A veteran living in Washington County is serving a Veterans Affairs approved lender with a lawsuit.

April Hathaway got the green light to purchase a home in Whitehall with their loan. A home she found out later needs to be demolished.

“This entire house was put together horribly. Nothing is up to code. Nothing has permits. They’re saying this entire house needs to be ripped down,” Hathaway said.

RELATED: GoFundMe for April Hathaway and her family

Hathaway bought what she thought was a beautiful two-story home with four and a half acres of land for her two young kids to play on. She packed up their life in Tennessee to move to upstate New York in October 2021 to be closer to family. Soon after they moved in, the problems started piling up. It ended with Washington County code enforcement saying the home is unsafe and an illegal structure.

“What is a family supposed to do when they can’t hold people accountable? We’re just stuck here,” Hathaway said.

The last known permit for this home was in 1988. That’s 33 years before Hathaway bought it!

Hathaway showed 13Investigates all the safety hazards in the home:

“A heater was here, but it doesn’t work. It’s pretty much useless.”

“This is the kitchen. We’re usually here in sweaters or in coats trying to cook.”

The Hathaways can’t use the entire second floor because it’s too cold upstairs.

“It’s about 30 degrees upstairs. It keeps about the same weather outside as it is upstairs…there are three bedrooms and a walk-in closet upstairs and a huge bathroom…can’t use any of it.”

Hathaway took the I-Team to the basement and got a closer look at the emptiness behind a wooden door.

“There’s nothing holding this house up other than dirt,” she said. “There are open electrical wires, non-secured gas lines, the septic is actually leaking because it’s not put together properly.”

A lot of the additions to the home were done without a single permit or inspection by code enforcement.

So who would let a person buy this home? Hathaway said a veterans affairs approved lender.

“They [Veterans Affairs] drill it in our heads: integrity, morals. That’s what we’re supposed to be about, and then they have none.”

Hathaway spent eight years in service with jobs across the country. She worked on a firing range, she did logistics and supplies, and even served as a security detail for then-first lady Michelle Obama.

“I really enjoyed it but wanted to have a family.”

Hathaway says she was set up with a VA verified real estate lawyer, inspector and appraiser.

The appraisal report found no physical deficiencies or adverse conditions with the home. Because of that report, the lender believed the home was worth the $220,000 asking price.

The inspector found a laundry list of problems – even mold.

However, Hathaway was still given a loan. Now, she’s suing.

Her attorney, Gerald Chiariello said he took Hathaway as a client because he’s so outraged what she went through.

“It’s a sad state of affairs when the VA has guidelines that need to be followed for anyone who’s lending on behalf of the VA who guarantees a loan. Yet this lender barely took any steps to even check the most basic of things in the house,” Chiariello said.

The Veterans United Home Loans website states vetting a property ensures military families have a safe, structurally sound, and sanitary place to call home.

“Unfortunately, none of them did any of it. Now we’re stuck in a situation three years later where it’s going to destroy my credit and my children’s futures,” Hathaway said.

Veterans United Home Loans declined to comment for this 13Investigates story.

Veterans Affairs spoke to 13Investigates on the phone but has also not received any formal comment.

WATCH STORY ABOVE: Last year, a couple wanted to buy Hathaway’s home. They tell 13Investigates it only took their inspector 10 minutes to realize this house is not fit to be a home. Their inspection found problems nobody else knew about. Not even Hathaway.