Couple's Dream Home Purchase In Burr Ridge Turns Into 'Ongoing Nightmare' In Fights With HOA, Village Officials

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Another year without their house; a Chicago couple looking to escape the city's hustle and bustle is making noise in a quiet suburb.

They say red tape and much more has ruined their dream home.

CBS 2 Morning Insider Lauren Victory lays out the allegations.

The idea to build their own home in Burr Ridge began in 2015.

"We actually fell in love with the development," Dr. Madison Sample said of a relaxing oasis called Falling Water. "We often talked about things that we're going to enjoy; the backyard, you know, walking in the subdivision, biking."

But he and his wife, Jackie Sample will tell you they had problems right out of the gate.

"Getting ready to pour concrete, we get an immediate 'stop work' order from the Falling Water homeowners' association, saying that they never gave permission for us to begin building," Madison Sample said.

That was in 2018. The confused Samples said their drawings and other ducks were all in row, so they sued the HOA for interfering with their creation.

"That first hiccup cost us five months of work," Madison said.

The work still isn't done 2.5 years after breaking ground; one fight after another delaying a dream home turned "an ongoing nightmare," as Jackie Sample put it.

Fencing is a big sticking point.

The village slapped the Samples with a stop work order in September for not having a fence around the construction site, but the anesthesiologist and his wife said photos show plenty of other construction sites without a barrier in place.

"We just want the same treatment that everybody else gets," Madison Sample said.

A Burr Ridge spokesperson told CBS 2 the fence rules are relatively new, and some projects are grandfathered in, but that doesn't explain the headache that followed.

"They told you you needed to do these things, but they wouldn't let the people in to do it?" Victory asked.

"Exactly," Jackie Sample said.

"Correct," Madison Sample said.

The Samples pointed to sign stating a cease and desist order had been issued at the Sample's home as an example of gate security not letting contractors in.

The couple claimed fence builders that would have satisfied the village's order weren't even allowed in.

Gate security called police on the lot owners more than once. Is it red tape or something else?

"I get to the gate, and I'm stopped. He gets to the gate, he's called a thug and told 'We just can't let any thugs in here,'" Jackie Sample said.

This tax- and homeowner-assessment-paying couple don't feel comfortable at Falling Water anymore.

"It's very degrading. It's embarrassing," Jackie said.

They plan to finish the work and sell the home they envisioned so long ago.

CBS 2 gave everyone involved weeks to respond to our story. No one from the security company got back to us. Property managers also ignored us.

The Samples' home is now on the market for $2.9 million.