THE AMERICAN DREAM HOME
What does The American Dream Home mean to you?
For some people the thought of the perfect dream home might be a quaint
little cottage at the edge of the woods. For others, it might be an eleventh
floor loft with a view of the city. For us, it was a water front home located
in Southwest Florida.
This is a story of how our dream home gave us an unforgettable introduction to the false promises of a small town builder. After only three years of occupancy, the clandestine workings of a latent construction defect unleashed an invisible killer known as toxic mold. When it came time to file an insurance claim, the small print was enlarged kindly leaving us with a hollowed-out home owners policy. With only one place to turn, we began a trip down the nonsensical yellow-brick road of litigation.
We have experienced first hand the life and death blind spots of traditional medicine, the conveniently "turned cheek" of the health insurance industry and the bone chilling scare of the far reaching, defunct mortgage industry on the happiest day of our new lives.
Yes, we are that couple which allows most to feel good about their own personal struggles. We often hear, "Gosh, I thought we had it bad." Or, "...our problems are nothing compared to yours." While our story might seem bleak, with a few exceptions, it is very inspiring.
We believe we have been dispossessed of the deeply complicated lifestyle as it relates to material things. We have been given a second chance on life - one which is focused on living a simple life enjoying our time with our friends and family no matter where we lay our heads or the amount of money we have or don't have.
We have tried to capture our experiences into seven lessons of owning the American dream home: promise, defects, mold, policy, litigation, medicine & insurance. We are in the process of creating essays for each lesson and will eventually turn it into a book. We would like to share our life changing story with you by opening up the door to our American dream home.
