The US Government Caused Me to Become Homeless Pt 1

pstrongOne woman's journey through government fraud and homelessness /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/456/photo_1_feature.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Judith M. Hansel/p pThe United States federal government caused me to become homeless. I purchased, for cash, a 985 square foot house on two acres in Waushara County, Wisconsin. The previous owner had purchased the house from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Title 7 USCS C.F.R. 1955.116 program./p pI returned to Wisconsin in 1988 when my sons were grown and my marriage over. My great-grandfather had received 250 acres from the government in the 19th Century. He passed the farm on to his son, my grandfather, who farmed the land and raised nine children, including my father. My father left the farm in 1917 to join the Navy and chose to live in Milwaukee instead of farming when he returned from the war./p pDuring my childhood and adolescence, I loved visiting the farm. I considered it, particularly after my father died, to be my real home. There was a 22-acre lake called Hansel Lake. The vegetables served at mealtime were always fresh from the garden. I enjoyed seeing the farm dog round up the cows at milking time, herding them into the barnyard. My Uncle Clarence taught me about raising pigs. If there was to be chicken for dinner, I watched one of my uncles pick a chicken up by its feet, lay it across a tree stump, and chop the chicken’s head off. The chicken would then get up and run around flapping its wings. My grandmother took the feathers off the bird and cleaned out its insides. I felt privileged./p pIn 1988, my mother had a stroke that she could not survive. I flew to Wisconsin from Maryland and visited her before she lost consciousness. A few days later, my brother, my sister, and I planned her funeral. In the interim, I took a one-day trip to visit relatives. My Aunt Emily still lived in the farmhouse. It was in the farm kitchen there that I decided to return to Wisconsin. /p pThree months later, after the Maryland house was sold and the profits divided, I arrived in Waushara County. One of my dreams was coming true. A two-bedroom house was advertised in the newspaper. I called a realtor, made an appointment, saw the house, and made a down payment of $600./p pI hired a lawyer to search the title to see if it was free and clear. His written opinion told me that there were restrictive covenants on the Quit Claim Deed. These restrictive covenants, placed by the United States Department of Agriculture, could not be removed until all the repairs listed on the restrictive covenants were made. The Farmers Home Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, had to ensure that the property was “decent, safe, and sanitary.”/p pI called the realtor and explained that I wanted my deposit returned and that I did not want to purchase the property. The seller’s realtor phoned me at the motel where I was staying. He told me that he could get the restrictive covenants removed. He suggested that I put my $23,900 into my attorney’s trust account and if the restrictive covenants were not removed, the money would not be released and the sale would not go through./p pI saw no reason not to trust the federal government or the Farmers Home Administration agent who was a federal employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I agreed to the plan./p pOn August 16, the papers were signed. I drove out to the house with Bernie, my mixed Saint Bernard. I couldn’t believe that I now owned a house in Waushara County. I felt very grateful and happy./p pA few days later, the seller’s realtor phoned me and told me that the restrictive covenants had been released by the U.S.D.A., but that it would take a week or two to get the paperwork processed./p pMy washing machine arrived and was installed two days later. I threw a load of wash into the machine and went back to watching TV. Later, when I used the bathroom, the water didn’t flush, but just kept rising. I immediately called the plumber who had inspected the septic system and who had submitted a certificate to the seller stating that the system was working.br / /pPThe plumber inspected the plumbing in the house and the septic system. He informed me that the system could not handle all the water from the washing machine. When I mentioned the report he said he never guaranteed the system. He told me that I should not use the washing machine since it flooded the system./p pMy attorney phoned me later that same day to tell me that the Release of Restrictive Covenants document had been received and that he was transferring my money to the seller’s account. When I mentioned the problem with the septic system, he told me that if I thought he had misrepresented something then I should hire another attorney and sue him.br / /pPThe TV antenna installer told me my roof was leaking in places. And, when I was gone for a weekend, the water pump in the well became unseated. I called another plumber and he informed me that I needed a new water pump. /p pAnd so my long nightmare began./p piThis is the first installment in a series Judith is writing on her long nightmare with government-backed fraud which lead to her current state of homelessness. She is also writing a book entitled Escape from America: An Expose of International Treachery, which will be completed by September 15 of this year.br / Email: a href="mailto:judy1hansel@hotmail.com"judy1hansel@hotmail.com/abr / /i/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p