‘I've run out of money’: 87-year-old California wildfire survivor says contractor went $90K over budget and wants another $51K to finish his home

He said he paid Menu Homes, a modular home building company, $538,000 to build a new wheelchair-accessible home within a year — eventually forking over $90,000 in added costs on top of that, only to have the contractor allegedly demand another $51,000 to finish the job.

“I’ve run out of money. He’s drained me. I just don’t have the $51,000,” Brown told the outlet. “He’s just taking everything. And that was going to be my savings.”

With the deadline for completion passed and the home unfinished, Brown added that he’s out of insurance money too. And on top of that, CBS noted, he owes $2,500 a month in rent while awaiting his home. A GoFundMe was set up for Brown, an Army veteran, saying he “needs our help with basic living expenses and the remaining costs of getting back into his home.”

Meanwhile, a representative for Menu Homes claims that the delays are the fault of the county — an accusation some Altadena town council members dispute.

The hidden costs of rebuilding after a disaster

Bobby Shokri of Menu Homes pinned the delays on L.A. County requirements and months of permitting approval holdups, along with additions like a garage and porch. He added that “we had a contract for a certain scope of work — the county imposed additional scope of work.”

Menu Homes didn’t reply to Moneywise’s request for comment and the dispute is ongoing.

But Morgan Whirledge, a member of the Altadena Town Council, told Moneywise that while the county’s permitting process in the wake of such a “huge wave of projects” hasn’t been perfect, it streamlined “a notoriously bureaucratic and difficult process” and waived all permit fees.

“Many of the delays are due to contractors or professionals who may be taking a long time responding to comments from the county,” he added. “Either way, it’s not an excuse for the excessive amount of charges Menu Homes is allegedly adding to their contracted price.”

He added that the alleged charges “should not fall on a homeowner with limited resources who already is under contract at a certain price” and that the Contractors State License Board guidance for disaster rebuilds, “states that contracts must be fixed price.”

Fellow council member Darlene Green told CBS News that, in a case like Brown’s, “If something changes, it shouldn’t be a shock. And it certainly shouldn’t be hundreds of thousands of dollars over the initial asking.”

And while that might be true, homeowners do often face a costly fallout after a natural disaster. Homeowners across the U.S. spent “$23 billion annually in 2021 to 2023 repairing damages from disasters,” at an average cost of $22,100 per homeowner in 2023, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

For Floridians in the wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024, the financial stress “snowballed over time,” the non-profit Urban Institute reported. They added that “survivors sometimes faced deepening debt or worse credit” and that fixed incomes “made recovery costs harder to absorb,” recounting how one family “cashed out a 401(k) account to stay afloat.”

And while homeowners insurance does generally cover disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, Allstate warns that “coverage may vary by geographic location and by policy.” That means that you might not be covered, for example, if you live in an area that is prone to particular disasters.

Other disasters, like earthquakes and floods, require extra coverage altogether.