Homeowner foots bill when builder goes bankrupt

one westside homeowner is wondering how something like this could happen. she says she's stuck wi...  More »

one westside homeowner is wondering how something like this could happen. she says she's stuck with some unexpected bills from a home builder that went bust. joe vigil is live off 118-th near dennis chavez with the details. the woman lives in the sand stone trails subdivision---just north of atrisco heritage academy. she was floored to find out she's stuck with bills the homebuilder never paid. now she wonders if t happened to her neighbor and they don't even know it. shannon deipenbrock achieved the american dream in 2007-- buying her first home. "we were really excited. we were excited for the new neighborhood and the new school going in." there were no problems at closing. minute thumbnail 10:07 pm "the title company did their search it came out clean i thought everything was good." but with property taxes on the rise deipenbrock looked into refinancing this summer and couldn't believe what happened. the bank discovered a 26- hundred dollar lien on her home ...a brand new home. "i was in shock because i didn't know what it could possibly be for." after talking to her bank she says the lien ended up being filed by an electrical subcontractor used by the home builder. a lawyer who handles cases like this says subcontractors can file liens if they're not paid. the subcontractor told us the homebuilder--fts construction--ow es it a lot of money. problem is fts went bankrupt this summer. it no longer exists. since there's no one to collect from--deipenbrock is left holding the bag. "i'm going to have to take a loan out for my 401k because there's just no way i can take that kind money out of my immediate cash." minute thumbnail 10:08 pm and she's wonders if her neighbors are being hit too and don't even know it. "i would never have known about this if i wouldn't have tried to refinance." deipenbrock says the bank told her the lien is for around 40- thousand dollars spread out among other residents. other homeowners we talked to say they are going to check with their banks first thing in the morning. the lawyer we talked to today said there is a way to protect yourself from something this. he recommends when you close on a home -- get a signed letter from the homebuilder showing the subcontractors have been paid.  « Less