Update on Yippie's Mold Ridden Home - Sad but worth reading

[ASH]

I too am sorry for all that you are going through.
I recall several years ago when I lived in Northern MN that got a flood in the spring that engulfed most of Lake of the Woods County on the Canadian border. It got into a local church and I got involved in the cleanup. We ended up tearing out the entire basement right to the rafters. All the insulation, drywall, duct work, cupboards and carpet. We went right to the concrete walls. Then we hired a team who sprayed down the entire area and sealed everything for a couple weeks with forced air to absolutely dry everything. Then we rebuilt it all. I worked the tear-out alone for nearly a week as I was the only one living nearby who didn't have their own problems and had the time. I ended up sick for nearly a month with breathing problems from the mold and we tore everything out within weeks of the flood and it was already that bad.

 

[yippie]

Link didn't work for pic.

Try these:

http://www.destindir.com/matercloset.pdf

http://www.destindir.com/abrahamresidence(3)8-30-06.pdf

http://www.destindir.com/abrahamresidence8-30air.pdf

http://www.destindir.com/PhotosAbraham8-21-07.PDF

You may have to cut and paste in your browser.

 

[yippie]

Yippie, Listen to SHELLY! Some of your health problems may lessen once you're out of the toxic environment and then you can work on finding a way to move on with your life. Maybe it's not worth continuing to fight. Maybe just let your lawyer handle it from now on? I don't know ..... I would just hate for you to continue to constantly worry about this. Don't let the builder do that to you also.

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I have been out of the house since the first week of December. Breathing is much better, but there is some permanent damage that can't be fixed.

 

[SHELLY]

Yippie,

You wrote:

"The bank is not wiling to continue to carry a mortgage on a property that is not worth the collaterial and not insured on top of it."

The way that I see it is that if you can't insure, and you can't afford to continue paying the mortgage, "The Bank" is the owner of the property and it is up to the bank to take up the issue with the builder...no?

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[yippie]

Yippie,

You wrote:

"The bank is not wiling to continue to carry a mortgage on a property that is not worth the collaterial and not insured on top of it."

The way that I see it is that if you can't insure, and you can't afford to continue paying the mortgage, "The Bank" is the owner of the property and it is up to the bank to take up the issue with the builder...no?

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No, my insurance is not part of the mortgage. IT is paid separately. The bank does not own the property, payments are current.

 

[SHELLY]

No, my insurance is not part of the mortgage. IT is paid separately. The bank does not own the property, payments are current.

If the bank requires you to hold insurance, they should find insurance for you.

If you're still paying a mortgage, the bank does own the property....all you hold is an option to sell it.


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[organicmama]

Yippie, my heart goes out to you because I understand the health problems you are dealing with and that your money has been sucked dry by all of the other issues and that it costs a LOT of money to find the right doctors to work in healing your body.

I have no advice on the legal end. Actually, I do. In 2001, I worked at UGA Law Library in the Serials Dept. There were a ton of documents coming into the Law School about legal issues dealing with black mold. It is a HUGE deal. You just need to find the right lawyer. I know you said you had a really good one, but get her connected to laws & documents on this issue. Here is one link that had a lot of other links to search through.

http://www.environmentallawyers.com/state-environmental-lawyers.cfm/name/FL

I know we had a mold remediator come and look at the condo where we lived in Alpharetta before moving down here. No mold there, but I think my hubby was exposed in a house that we were living in around 2001-2002 in Athens, GA. He got really sick then and has had trouble health-wise since. It stinks (would like to use a stronger word) because it completely affects quality of life in ways that people cannot even fathom. We can't totally pinpoint the exact thing that made him so sick, so we are SOL on anything. I just want him better and when I hear of others in the same situation, my heart breaks.

As said in another thread, Dr. Coetzee's a great MD over off East Mack Bayou. I'd highly recommend him in your case.

My prayers are with you.

 

[wrobert]

It is a separate inspection, and you want a certified mold inspector to conduct it. They take air samples at different locations inside the house, as well as outside the house. The outside samples give them a base. Send off the samples to a lab, and results are returned. FYI - most every house has mold, but in varying degrees. Sounds like Yippie has it bad. A good home inspector should be able to detect signs of mold, to determine if an actual mold test is needed, but remember the word, "good." The inspector I most often use, is also a mold inspector.

I asked a builder I know how they deal with this issue and what has caused it to come to the forefront today. He told me that they have always had mold problems. The lumber that comes in is usually full of the stuff. A few years back they started hiring some sort of mold company to come in after the home was dried in that sprays an orange colored chemical on the entire inside of the house. They then certify the home as mold free and give them a warranty against future mold.

I have seen a lot of houses in various stages and never have I seen anything sprayed orange. I wonder how long before they discover that the chemical that is being sprayed is some sort of a carcinogen.

He did say this has really gotten regulated in California as the result of a huge lawsuit against the government on a mold issue. He felt like that it would not be long before similar rules and regs would be put in place throughout Florida.

 

[30A Skunkape]

Just a few thoughts to ponder...

Mycologists are far less concerned about toxic mold than plaintiff's attorneys.


The health woes attributed to toxic mold were not described until the 1980s(ish) and appeared to increase in frequency and severity as our housing concurrently became less humid and better climate controlled. Our forefathers who lived in damp dark quarters didn't seem to have similar health problems even though they certainly were exposed to much more mold.


There will never be a better setting to study the effects of 'toxic mold' on health than post Katrina New Orleans. Flooded houses stripped to their moldy frames were pressure blasted with baking soda and rebuilding ensued;to date, no outbreak of mysterious illness.

As you read this post you are probably breathing in spores released by molds reported to be toxic. If you doubt this, get your hands on a Petri dish filled with an agar supportive of fungi and leave it uncovered for one minute...seal it and allow it to bloom for a few days-you will be shocked. Unscrupulous individuals are making big money by performing this trick on consumers (who by default are already concerned about mold in their house or wouldn't have contacted the mold team in the first place) and then trying to sell high priced and unwarranted mold remediation.

 

[Smiling JOe]

A few points, certified mold inspectors do exist in Florida.

Mold can cause major problems for some people's health, others seem unaffected. My sisters house, which has a finished basement looks nice and clean, but the mold which is hidden, limits her kids from hanging out in the basement, and my mom gets sick when she stays in the bedroom down there.

Some builders spray down the wood with chemicals like Jomax, just before installing the windows and doors, to help kill any mold growing on the wood. It doesn't contain a die to show that it has been applied.

As stated, mold is everywhere, and that is why the accurate tests require a base be established from the mold in the air outside the home. You will likely find mold in the cabinet under the sink, in the corners of your shower, and in the HVAC vent. When the level gets high enough above the basis, it becomes a concern, but can be remediated, potentially with much labor and costs, if you have to start ripping out sheetrock.