Retired Florida couple fear losing their home after a window contractor vanished and left them with a $39K lien

A Clearwater, Fla. mates is astatine hazard of losing their location due to the fact that a model institution they hired allegedly failed to wage a supplier.

Andrea Atherton and Mike Gonoub had conscionable bought a spot they envisioned arsenic their “retirement Shangri-La,” and, similar galore Florida homeowners, hired a contractor to instal hurricane-resistant windows and doors, according to a study from section ABC affiliate Tampa Bay 28 (1).

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Months later, the occupation remains unfinished, the institution has gone soundless and a astir $39,000 lien has been placed connected their home.

“It makes maine consciousness similar I did thing wrong, similar I broke immoderate benignant of law,” Gonoub told Tampa Bay 28, who archetypal reported connected the story. “I’m a user who needed caller windows, that’s all.”

This couple’s communicative highlights a little-known hazard successful location renovations: Even if the contractor gets paid, you could inactive beryllium connected the hook if others successful the concatenation haven’t been — and they could travel aft your home.

Last year, Atherton and Gonoub hired Mister Window to instal caller sliding solid doors and windows, utilizing a 12-month, no-payment financing program offered done a financing institution the contractor worked with.

Initially, the task seemed to determination forward. The mates said the doors failed inspection owed to insignificant issues, but those were corrected. However, 1 captious measurement was ne'er completed: sealing the doors with caps and covers to guarantee they are afloat weatherproof.

The institution scheduled a instrumentality sojourn successful January to decorativeness the work. But they ne'er showed up and became intolerable to contact.

“I called each fig I had for Mister Window and each fig was dead,” Atherton said.

After failing to scope Mister Window, the mates attempted to prosecute different institution to implicit the project. However, they assertion that nary contractor was consenting to instrumentality connected a occupation that had already been inspected and partially completed by different firm.

Then came the lien.

The task was financed, meaning a third-party lender paid the contractor, but it seems Mister Window didn’t wage each of its suppliers. A supplier who worked connected the task claims they were ne'er paid. They filed a lien against the couple’s location for $38,926.68.