La Marque home slated for demolition sold to woman, city says

LA MARQUE, TX (KTRK) -- Companies are selling homes slated for demolition to unsuspecting buyers, according to La Marque city officials.

City Manager Carol Buttler told Eyewitness News she knows of at least three instances in which buyers were not informed that structures were already identified as dangerous or substandard prior to the sale taking place.

Whendy Carreon said her mother bought her a home on Azalea Drive in September 2015 for about $25,000 dollars. She said she knew the home needed repairs, but she didn't know until after it belonged to her that the city planned on demolishing it.

"They took advantage of her because she doesn't speak English," Carreon said of her mother. "She's undocumented, you know, people do that to people, they take advantage and it's just not right. And they think we're not gonna fight back but we are."

A spokeswoman for the company that owned the home at the time of sale, Greenspoint Investors, told Eyewitness News the city's and family's claims are false. She said the company did not know the house was marked for demolition until October, one month after the sale took place.

Carreon enlisted the help of Joe Compian of Interfaith Gulf Coast to help her family figure out how to move forward. Compian said he has heard about other similar cases in the city.

"I've been informed by the local authorities that there seems to be an aggressive effort to sell these houses without notifying the buyers," Compian said.

He urges other families buying homes with cash in La Marque to have the home inspected and check with the city to make sure there are no holds on the property before purchasing the home.