ruins Lansing home October 5, 2020; updated 5/29/2021
Note: This story was the first of several:
Tammie Arend is 56 years old and disabled, living on a $547 disability pension and $223 SSI. She was getting by OK on $770 a month because in 2010, she used her savings to buy a house in a foreclosure sale for $9,900. It is in a neighborhood just north of Potter Park in Lansing, and is assessed at $38,000. She had a couple of cats and a beloved dog she called her "fur son" who soothed her agoraphobia. She had done a lot to fix up the house over the years, but by 2018, the roof was 12 years old and due to be replaced. She submitted an application for a HUD program administered by the City of Lansing that provides loans for housing rehabilitation.
To make a long story short, the new roof failed, allowing water to get in and doing extensive damage. The contractor attempted to fix the leak, but never really stopped it. To this day, the house has moisture and mold problems. It is so bad that the windows have to be kept open, forcing Tammie to sleep in her car in the garage. She's been abandoned by the contractor and the City of Lansing. In May 2019, to come up with money to pay for repairs, Tammie got a bank loan against her home for $28,000. The bank required her to use part of that loan to pay off all debts, which amounted to around $14,000 including the $2,900 by which the contractor's bill for the roof exceeded the $10,000 HUD grant. She has used up the remainder of the loan doing repairs and is no further ahead with making the house livable. She has had contractors look at it and so much still has to be done that the lowest estimate is $160,000.
The paid-for home that enabled her to live on $770 a month is now ruined. All she has to show for her attempt at repairs is mortgage payments. Her dog is dead. She has struggled with this mess for two winters now and the third is closing in. The solution, of course, is to find a lawyer who doesn't require any money up front and is willing to sue the bastards - the contractor and the City of Lansing. Even if she did find that dream lawyer, it would take months or years and she'd still be sleeping in her car. It appears that there is no hope.
December 2019 Now for the long story.
Tammie says that before her application for the housing rehabilitation program was approved in April 2018, Dennis Graham of the City's Development Office came to her house and performed a complete inspection, finding that it was in good condition. (Although the City acknowledges that the inspection was done, they claim to have no record of it and offer no explanation. They acknowledged that the inspection was done only after I pointed out that it was referred to in a letter from Development Manager Donald Kulhanek in which he said "At the time of your application [April 2018], you complained that your roof was leaking. Dennis Graham from our office inspected the house and agreed the roof needed to be replaced.") Tammie says that Graham told her the job would be put out to bid and at least four contractors would be coming to the house to look it over. However, the only contractor who showed up was Scott Frederickson of Bath. He got the contract with a bid of $9,100. The way the program works is that the home owner gets a grant of up to $10,000 and if the cost goes over that, a lien for the balance is put on the home. A change order that Tammie did not learn of until June 4 added another $3,800, bringing the total to $12,900. The extra $2,900 would have to be paid to the City if the home was sold, and she was told that if she got behind on property taxes, the City could take her home.
Work started on May 21, finishing on May 30. Tammie had some concerns while the work was being done, but it did get done. It was good to have the contractors finally out of there. That was the calm before the storm. On September 24, after a rainy few days, Tammie came home after taking her dog to the vet to find the house flooded. She frantically tried to get everything out of the front bedroom, which had sustained the most damage, and moved everything to the main bedroom, kitchen, and dining room. The water had also entered the bathroom, which had been completely remodeled. The closet looked moldy, like it had been wet for some time. The water was running between the walls from the roof and had run under the subfloor in the hallway and dining area, the front sitting room and under the raised living room and bathroom floor. The ceiling was wet. She called and left messages for Dennis Graham and Scott Frederickson.
In the next couple days, both Frederickson and Graham came to the home and looked over the damage. Neither could tell where the water was getting in. Here are Tammie's notes on the Graham visit September 26:
At about 1:00 a.m. on September 27, in an email to Dennis Graham, she described the damage and her difficulties with Frederickson's repair crew.
In a later September 27 email, Tammie asked Dennis Graham if he had talked to Frederickson. Had they discussed his plan for taking care of things? Graham answered that he had, and that Frederickson had made some repairs already and wanted to see if they had corrected the problem. Then he would repair the damaged areas. In her reply, she described her living conditions:
She contacted her insurance company and they said they could not do anything as this was mechanical failure and neglect and would fall on the contractor's insurance. They asked her for the contractor's insurance information so maybe they could help, but neither the contractor nor the City would give it to her.
It wasn't until October 10 that Frederickson's son and a friend came to repair the damage, and they ended up doing more harm than good. Tammie thinks some of the damage was intentional. Here is her account of that visit.
She called Dennis Graham on October 25 and told him she still had moisture in her home and things were getting worse. He told her to keep the windows open and run fans. This was the last she heard from Dennis Graham or Scott Fredrickson although she made multiple attempts to reach them. In April 2019, the bad mold/mildew smells were getting worse. Looking for the source, she pulled back the flooring in the dining room along the wall. Underneath was nothing but mold. She tried again to reach Graham and Frederickson. They would not return her calls. She began looking for an attorney, but they wanted money and her income is only about $700 a month. Legal aid would not help with this type of case because of the involvement of the City and because it was a HUD program. One attorney suggested she file a complaint against the contractor with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), so she did. Still finding it impossible to reach anyone at the city Development Office, she used a borrowed phone and called giving a false name. She got through to Donald Kulhanek, Development Manager, but when she told him who she was, he said he was in a meeting and would call back. He did so, but turned the phone over to Barb Kimmel, who told her that they were not going to do anything for her because she'd filed a complaint against the contractor with LARA and her warranty was no longer valid. Tammie complained that her calls and emails were never returned. Kimmel told her they were done with her. She also told her that Dennis Graham had not been working for the city since the beginning of 2019. Kimmel hung up on her.
Soon after, she received a letter from Kulhanek dated December 19, 2019. He pointed out that on May 30, 2018 she had signed a document stating that she was satisfied with the work. Of course, she did not climb up on the roof to check it out before she signed. And it wasn't until September 24, after a rainy week, that her house flooded. Kulhanek went on to say that when contractor Frederickson came a few days later, couldn't find the source of the leak and offered to do a water test, Tammie declined. She says she declined because he said it would take 4 hours and did not offer to reimburse her for the extra water and sewer charges. She did agree to a shorter test of 30-45 minutes, but they didn't do it. Then Kulhanek mentions a November 19 inspection attended by himself, James Bennett and Steve Guel, the result of which was a report in which Mr. Bennett found no substantial evidence of a roof leak.
Tammie's Facebook friend Melissa Quon Huber offered to be present at the November 19 inspection and she wrote an account of her experience. The only one of the three men whose name she got was Bennett, but it is clear that the guy in the suit who gave her the "unwelcome reception" and showed "persistent frustration with my presence" was Donald Kulhanek. She also was surprised that Bennett did not get up on the roof to inspect it.
Tammie wrote a refutation of Bennett's report. I've taken his report and her response and combined them point-by-point.
An independent inspection of the home was done 12/13/2019 by Benjamin Stahl of Steeleman Inspections of East Lansing. The inspection was arranged and paid for by Tim Baise of Homeless Angels, who learned of Tammie's plight through Facebook. The 30-page report said that although flashing was missing on the roof, no leaking was apparent in those areas. However, gutters were damaged and some pieces were missing. As a result, moisture intrusion into the house was likely contributing to increased elevated humidity. Inside, staining was present from prior interior condensation, likely due to failed gutters and basement water intrusion along with HVAC distribution throughout the house. An examination of the attic revealed ventilation problems. From page 24:
Tammie says there is no foam insulation. A foam-like material was used to fill the holes drilled to blow in loose insulation.
In June 2020, she received a letter from Heather Sumner of the City Attorney's office saying that since she had retained counsel, all future communications regarding this issue should be directed to the Office of City Attorney.
Tammie emailed Heather Sumner on June 29, 2020 denying she'd retained counsel:
She received a reply from Heather on July 8 in which she was told that "Based on our analysis of the facts and the law, the situation you have described is a personal, private legal matter and the City of Lansing has no liability associated with your claims."
Tammie's dog, her "fur friend", died August 10. The vet said it was due to mold allergies.
In October 2019, she contacted Farm Bureau Insurance to see if her homeowner's insurance would cover anything. The answer was no. In December 2019, Tammie prepared a list of issues resulting from the work done on her home.
In November 2019, Tammie had sent a FOIA request to the City asking for all documents/records on her home in regards to the Rehabilitation Program from the start of her application through the last inspection done on the home. The City Attorney's office asked for a 10-day extension, but missed that deadline. Tammie finally got a response in January 2020 asking $188.08 for labor and copying costs for 600 pages of material - that's with a 25% discount for taking so long to reply. She asked that the fee be waived because of her low income and was told she'd have to talk to the City Attorney about that. She tried to reach him and he wouldn't return her calls. On September 27, 2020 she appealed to city council president Peter Spadafore.
Send comments, questions, and tips to stevenrharry@gmail.com or call or text me at 517-730-2638. If you'd like to be notified by email when I post a new story, let me know.
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Public
Policy
On
February 13, 2020 Tammie and Loretta Stanaway met with Mark Lawrence,
Citizen Advocate, Mayor's office. Loretta had arranged the meeting to
ask for help with remediating the mold issues to make the house livable. Loretta suggested some
solutions, but Lawrence indicated he would have to check to see if any
of them could be done without making the City liable. He stated if they did as she
suggested, it would be an admission of guilt. Loretta suggested
Tammie could sign a liability waiver but Lawrence said he didn't think
that would be sufficient and he would have to check with the lawyers. Tammie mentioned getting an
attorney, but not to go after the City financially. Lawrence stated that
the City would be representing the contractor because he was their
contractor. He said he would set up an
appointment with the Human Relations Department; they would contact her.
She never heard from Lawrence or the Human Relations Department.