After building their dream home on Cape Cod, Marc and Joan Hendel got a letter in the mail from the state, they were seizing the property by eminent domain. Photo: WBZ News Radio / Jim MacKay
BOURNE, Mass.( – After building their dream home on Cape Cod, Marc and Joan Hendel got a letter in the mail from the state, they were seizing the house, and they had to move.
“We sunk our entire life savings into this house,” said Marc.
They bought the plot of land, and built the house right along the Cape Cod Canal, nestled under the Sagamore bridge. But then the day came when they were told that the state was taking the land by eminent domain, and they were on notice to start over once again.
“We are so upset about all of this, and they just don’t care,” said Joan.
The Hendels are among a group of unlucky homeowners who’s properties are being seized in order to start building the new Sagamore Bridge to connect Cape Cod to the rest of the state. The aging bridge will be a long and expensive project for the state, but much needed according to the department of transportation.
Now the Hendles will wait to get their appraisal from the state, but its not the money they want. They want their home, their retirement plans, their Cape house.
“They are not coming to our rescue,” said Joan. “They are making it worse.”
Though neighbors are getting fair market value from their homes, its not as easy as picking up and moving to a new spot. This is community, and comfort that they are being forced to leave. They have 120 days to find somewhere else, but the sate is offering a solution to give them a bit more time, rent the property back while they move.
“To pay rent to live in my own home, now that is insane,” said Marc.
MASSDOT says they are committed to helping these effected homeowners find a new, permanent place to live. That doesn’t ease the pain of leaving somewhere they thought they would live out their golden years.
“They’ve taken it away and its so wrong,” said Joan.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.