Mold house family moves in

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NEWS- Despair city: Mold house family moves in

Published September 22, 2005, in issue 0438of The Hook

http://readthehook.com/stories/2005/09/21/newsDespairCityMoldHouseFa.

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BY LISA PROVENCE LISA@...

Charlottesville,VA

While Charlottesvillians scrambled to send aid to those left

homeless by Hurricane Katrina, Ros Casey focused on a devastated

family closer to home: Larry and Judit Szaloki, unfortunate

new home owners of the notorious " mold house. "

Since purchasing the residence at 2207 Wayne Avenue in February, the

couple and their four children have been on a downward spiral,

owning a mold-infested and uninhabitable home while facing eviction

from a house they could no longer afford to rent.

Good Samaritans stepped in when they learned of the s' plight

in the Hook's March 31 cover story. The house was cleaned-- but

ridding it of toxic mold and rotted wood meant taking it down to the

framing and obliterating the bathroom and kitchen.

Contractor Bob Fenwick " adopted " the family and has been working to

repair their gutted home so they could move in, which they did

around September 10. Without a working kitchen and air conditioning,

Szaloki describes their present version of the American dream

as " like camping. "

" We had to move because we couldn't afford the rent, " she says. " It

was not the right thing to do to stay there. "

In August, and Szaloki sent their children to live with other

families in the school district of their new house while the couple

planned to move into 's business, Uncle Larry's Toy Store, in

an effort to stave off bankruptcy and keep that business going until

the busy Christmas season.

mond Casey, whose children used to be cared for by Szaloki, was

appalled by their situation. She placed an ad in the Hook and posted

flyers around town asking for volunteers for that final push to get

the family into their house.

Over the Labor Day weekend, " I just dragooned a bunch of people, "

says Casey. " Friends and I spent two days sheet-rocking the

basement. "

" mond Casey has given us a shot of energy, " says Fenwick, who

documented the whole moldy story on his website,

HomeWorkwithBobFenwick.com. " The s went through a bad time,

and they're being hounded by everyone. They flat-lined and had to

farm out their kids. "

Casey has rounded up contributions of floor tiles and appliances for

the kitchen, and she wants to get the basement finished so Szaloki

can re-start her in-home daycare business. (When word of the mold

house got around, many parents removed their children from her

care.)

" She's so good at what she does and so talented, " says Casey. " I

want to set up a place where she can make a living. "

Yet the agony continues. Szaloki's Jeep was repossessed September 8,

and the family's phone was turned off. She says Larry's truck is

next.

And every time they turn around, something else in the house

breaks. " I think we can turn it into a livable home, but we're

totally broke, " sighs Szaloki.

Says weary former Marine Larry , " This has been a nightmare. I

just want it to end. "

Bob Fenwick spent his Labor Day laboring, putting up sheetrock in

the " mold house. " The house will be ready for the s to move in

as soon as it has a working bathroom.

PHOTO BY GEORGE KAMIDE

Since buying a mold-infested house on Wayne Avenue, Larry and

Judit Szaloki have seen their family life devastated.

FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

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