'Complete fraud': Indiana family found $100K of hidden damage to a new house they can no longer afford — now they face a $30K decision: sue or sell?

“So our options are to spend the $30,000 to sue the people who sold us the house, and if we win, then we would profit about $250,000 to $300,000,” Caitlyn told the hosts. “If we lose, though, then we’re $30,000 in debt, and we still have the $100,000 in structural damages that would be unfixed completely. And we can’t sell our house because of how much is wrong with it.”

A difficult choice: Sue or sell

Caitlyn said her family had made all the scheduled mortgage payments so far and added they financially “don’t do badly at all.” Beyond the mortgage, the family only has $3,000 in debt and $1,000 in savings.

Still, she said the structural flaws are causing electric bills to total $1,600 per month — a hefty amount, given the national average bill for electricity comes out to $163, per Electric Choice.

Caitlyn’s family paid a $7,000 retainer and the lawyer is seeking $30,000 to proceed with the case against the sellers. Other lawyers she’d consulted were seeking identical fees, Caitlyn said.

“It still feels like a gamble to me that you’re going to get that much money out of the situation,” said Rachel Cruze, one of the hosts. On top of that, Caitlyn would have to disclose the structural damage on a disclosure form if they were to sell. That would significantly cut the value of her home and cause a big financial loss for the family.

“We bought it for $200,000. Our home wouldn’t be worth anything more than $120,000,” Caitlyn said. “We’d maybe get 150k out of it, which a couple of realtors have spoken to us about.”

‘It’s just a bad situation’

The co-hosts were reluctant in encouraging Caitlyn to sue since that step would require her family to take out a $30,000 loan to pay their lawyer.