The renovation that ruined a home and drove a pub owner to suicide

JIM and Allison had just moved into their dream home. They couldn’t have been happier. But then the neighbours started to renovate next door - and the consequences were horrifying.

The renovation that ruined their lives

JIM and Allison Pantaleo had moved into their dream home, they co-owned a pub and were deeply in love.

Then their neighbours started renovating the house next door.

It was the building project that would ruin the Pantaleos’ lives and eventually drive Jim to suicide.

The damage left their home unstable and dangerous, Allison says.

The cracks started appearing just as Jim and Allison moved into the semi-detached house in an up-and-coming Toronto neighbourhood in October 2009. They had just completed their own renovations — putting in a new kitchen, laying down wooden flooring and painting the interior — and were delighted with the results.

But their concerned builder pointed out that the work happening next door had left a gap in their foundation wall, “enough that I could pass a coffee cup through”, Allison told the National Post.

Soon after, the couple started noticing cracks in their stairs, walls, ceilings, new hardwood floors and the brand-new tiles in the kitchen. Their neighbours’ builders then knocked a hole “the size of a baseball” in their living room wall. It seemed as if the foundation of the house was actually shifting, Allison said.

And things were about to get far worse. When the neighbours tore their home down, part of the Pantaleos’ house went with it. Their internal wall was exposed and their roof and brickwork damaged.

“I couldn’t even believe it, I thought, that’s just not possible,” said Allison. “I was genuinely afraid for our safety.”

The Pantaleos were soon homeless and locked in a pricey lawsuit.

She called the council and then an engineer, who took one look at the house and was dumbfounded. He told the new homeowners they had to get out immediately.

Their lives collapsing around them, the Pantaleos grabbed a few possessions and fled, with the mammoth task of deciding where to go ahead of them. At the time, Jim told his wife: “As long as we have each other, we can get through this.”

But things weren’t destined to be that simple. The couple moved in with a cousin and the days stretched into months. The engineer returned to the house and listed a catalogue of problems, observing that the house appeared to be leaning into the empty pit next door.

He also noted a number of errors made by the neighbours and their contractors — they had not gained a permit to demolish their house, and hadn’t performed certain checks in advance.

But the city inspector told the Pantaleos they needed to make their house stable, and Jim and Allison were forced to install wooden beams inside to prop the building up.

Jim’s friends believe the renovation played a big part in his death.

Within six months, they were embroiled in a pricey lawsuit, and their marriage was falling apart.

Jim had other problems too, Allison said. He suffered from chronic pain and had to take pills, and he had a tendency to drink heavily. Soon, the stress took its toll, Allison stopped working at the pub and the couple separated.

Jim was struggling financially. He was still paying the mortgage as well as rent and expensive lawyers’ bills. In March 2012, just over two years after the couple had moved out, the neighbours’ house sold for $667,000, more than double what they had paid for it.

The Pantaleo’s home sold two months later, for just under $460,000, $41,000 less than the figure Jim and Allison had spent buying and renovating it three years earlier.

Jim was forced to sell his bar and move in with his parents.

That August, the 43-year-old went out drinking at his local bar. He sent his wife a text message that read, “Love you forever”, and emailed several letters to his mother to distribute.

His body was found a few days later in a Toronto park with a fatal bullet wound and a note. His friends and family believe the renovation played a major part in his death.

“It had a monumental impact on Jim,” said Allison. “The practicality of it was hard on him but I think the emotional impact on him in terms of stress was devastating.

“I think there’s a lot of factors as to why Jim killed himself, but I think the house is absolutely the catalyst and what caused him to do what he did.”

The neighbours deny responsibility for any damage and the case continues.

It has been a heavy price to pay for doing up a home.

Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts can get help from Lifeline (131114 or lifeline.org.au) and) Beyond Blue (1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au