Inspecting for mold in home vital (Another family)

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Inspecting for mold in home vital

http://www.nwherald.com/CommunitySection/slupski/301180295798954.php

The past year has been a nightmare for Ricky and Streit.

The brothers bought a home on Wooded Shore Drive in Wonder Lake on

May 12, 2004, for $169,000. Everything seemed to be going well until

the brothers pulled back some carpet and found some mold.

They called a mold inspector. During the inspection, paneling in the

downstairs was removed, and more mold was found. So much mold, in

fact, that the house was deemed uninhabitable on June 18, 2004.

The house still is uninhabitable. Mold remediation would cost

$10,000 to $50,000. The brothers are renting a farmhouse and have

been unable to afford to pay their rent and mortgage.

" It's all very frustrating, " 52-year-old Ricky Streit said in one of

the understatements of the year.

Prospective buyers live in a state of enthusiastic anxiety –

thrilled they are buying a new home but fearful something could go

horribly wrong. For the Streits, things went horribly wrong.

" Life has been pretty miserable for them for the last year, " said

Gay Szara, a Realtor with Prudential First Realty. Szara is listing

the house for the Streits.

The Streits did hire a home inspector, but home inspectors are not

experts when it comes to mold.

" If you're buying a house, it's probably not a bad idea to have a

mold inspection, " Szara said. " But I don't know anybody who has had

it done. "

Ricky Streit drives a school bus for the Special Education District

of McHenry County. His 43-year-old brother, , is an aide on one

of the buses. was injured in an accident 10 years ago when he

fell off the back of a pickup truck.

He was in a coma for a time and later developed short-term memory

loss. The $23,000 the brothers used for a down payment came from

's injury settlement.

" It's very stressful, " Ricky Streit said. " When we bought the house,

the idea was that if anything ever happened to me, would never

have to move again. "

Instead, after living in the mold-infested home from mid-May to mid-

June 2004, developed asthma.

It is unlikely that the brothers will get damages from the previous

homeowners, unless the previous homeowners knew there was something

wrong with the house and failed to disclose it. One way out would be

to sell the home.

Szara said she had an offer on the house of $135,000. Unfortunately,

the mortgage company, Litton Loan Services, rejected the offer and

now is threatening foreclosure. Ricky Streit fears that his credit

will be ruined, but Szara still is hoping that the home can be sold.

" The whole thing is extremely unfair, " Szara said.

– Columnist Slupski's commentary appears Tuesday, Wednesday,

Friday and Sunday. He can be reached by e-mail at

bslupski@... or at (815) 459-4122.