East Brainerd, TN sinkhole
© Cecilia Lanzar
Most of us don't expect to suddenly lose access to our home and belongings because they fell into a sink hole.

But that's what happened to Cecilia Lanzar and her husband who live in East Brainerd last December.

They are now stuck in limbo as their insurance company and engineers figure out what to do next.

Cecilia Lanzar had been hearing "creeking" noises in her home for several weeks, but on December 1 st she never expected to see what was happening that morning.

CECILIA LANZAR, HOMEOWNER "So, I opened the blinds and the deck was tilting." A big sinkhole had opened up almost overnight. She knew that water had been flowing across her lawn from a broken water pump that belongs to Amberleigh Apartments on the hill above her home. And, according to city inspectors it had weakened her lawn .

CECILIA "They been coming in almost everyday. By the 7th there was a bunch of them that came in and that's when they told us that we need to vacate our property because its not safe for us."

Cecilia says the apartment complex owners admit the problem, she wonders who's going to pay for this mess?

CECILIA "You know we have all these papers from our policies but we never really look at I and read it. And then, when this happen I started reading it and I thought, I am paying for a sinkhole policy...but he told me there's a lot of fine print and loopholes when it comes to sinkholes."

They told her the contents of the house are not covered. And although its considered a bit of a risk to go inside, Ms. Lanzar showed us her piano, which is now in the kitchen.

CECILIA "I need to move my things, where am I going to move my things. I need to find a storage space..I need a place to live and like, movers, and they told me I cannot move anything out of my house."

The city says the Lanzar's need professional engineers to study the problem, which Cecilia says she and her husband cannot afford that.

CECILIA "But, all of a sudden nobody's saying anything."

For now, Cecilia and her husband are living in an apartment paid for by the insurance company. They're waiting to see who will move first to help them out.

You can watch WDEF's video coverage here.