Paragould Family Stuck in Messy Mold

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Paragould Family Stuck in Messy Mold

( Air Date: 12/19/2005 )

http://www.kark.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews & id=5458

A Northeast Arkansas homeowner says he's in a moldy mess, but only

after choosing to waive a home inspection.

Toney and his wife Crystal thought they had purchased the home

of their dreams in Paragould back in September.

" We sunk every dime we had into this house, " said Toney.

Until 2 weeks later they say they discovered something terribly

wrong with a $75,000 investment.

" My wife was sitting on the commode in the master bath and it fell

through the floor, " said Toney.

Shortly after, the Toneys brought in a contractor to inspect the

damage, and learned all the sub-flooring was rotting away.

" The whole wood was contaminated like this one piece here, " said

Toney.

The Toneys presumed it was a result of mold contamination they they

say was never disclosed to them prior to the closing.

" We would have never purchased this home, " said Toney.

Sheresa Exum with Town and Country Realty in Paragould represents

the seller in this case. She says they did not knowingly sell the

Toneys a house filled with mold. Before the closing she says she

provided Mr. Toney with a termite graph, noting that there was some

water damage and fungus underneath the house. She says he went along

with the purchase anyway.

" A home inspector may have likely found those problems and he was

given that opportunity, but he chose to waive it and do it himself, "

said Exum.

" Most people are saying that we should have had a home inspection

done, but the way this lady concealed this damage -- I don`t even

think a home inspector would have found this damage, " added Toney.

Arkansas Realtors Association says it has seen this sort of thing

happen before, and advises buyers to get an independent home

inspection before securing a deal.

" If it`s something that the seller didn`t know about and the

seller`s agent didn`t know about -- and someone waived the

inspection -- who`s at fault, " said Ethan Nobles with Arkansas

Realtors Association.

" The property is now his, " said Exum.

" As you can see there`s no Christmas tree up, there`s no money for

Christmas, there`s no money for anything else. We can`t sell it like

this. We can`t put it back on the market, " said Toney.

The Toneys also claim they`ve experienced health problems since

moving there. No confirmation though whether it`s a result of the

mold.