Imagine buying a home for $200,000, then finding out it's virtually a wreck with a six-figure price tag to fix it.

That was the enormous problem Caitlyn from Indianapolis was stuck with. She called into The Ramsey Show to detail what happened after her family bought the home in May 2025. Caitlin said the family "discovered" about $100,000 in structural damages that were never included in the seller's disclosure, the legal document that typically includes known defects, completed repair work and other factors affecting property value. She argued this was an instance of "fraud."

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"So our options are to spend the $30,000 to sue the people who sold us the house, and if we win, then we would profit about $250,000 to $300,000," Caitlyn told the hosts. "If we lose, though, then we're $30,000 in debt, and we still have the $100,000 in structural damages that would be unfixed completely. And we can't sell our house because of how much is wrong with it."

Caitlyn said her family had made all the scheduled mortgage payments so far and added they financially "don't do badly at all." Beyond the mortgage, the family only has $3,000 in debt and $1,000 in savings.

Still, she said the structural flaws are causing electric bills to total $1,600 per month — a hefty amount, given the national average bill for electricity comes out to $163, per Electric Choice.

Caitlyn's family paid a $7,000 retainer and the lawyer is seeking $30,000 to proceed with the case against the sellers. Other lawyers she'd consulted were seeking identical fees, Caitlyn said.

"It still feels like a gamble to me that you're going to get that much money out of the situation," said Rachel Cruze, one of the hosts. On top of that, Caitlyn would have to disclose the structural damage on a disclosure form if they were to sell. That would significantly cut the value of her home and cause a big financial loss for the family.

"We bought it for $200,000. Our home wouldn't be worth anything more than $120,000," Caitlyn said. "We'd maybe get 150k out of it, which a couple of realtors have spoken to us about."

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The co-hosts were reluctant in encouraging Caitlyn to sue since that step would require her family to take out a $30,000 loan to pay their lawyer.

"I wouldn't give up on the search because right now your best case is still finding a lawyer who can do it on contingency," said co-host George Kamel, referring to lawyers who only get paid once they win in court or financially settle a case.

Kamel added that he'd also check if title insurance or home warranty could cover any of the damage. Caitlyn responded she'd already checked and it wouldn't.

"It's just a bad situation," Caitlin said.

In the end, Caitlyn's problem didn't have a clear answer. The co-hosts encouraged her to keep searching for lawyers in Indianapolis who would take on the case without a payment up-front.

"I couldn't advise you to go $30,000 in debt for still a little bit of a gamble," Cruze said.

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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Indiana family discovers $100K in hidden damage after buying $200K home — Ramsey hosts weigh the $30K gamble to sue

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