Video - IN SALEM: Mold, not flood waters, brought disaster

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IN SALEM: Mold, not flood waters, brought disaster

The Union Leader - Manchester,NH*

By PAT GROSSMITH

New Hampshire Union Leader Staff

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=IN+SALEM%3A+Mold%

2C+not+flood+waters%2C+brought+disaster & articleId=9b8b1972-eb6a-42bc-

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Salem – Lana Lynch was happily married nine years ago when she and

her husband bought an " adorable " bungalow with beach rights to

nearby Arlington Pond.

Today, separated from her husband for two years, the 40-year-old

mother of four struggles to maintain the 38 Shore Drive home as it

disintegrates around her. The culprit? Two floods in 11 months.

Unlike other flood victims, not a drop of water entered her home.

Instead, her land became water-sogged, so saturated that the water

was absorbed into the house's wood framework and concrete slab. The

main section of the house, built in 1927, is held up by blocks that

are crumbling.

A once dry dirt driveway is now muddy and rutted by tire tracks. A

white, wavy waterline curves about 10 feet up along the exterior of

one side of her house even though it was never under water. Green

mold hugs the exterior where wood siding is rotting in spots.

The land in some areas squishes underneath the feet. The septic

system is pumped every two to three months, down from every six

weeks, because water has seeped into it.

Water still leaks out of the septic system, Lynch said, creating a

breeding ground for bacteria under the house. She's afraid her

children's health is at risk.

" If I can't keep them warm enough or safe enough in their own home,

what kind of mother am I? " she asked.

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The house is acting like a sponge, drawing water from the soggy

ground up into its framework, under floors and behind plaster walls.

A piece of plywood covers a large hole in the rotted floor of her

only bathroom, which was renovated three years ago.

On rainy days, a damp, musty smell hangs in the air inside the

house. A cold, damp draft comes from the floor even though the oil

burner is humming.

Enviro-Advantage, a private company Lynch hired, estimated the three-

bedroom house needs $116,000 in repairs, she said. The walls, the

inspector told her, were a primary breeding ground for mold.

a Young of There's No Place Like Home, a group of volunteers

from Grace Community Church of Rochester which is helping flood

victims across the state, said Lynch's situation is one of the worst

in the state and a heart-breaking one.

" They are living in deplorable conditions, " she said. " Young

children should not be in a home like that. "

She and former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley tried for weeks to get FEMA to

help Lynch. She received about $6,000 for some emergency repairs but

that was it.

Lynch said FEMA agrees the house is damaged and probably should be

torn down but insists she does not qualify for financial grants.

Gilliam, FEMA's voluntary agency liaison for New England,

said a FEMA grant can be made only if a damaged residence is

occupied by the owner. Lynch has lived there for nine years, but her

parents have owned the house for more than two years, beginning

before the Mother's Day flood.

Lynch's husband lost his job in 2002 when Sanmina-SCI Corp. in Derry

closed. He had worked there for 18 years, she said.

He was unemployed for a year and they fell behind in mortgage

payments. At the time, she was pregnant with her youngest child. It

was a high-risk pregnancy for the stay-at-home mom. The family

survived on unemployment checks -- but just barely.

The couple had previously refinanced their house to pay for more

than $70,000 in medical bills incurred when her son was injured in

an accident. He lost his index finger and suffered a head injury

that caused seizures.

By 2005, the bank was moving to foreclose on their home. The couple

filed for bankruptcy protection and the Lynches separated.

Her parents did what parents do. They bought the house to ensure she

and their grandchildren had a home.

Lynch works nights at Wal-Mart -- the shift pays a higher rate -- to

pay the mortgage. Her son, who lives elsewhere, watches his three

younger sisters, ages 9 to 4, while she is at work.

She has had the house up for sale for two years but no one had put

in an offer. An auction produced no bidders.

The struggling mom feels guilty and responsible for putting her

parents at financial risk at a time when they should be thinking

about retirement.

Lynch is tempted to walk away from the whole situation, but said

that would leave her mother, who has a heart condition, and her

father, who is semi-retired -- on the hook for the $190,000 mortgage.

" I would never want to do that to them, " she said.

She may have no choice. Once again, she has fallen behind on

mortgage payments. Wells Fargo is foreclosing.

" I'm just so overwhelmed, " she said. " To be honest, I love where I

live but I hate my house. "