Residents of Johnstown, Colorado, have been forced to pack up and leave their homes for a shocking reason: their homes are built on a pond.
Now homeowners must try to sell everything they own before bulldozers start demolishing their properties.
Holly Sturgon, a resident of almost 11 years, is among those forced to leave.
“People walking through this neighborhood should look at this and just say, what in the world?” Sturgon said 9News.
“This was originally a retention pond, and a flood last year revealed that it was supposed to be a retention pond,” she added.
Homeowners must try to sell everything they own before bulldozers start demolishing their properties. Holly Sturgon (pictured), a resident of almost 11 years, is among those forced to leave.
Their homes are built on what was originally a retention pond (photo: a flooded Johnstown earlier this year
The nightmare began when Sturgon’s basement flooded after living in the house for over a decade without any problems.
It was then that the horrifying truth came to light: their homes had been built on what was originally a retention pond.
The builder had filled in the pond and built houses without disclosing this crucial information to the buyers.
After last year’s flood, the city of Johnstown made the difficult decision to buy back four homes, with plans to bulldoze the land and rebuild the retention pond.
This left residents like Sturgon with no choice but to leave their forever homes behind.
‘Until a month ago, I probably cried almost every day. You can hear me choking up about it now,” Sturgon said. “Going through this part, it touches my heart every day.”
The nightmare began when Sturgon’s basement flooded after living in the house for over a decade without any problems
After last year’s flood, the city of Johnstown made the difficult decision to buy back four homes, with plans to bulldoze the land and rebuild the retention pond (photo: Sturgon’s house before it was dismantled)
This left residents like Sturgon with no choice but to leave their forever homes behind
In a desperate attempt to salvage something from this disaster, Sturgon has resorted to selling literally everything.
‘I sold toilets. I sold light fixtures. I sold air conditioning units. I sold garage doors. Siding. Goten. Everything is for sale,” she said.
“Make me a fairly small, reasonable offer, and it’s all yours to take and take home.”
The scene in Johnstown is now filled with trailers parked in the front yard loading up gear. ‘
The compensation offered by the city of Johnstown wasn’t even enough for families like the Sturgons to stay in Colorado.
The builder had filled in the pond and built houses without disclosing this crucial information to the buyers
In a desperate attempt to salvage something from this disaster, Sturgon has resorted to selling literally everything
“I’m going to miss it,” Sturgon said. ‘I’m looking here. I look at our neighbors. That’s the hardest part.’
With home prices skyrocketing, they made the decision to move to Georgia to be closer to family.
Affected residents initially wanted to fight back, but legal advice unanimously suggested they would lose any battle to keep their homes.
“When you sell a house, you clean it really well for the next one, and I destroy the house on purpose. It’s quite different.’
“I hope no one has to go through this because it’s not a comfortable feeling at all,” Sturgon said.