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Buyers to “Windy City Rehab”: Take back this broken $1.36M house

Couple who purchased Lincoln Park townhouse from the show’s hosts say it is plagued with issues

2308 W. Giddings Street and "Windy City Rehab" stars Alison Victoria and Donovan Eckhardt (Credit: HGTV)
2308 W. Giddings Street and "Windy City Rehab" stars Alison Victoria and Donovan Eckhardt (Credit: HGTV)

The owners of a $1.36 million home featured on reality show “Windy City Rehab” are suing the show’s hosts for fraud and demanding that they take back the property.

According to the lawsuit, within 24-hours of closing on the home, a shower on the upper floor of the Lincoln Square house leaked gallons of water into the kitchen – and that was just the beginning of their problems. The owners, James and Anna Morrissey, hired an inspector in October who determined that “nearly every window throughout the property was not installed correctly,” according to the suit.

In addition to the windows, a promised new roof was never installed, the outside masonary was crumbling in multiple parts and the front door was installed incorrectly, the lawsuit alleges. This resulted in massive amounts of leaks and flooding throughout the home and cost the Morrisseys tens-of-thousands of dollars to fix on their own dime, the couple claim.

The lawsuit filed on Dec. 30 demands to reverse the purchase of the home at 2308 W. Giddings St. as well as $80,000 in damages the Morrisseys had to pay for. The show’s hosts, Alison Gramenos and Donovan Eckhardt as well as their respective development groups Greymark Development Group and Alison Victoria Interiors Inc. are listed as the defendants.

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Gramenos and Eckhardt reportedly made a $70,000 profit on the home, which they bought for $640,000.

The HGTV show has been facing problems for months since the hosts were hit with multiple stop-work orders for being found in violation of multiple construction codes, including working without permits.

Gramenos dropped Eckhardt and his development company from the projects and she is finishing the show without him. Eckardt’s development company sent a check to reimburse the Morrisseys for the cost of the roof but it bounced, according to the Sun-Times.

“If I have to cover his portion I will,” Gramenos allegedly said in a text to the Morrisseys. “I do not want him to f— with my life or business any more than he already has.” [Sun Times] — Jacqueline Flynn