A tiny hill where a house perched for 55 years is bare now, marked by the tracks of a heavy machine. A city contractor demolished the building earlier this month, leaving a tangle of weeds and a few scraps: a cassette tape, empty cans, a plastic ball.

Three months ago, Ida Bormentar and her fiance dreamed of starting a family there, at the end of a street in Lincoln Place. Deed in hand, they saw their plans crumble in May, when an arsonist torched the house before they bought insurance.

Today, the young immigrants are left with little more than they started with: strained finances, a faltering business and a plan for a home that will take years to complete.

"It's hitting us hard," said Ms. Bormentar, 28, a case manager at a nonprofit.

They are moving on, living in a house outside the city that belonged to a friend, shuffling their paychecks toward repairs. They hope to own the home in two years. With the help of a Post-Gazette reader who established a bank account for them, they are managing.

"I was really, really shocked," Ms. Bormentar said of the help. "I didn't know what to think of it, to be honest with you. We're really happy."

Ms. Bormentar asked the Post-Gazette to withhold certain details about her and her fiance -- such as where they live -- because no one has been charged with the arson.

The two were featured in the Post-Gazette in May, when they were battling the city of Pittsburgh about a bill for the property's demolition. Though they purchased the house at a city sale, finalizing the deal just weeks before the fire, state law empowers the city to sue them for the cost of the work.

"Unfortunately, that's not just with this family but other families that have tragic happenings at their homes," said John Jennings, acting chief of the city Bureau of Building Inspection. "I don't have the authority to waive any type of fees on that. That would have to come from a higher level."

Mr. Jennings said the contract was bid at a relatively low price, $2,500, because so much of the property was destroyed. Typically, a house of that size would cost $8,000 to demolish.

The cost is still high to Ms. Bormentar and her fiance, who believe the arson was racially motivated.

Police do not think that is the case, and Lincoln Place residents vehemently defended their neighborhood. But Ms. Bormentar felt that she and Samuel, who both moved to the United States years ago -- she from Liberia, he from Nigeria -- were targeted because of their race and nationality.

Lincoln Place, a neighborhood at the city's southeastern tip, is nearly 99 percent white, according to census data.

Their house on Dellaglen Avenue was burned down two months before they had planned to move in. One day before the fire, it was burglarized.

"It just seemed unbelievable that could happen and somebody's home could be destroyed just by that wantonless act," said Marilyn Sullivan, 68, of Franklin Park, who helped open a bank account for the couple through the couple's church.

"We're just so grateful," Ms. Bormentar said. "We are speechless still. We don't know."

The business the couple owns has struggled since the fire, their savings too depleted to invest in merchandise.

Their home is still not permanent. They arranged to buy the house they now live in for a reduced price, paying $2,000 up front and agreeing to pay about $10,000 in unpaid taxes on the property. Then, if they pay $3,000 more to their friend, the house is theirs.

All they can do is take it step-by-step, Ms. Bormentar said.

Donations can be made to Ms. Bormentar and her fiance at any PNC Bank branch under the "Redeem Christian Church of God" account. Donors should specify "Ida Bormentar" in a note. The account was opened at the PNC branch in Oakland.

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