Re: litigation mold test question

September 19, 2006

Laurie,

My heart sinks when I hear of these situations which are becoming more

common. The problems you describe appear to be beyond self help advise.

What I have to share is not different from the other input so far and

probably what you already know and are trying to avoid. It sounds like you

should

consult with a real estate attorney. Consultations are often at no charge.

You need to become fully aware of what all your options are for this

situation. Did you hire anyone for home inspection during the escrow?

Since your family is already having a physical reaction to some contaminate

in your dwelling and from what you describe as to possible sources of mold

contamination, you have too much at stake to not pursue a home inspection by an

expert in this area now. The cost for this may be minimal compared to what

this may end up costing you and your entire family not just financially (but

physically and emotionally as well) further down the line if you do not take

critical steps at this stage.

As for more general info on how to reduce mold exposure whenever possible

hard surface flooring is far superior to carpet. However, if there is a

serious mold problem taking place somewhere in your home, removal of these

carpets

without a remediation company performing this task may temporarily create a

greater health hazard for all of you that already seem to be experiencing

allergic reactions.

You are fortunate that you discovered this group.

It sometimes takes a village or a number of people on a message board such

as this to help people find solutions that work for them. There are usually

no easy or inexpensive answers to dealing with these problems.

In a message dated 9/19/2006 8:19:31 AM Central Standard Time,

lbcmjohnson@... writes:

Hi...I am new to the group and joined because I feel I have mold

issues in a home I just bought. I am really hoping someone can

answer my questions or give me their thoughts..it would be so

greatly appreciated. We purchased this house 2 months ago. When

the real estate agent showed it it smelled so nice inside and was

nice and cold since she had the air real low and cool (it is HOT

this Summer!) and had a plug in in every outlet. I thought it was

just because she was a good agent. I know, I know. Duh. When we

moved into the house immediately I took out the wall thingys because

they were giving me a headache. In a day I started to smell a moldy

smell. As soon as you walk in you can smell it. Only me and a few

others smell it and my husband thinks I am crazy but I have great

smell and I smell it as soon as I walk in. In my 8 year olds room

it smells VERY musty. Like someone shut up wet carpet for a

while..ick. My 10 year olds room smells of cat pee. These were all

masked by those darned air fresheners. As time goes on we found out

that our house has no gutters and a crawl space. We have always had

slab and don't know a THING about this. It seems the water just

flows under the house and obviously was a real problem at one time.

The owner before us installed a sump pump which seems to be keeping

the underside dry NOW but I think there was water damage and the

owner hid it from us. On the seller's disclosure she put NOTHING

about water problems in the past or damage. I called the guy who

installed the sump pump and he said he told her about the problem

and also that there were a zillion cats living under the house and

he complained because it smelled to bad and there was feces, etc.

that he had to clean out. So I know she KNEW of the problem. The

smell of the house, while not REAL overpowering to the average

person, is driving me NUTS because I am worried for my kids'

health. I hate that they sleep in rooms that stink. We are all

itchy eyes and coughing in the morning, headaches, etc. since we

moved in. Unfortunately, we don't have a savings so I could not

hire a specialist to check the air but I just KNOW there is a

problem. I have checked under the carpet in certain areas and don't

see any mold or anything anywhere in the house but the smell! Sore

subject, I know, but I did buy 3 of the mold test from Home Depot.

I did one in my son's room that is the stinkiest, one in the HVAC

and one outside. The one in my son's room 24 hours later showed up

with a black spot (which scares me after reading the posts here)

that was sort of greenish when it started and a white spot. The

HVAC had about 10 spots of black and white. The outside one was

ridiculous. Right away it showed up black and white and

everything! It is awful and fuzzy and scary looking! I guess that

is good that it is worse outside than in but I am nervous. My

questions ARE: Can the person who sold this to me get away with

this or do I have grounds for litigation to have her fix the odor,

moisture problem and also, do you all think new carpet and a

dehumidifier, air purifier will solve the problem? HELP! Really,

ANY advice would be so appreciated. We are on one income so just

don't have a ton of money to do much. Laurie J.

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September 19, 2006

Laurie,

My first thought after reading this is a seprate issue than mold for the

moment. I don't know which state you live in but here is a law in georgia. I

know this to be a law for rentors and I believe it is true for buyers and

sellors as well although I cannot be certain. I suggest looking up some state

laws or calling your closing attorney. Georgia says;

http://www.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/pub/ocode/ocgsearch?number=44-7 & format=full

44-7-20 G

*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01

44-7-20.

When the owner of real property, either directly or through an

agent, seeks to lease or rent that property for residential

occupancy, prior to entering a written agreement for the leasehold

of that property, the owner shall, either directly or through an

agent, notify the prospective tenant in writing of the property's

propensity of flooding if flooding has damaged any portion of the

living space covered by the lease or attachments thereto to which

the tenant or the tenant's resident relative has sole and exclusive

use under the written agreement at least three times during the

five-year period immediately preceding the date of the lease. An

owner failing to give such notice shall be liable in tort to the

tenant and the tenant's family residing on the leased premises for

damages to the personal property of the lessee or a resident

relative of the lessee which is proximately caused by flooding which

occurs during the term of the lease. For purposes of this Code

section, flooding is defined as the inundation of a portion of the

living space covered by the lease which was caused by an increased

water level in an established water source such as a river, stream,

or drainage ditch or as a ponding of water at or near the point

where heavy or excessive rain fell. This Code section shall apply

only to leaseholds entered into on or after July 1, 1995.

Like I said I don't know for sure how this compares to the purchase of a home

and/or your state laws but That is where you can start. Of course there are

other issues you also need to deal with but here is a good place to start. I

hope this helps you.

Chris...

Laurie <lbcmjohnson@...> wrote: