'Miracle cat' homeowner fights to have her house rebuilt
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- We first told you about a local house fire that cost Leta May Strickland her home, and left Russell the cat fighting for his life last year.
After dealing with so much, Strickland is now dealing with a contractor that didn't rebuild her home like he promised.
"I opened the door and a big puff hit me and all the black smoke hit me and I couldn't see, it just knocked me out the door and I felt like I had died, I felt like I was on fire," Strickland said.
The rebuilding process was just as tough. She hired Kevin Marsh from "We Do....Construction," of Eastover, N.C. and paid him more than $24,000 to get started.
"Every time I gave him money, he said that's not enough, I need more money," she said.
Strickland says she continued to pay Marsh, but she questioned whether the work was done correctly.
"They were putting all that burnt stuff up," she said. "He told the inspector he had done 50 percent of the work and he hadn't done anything inside the house."
Strickland's mortgage company was holding the remaining insurance money and sent an inspector to her house to see the progress. A representative with the mortgage company said it was then that their inspector found only 10 percent of the house was repaired, despite more than $40,000 of insurance money paid out.
"He made a mess," Strickland said.
She fired Marsh and wanted her money back. But Marsh didn't pay up; in fact, he wrote a letter and claimed he was not paid any money. He also claimed that she owed him $123,000.
But a big problem with Marsh was that he was not licensed to do any job over $30,000.
We called Marsh several times but got no response. We eventually went to his house, but did not get an answer.
Strickland never saw Marsh again, so another licensed contractor stepped in to rebuild her home.
While her new home is now complete, Strickland couldn't get the remaining insurance payout from her mortgage company.
"I need the money," she said.
That's when we contacted Wells Fargo, and they told us since Marsh wouldn't sign the letter of termination, they could not pay out the remaining funds.
But Wells Fargo worked with Strickland and her new licensed contractor. Once the inspection showed Strickland's home was 100 percent complete, Wells Fargo released the final payment of $57,000.
"I'm so glad we are back in our house," she said.
Strickland paid the licensed contractor the remaining amount he was owed and after a year of obstacles, she is finally enjoying being back in her home.
The only thing missing is Russell, who is still recovering at the vet.
But Russell's vet said he is almost fully recovered and should be able to go home soon.
The best advice, do your research before hiring a contractor and make sure they are licensed before they start any work. Here is how you can check if a contractor is licensed: Click here.
