La Marque: Couple spends life savings for a home, the city calls it a shed, says it has to go

LA MARQUE, Texas - As more people seek ways to make ends meet, one Houston-area couple trying to become first time homebuyers may end up wasting more money than they save.

In La Marque, the family’s land now sits empty after their home was removed from the property.

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The couple bought land in La Marque two months ago, and they put what they call a home on the property. But the city of La Marque says it isn’t a house, and the couple was forced to remove it.

"It’s really bad. This was our dream," cries Erica Williams as she wipes tears away.

The Houston-area family seeking the American dream says their journey has turned into a nightmare. 

"We promised our kids we’d complete it in two years, and we were actually here. We actually got to see it, but we couldn’t live it," Mrs. Williams cries.   

"The square footage of the home was 1,300 square feet all put together before the process was stopped. It was a single family home, three bedrooms," explains Jermaine Williams.

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The Williams' say before buying the half acre of land in La Marque, they made sure modular homes are allowed. But once they had their house delivered, it was red tagged by Code Enforcement, and they were told it had to go.

"They were putting basically a backyard shed on the property trying to create a dwelling out of it. The problem with that is, one, that is against our ordinances," says JB Pritchett, Public Information Officer for the City of La Marque.

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The couple bought the two structures that were being constructed into one home from a company specializing in sheds and cabins, according to the business’ website. The Williams' say their home is not a shed, but a custom-built cabin.

"We paid extra money for a higher pitch of the ceiling, wider porch lines, wider ceiling approaches to make sure it should have met code," explains Mrs. Williams and Mr. Williams adds.

"We spent so much money on engineer plans. We spent so much money on electricians, plumbers. Everybody was on hand, ready to come in to finish the work. Now that we have to renege on the work, we have to pay the charge."

"No plans were submitted to the city through developmental services or our code department. We had no idea what was going on. It wasn’t until after the fact when the sheds were delivered and put there," Pritchett says.  

"It’s devastating. It has turned our lives upside down. This was our life savings that we put into this. Now it seems our dreams are all falling through. We’re nearly homeless because of this. What I hope will happen is they will see this and treat us fairly, will see this and have compassion on us as first time homebuyers and help us build our dream home," says Mr. Williams. 

The city says if the couple has plans to prove the structure isn’t a shed and has been upgraded to be a house, then they should show them to the Developmental Services Department.