Couple Moves Into Dream Home—Looks Behind New Drywall To See They'd Been Scammed By Sellers

Sep 17, 2020

For many people, purchasing a new home represents one of the biggest financial investments that they will ever make. In this story from 2017, a couple in Minneapolis found that the purchase of their dream home quickly turned into a nightmare due to an unscrupulous house flipper.

John Kozlik and his partner had purchased a home in the Lake Nokomis area, but after rain damage occurred in the basement, the full extent of the house's shoddy workmanship and deception to cover it up came to light.

According to CBS Minnesota, when John Kozlik decided to purchase a new home with his partner, they were very impressed with a home they viewed in the vicinity of Lake Nokomis.

The roomy home featured four bedrooms and three bathrooms and checked off nearly everything on their wish list. They were so excited that they exceeded the $360,000 asking price by $10,000 to make sure they were not outbid for the home.

Their excitement quickly turned to disappointment when they discovered that many of the modern finishes that they loved so much were just a veneer hiding shoddy workmanship.

The first sign of a problem came when a rainstorm led to water pouring into the home’s basement through a poorly sealed window. When some of the drywall had to be removed to repair the damage, that is when John and his partner realized that they had been deceived.

Behind the walls, they found cracked cinderblocks, growing tree roots, and black mold. When John tried to reach out to the people he had purchased the home from, he found out that the couple he believed had lived in the home and done the upgrades themselves were actually part of a company named "Ace of Spaces" that was created to handle the sale of the home and dissolved a few days after the sale was completed. John also found out that none of the work done on the home had been properly permitted.

One of the key members of Ace of Spaces was a man named Joe Werb who, according to a 2017 story, is in jail for his role in another scam involving cell phone sales. As of 2017, John and his partner were in the arbitration process to try to salvage some of the money they have invested in the home. 

Send this story of a homebuyer victimized by fraud to warn someone you love to be cautious when making large purchases. What did you think of this story? What is a good way to avoid this issue? Tell us below. Pass this article on to your friends and family members.