Jul 28, 2026
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Add us on GoogleWhen Donna and George Welch’s Deltona, Florida, home was damaged by back-to-back hurricanes in 2022, they turned to their county for help. What followed, they say, was a government-run repair program that left their home in worse condition and saddled them with a lien.
The Welches enrolled in Volusia County’s Transform386 program, which uses funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help storm-damaged homeowners recover. What began as an estimated $39,000 repair project skyrocketed to $176,000 with a five-year lien on their property, according to WFTV 9.
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When the station visited the property, the couple pointed to what they described as granite countertops replaced with Formica, uneven and mismatched flooring and ongoing problems with bathrooms and doors. They also say they never received an inspection report or documentation showing how the $176,000 was spent.
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“They cannot move out or sell it without paying that money back. There’s no specification on what they actually completed,” Michelle Welch, the couple’s daughter, told WFTV 9.
For Donna Welch, the decision to sign up for the program is one she bitterly regrets.
“I did this thinking I was helping my family,” she said. “They didn’t help them because I just made it worse.”
How these programs work and where they fail
The Transform386 program is administered by Volusia County using CDBG-DR funding, HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program. Congress allocated roughly $39 billion to the program for disasters that occurred between 2017 and 2019.
Funds flow through a decentralized chain of grantees, subrecipients, contractors and subcontractors, a structure the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says creates significant oversight and fraud risks.
A GAO report identified 78 Department of Justice enforcement cases and 110 HUD Inspector General cases between 2007 and 2020. Those cases included contractor billing fraud, bid rigging, bribery and applicants misrepresenting their eligibility.
Florida’s CDBG-DR programs have faced scrutiny before. A WTSP 10 report found similar complaints about the state’s Rebuild Florida program, including substandard work, poor contractor accountability and homeowners left without recourse.
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A Florida congressman also wrote to the HUD Inspector General, raising concerns about contractor oversight. In response, the Inspector General acknowledged that “enhancing oversight of disaster recovery is one of HUD’s top management challenges.”
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The fine print and dispute
The lien is consistent with standard CDBG-DR program rules. HUD requires recipients to live in the assisted property as their primary residence for at least five years, with liens used to enforce that requirement. The policy is intended to prevent homeowners from quickly selling a repaired property for a profit using federal assistance.
Volusia County told WFTV 9 that during a walkthrough in May, inspectors found no documented issues requiring additional work and that the homeowners signed paperwork indicating the project was complete.
The Welches say the sign-off was meant to allow them to reoccupy the home, not because they believed the repairs were finished.
The county also said the repairs are covered by a one-year warranty, allowing issues to be addressed as they come up. Since WFTV 9 began investigating, water intrusion through a sliding door has been repaired and flooring work has been scheduled.
What homeowners should know before enrolling
The Welches’ experience illustrates risks that may not be obvious when government repair programs are advertised. Before enrolling in any government-funded program, keep this in mind:
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Request a detailed, written scope of work before construction begins, including itemized costs for materials and labor.
Understand lien terms in full before signing. A lien can prevent a sale or relocation for five years without repaying the full assisted amount. That can be a significant financial and lifestyle constraint, particularly for older homeowners whose circumstances may change.
Document every step. The Welches say they never received a final inspection report. That gap can make it far harder to dispute the work or seek remediation after the fact.
Know when and how to escalate. The HUD Office of Inspector General’s fraud tip line accepts complaints about program mismanagement and is the escalation point if a county program fails to respond.
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With a writing and editing career spanning over 15 years, Emma creates and refines content across a broad spectrum of industries, including personal finance, lifestyle, travel, health & wellness, real estate, beauty & fitness and B2B/SaaS/tech.
