Family seeks insurance money for Sandy-damaged home

REMSENBURG, N.Y. (WABC) -- It's been a year and a half since Superstorm Sandy hit, and families are still homeless.

Now, 7 On Your Side helps a Long Island family who's been fighting to get the insurance money they need to get back home.

It's a bitter pill to pay the mortgage on a house you can't live inside. That pill gets even more sour when despite paying the mortgage for 15 years, your bank's holding onto the last bit of your flood insurance funds.

Money that would get one Sandy family on the road back home.

It's an emotional drain inside the shell that was once a happy home for the Scrocco family, they have moved 5 times in the 19 months since Sandy nearly washed their house away.

"You struggle to pay the mortgage, always made sure we had a roof over our heads. They don't care I don't have a roof over my head," said homeowner Anna Maria Scrocco.

"The frustration to see her go through that and I can't go stomping on Citibank's door and say to see my mom crying," said daughter Glorio Scrocco.

About a year ago, the Scroccos got a big check from their flood insurance. As is customary, they endorsed it and sent it off to their mortgage company, CitiMortgage. Ever since, the family has received disbursements from CitiMortgage from that insurance money totaling nearly $100,000. But, the family says they've haven't been able to get the last chunk of it, more than 34 grand, until CitiMortgage's inspectors say the house is near completion. The renovations inside can't be completed because the foundations weren't stable.

The town required their Remsenberg house to be raised first, which delayed the renovations and cost nearly $100,000.

Leaving the family in a frustrating catch 22: now they can't pay contractors to complete renovations, until they get the remainder of the settlement.

"I don't live here, I pay my mortgage every month. I want to go home. I'm too emotional right now, but I want to go home," said homeowner Fernando Scrocco.

We asked CitiMortgage to take another look at the family's conundrum. The work had been at a 7 month standstill, but 3 days after explaining the situation, they had their money!

Finally, they got not one but four checks, totalling about $31,000.

Work could resume again.

Citibank told us they were pleased to have resolved this matter to the satisfaction of the homeowners.

The family hopes to be back home this summer.