Black Mold Leaves Homeowner In Limbo

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Black Mold Leaves Homeowner In Limbo

Thursday, October 25, 2007

The ton State Journal

http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory & storyid=30645

For many families, building a house from the ground up is a dream

come true. But for one Cabell County family, that dream, turned into

a nightmare, after the discovery of black mold.

Story by Long

ONA -- From the outside, s dream house looks ready

for a family.

But from the inside, her house is far from being a home.

" So much of the problems are underneath the house. The piers, the

foundation supports, " s said.

s hired a contractor to build the house in September 2005, but

she says construction halted weeks before the scheduled completion

after one of the contractor's workers contacted her.

" He said, 'You have black toxic mold under your house,' " s

said.

s hired an independent housing inspector who confirmed the

findings.

She said there is black toxic mold, along with other mold types, and

substandard construction all hidden from plain view.

Now, more than two years later, the contractor is no longer in

business, but s is still paying on the construction loan and

weighing her legal options.

The estimated cost to clean up the mold and make the home livable is

close to $100,000.

" Driving to work, coming home from work, you cry. It's not something

I would ever wish upon anyone, " s said.

That's why she is now warning others to be vigilant consumers.

Although s' lender had a policy requiring the contractor to

carry high-risk builder's insurance, s said her contractor

fell through the cracks.

State lawmaker and local realtor Kelli Sobonya says she's now trying

to push through legislation to help protect future home builders.

" We have our legislative attorney looking into other states and what

they do to help with consumer protection when it comes to

contracting, " said Sobonya.

Still, both Sobonya and s agree, doing research and hiring

independent inspectors are steps that can prevent a lot of

heartache.