Time running out in fight over home

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February 18, 2006

Time running out in fight over home

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FEMA may take Edgewater family's trailer today

Daytona Beach News-Journal

By KELLY CUCULIANSKY

Staff Writer

EDGEWATER -- Standing among scraps of tattered blue roof tarp

outside her house, Card looks at her young son Jessie's mold-

speckled boot and recalls the day he broke out in hives after

stepping inside their home.

She also carries memories of days spent in the hospital due to

's allergic reaction -- all remnants of the 2004 hurricanes'

rains that leaked into the house.

Card said living in a Federal Emergency Management Agency camper on

her property for nearly 13 months with her fiance, Deny s, 33,

and their 5-year-old disabled son, has been a nightmare.

The 45-year-old woman, who says she can't work due to a back injury,

has spent countless days on the phone talking to FEMA personnel,

city officials, lawyers and insurance agents. City staff tells her

she should have made repairs sooner with more than $20,000 in

reimbursement funds to stop the damage from getting worse. But she

has held out to try for total replacement costs, and even sued her

insurance company.

Yet none of it has produced a remedy for her mold-ridden Orange Tree

Drive home.

And time is running out. As the sun rises today, it carries the

possibility of homelessness.

Almost a month ago, she received a letter from FEMA notifying her

that her trailer lease will be terminated Feb. 18. Card's FEMA

housing adviser reported to agency supervisors that she hadn't

developed a permanent housing plan and hadn't made repairs to her

damaged house, so she was found to be in violation of her contract.

" If they come, where are we going to go? " Card asked. " It will mean

pitching a tent in the front yard. "

Having few resources for the New York native has left the family

nowhere to turn for help, she said. Her mother is their closest

relative and does not have space for them at her Ocala home. Other

relatives are scattered throughout New York and her fiance's native

Nebraska.

" Where I grew up, " Card said, " if this had happened to somebody, the

whole neighborhood would have been out there helping. "

Since receiving the notice, she filed an appeal shortly after and

received a response from FEMA Thursday stating the appeal had been

rejected. So she plans to fight the possible eviction by having her

attorney file an injunction against the agency.

The family's temporary residence is one of 23 FEMA-issued mobile

homes and trailers left in Volusia County due to 2004 storms.

FEMA spokeswoman Dasha Castillo said she couldn't comment

specifically on Card's case, but said standard procedure would not

involve removing the trailer from the property just yet.

" If she doesn't vacate the unit, we turn it to the authorities so a

legal action would be made and basically that would be handled in

court, " she said. Card would be responsible for her own court costs

and FEMA would probably charge her a rent fee.

Most leases may last up to 18 months, Castillo said, but tenants

need to show agency representatives they are trying to find

permanent housing during interviews each month.

" The applicant will be asked, for example, to keep a record to

provide details of his or her search, " she said.

Card said she is trying to come up with a solution.

" How much more permanent can a housing plan be than to get back in

your own home? " Card asked.

But, it won't matter unless she finds a way to pay for the repairs.

Estimates from last year total more than $100,000, Card said.

Public records show Card and s filed a lawsuit against State

Farm Florida Insurance Company for contract and indebtedness, but

due to a court order, they are not allowed to comment on it. Phone

calls to the insurance agency's attorney were not returned.

City officials say the family was slow to repair the house, making

matters worse with each rain and new storm.

Had Card and her fiance, who is an aircraft mechanic, repaired the

roof quickly with the estimated $16,000 reimbursement money from

their insurance agency and $8,500 from FEMA, they wouldn't have the

extent of water and mold damage they have now, building official

Dennis Fischer said.

" She believes that the house was damaged beyond repair and I don't

think so, " he said Thursday.

But Card argues the money trickled in slowly and was used for

survival. It went toward motel stays before they got the trailer,

storage bills that came close to $600 a month, mold treatments for

the house, contractor estimates, food, clothes, blankets, towels and

other necessities that were damaged by mold. To make matters worse,

a portion of the FEMA money was mistakenly sent to her, she said,

and she now owes the agency about $5,100.

Referring to a Florida Building Code rule, Card had asked Fischer to

declare that more than 50 percent of the house needed to be brought

up to code, so the insurance company would pay for total replacement

costs, Fischer recalled.

Hairline cracks in the masonry don't apply to the rule, Fischer

said, and the storm water damage is not enough to constitute the

house at a total loss.

" I feel sorry for her; I know she has complications, " he said.

But the longer they wait, the worse the house will become, Fischer

said, adding that repairs still can be made to make it habitable.

Since the hurricanes, Card and s took it upon themselves to

tear out moldy drywall and insulation and place most of their

belongings in storage. Whenever they go in the house, mold allergy

symptoms arise, Card said.

Much of the couple's income goes toward their mortgage, storage and

medical bills for Card and their son.

Sitting outside the trailer, she looks up at the sky, folds her

hands and says: " Dear Lord, please give me the strength to get

through this. "

Faith, she says, and her friendship with Edgewater resident Carol

Stoughton is what helps her keep her going.

The 67-year-old woman comes by the trailer about three times a week.

She helps watch Card's son -- who Card says has attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder, asthma and shows symptoms of a type of

autism -- while Card tries to make phone calls and figure things out.

Putting herself in her friend's place, Stoughton admits, " I'd have

been bonkers by now. "

But Card believes it will be resolved. With tears in her eyes, she

promises one day when it is all over and she has moved back in,

she'll have a barbecue and invite everyone in the neighborhood.

kelly.cuculiansky@...