Yarloop resident: 'I’m paying for my dead brother’s burnt down house'

“It was here. They’ve knocked it down,” Ms Mirco said.

In the empty block in front of her used to stand the home of her brother, Stuart King. 

Mr King died unexpectedly in November 2004, leaving behind a $53,000 Keystart mortgage he started just one year earlier.

Ms Mirco’s father was held responsible for the payment, but his diagnosis for dementia rolled the responsibility onto her.

Ms Mirco sublet the property to be able to afford paying for mortgage costs and council rates but she was forced to report and remove the tenants after they wrecked the home.

She had just finished fixing the house at her own expense when the Waroona fires in January this year burnt down the property.

“I’m paying for my dead brother’s burnt down house that wasn’t insured,” Ms Mirco said.

“I can’t even sleep at night.”

Due to her not being the owner of the property, Ms Mirco has been denied the psychological counselling provided to victims of the fire and the $3000 given to residents from the Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund.

She asked Keystart, the agency responsible for the mortgage, for a temporary suspension of payments until she could figure out what to do.

KeyStart rejected her request, and after she could no longer pay the monthly fees, an agent was sent to her home in Butler.

Ms Mirco also requested in writing to the Harvey council to be present during the demolition of the property.

But she traveled to Yarloop from her home in Butler on Wednesday to find the house had been demolished in her absence.

“It’s not right, It’s not fair,” she said.

“They didn’t even respect that.”

Crystal O'Brien from Keystart said she could not comment on any client’s specific details.

“However we can say that Keystart has assisted where necessary any clients who were affected by the Yarloop fires and we will continue to do so,” she said.

She also said Keystart would get in touch with the person legally dealing with the property to offer further assistance and solve any matters of concern.