Homeowner says home is collapsing, cause unknown

HAMPSTEAD, NC (WWAY) — A couple in Hampstead is warning homeowners after they say their house started sinking.

Last month Richard Thompson said his 15 year old home off Washington Acres Road started cracking in the middle of the day.

It all started on October 4. It was just a normal day for Thompson. He said he was working in his house with a man from the cable company when things turned out of the ordinary.

“‘Bout the time he was getting ready to leave, we heard a loud noise,” Thompson said.

That’s when he said he went to the kitchen to see what was happening.

“There was a great big split in my kitchen wall about 8 inches apart where it was moving,” Thompson said.

The two men continued walking into the kitchen.

“The floor started to slowly make noise and slowly sink to one side to an angle. It didn’t fall all the way,” Thompson said.

Thompson said he grabbed the phone and called his contractor and his insurance company as he watched his 15 year old house crumble.

“I wanted to save the house I didn’t know what was going on,” Thompson said.

Three engineers later, Thompson said they still do not know what is going on. One of the engineers even told him this:

“In his 40 years as an engineer, a stress and structure engineer, he’d never seen anything like this either,” Thompson said.

After a 42 page investigation, Thompson said there is still no cause. He said his insurance company will not cover this, because his plan does not cover ground damage.

“I thought this would be called a collapse,” Thompson said.

While thompson continues searching for answers and financial help, he hopes other homeowners make sure their covered for anything out of the ordinary.

“We invested everything we had for this for our retirement and for our kids later and now we’ve got nothing,” Thompson said.

Thompson is living with his daughter right now, but he said he hopes he can save his house.