Re: Re: Questions on rental townhouse

February 6, 2011

Maybe we should all ask for companion mold dogs from WC and

disability.

Barth

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T> Corky I don't know all the details of your health but whatever you do make

sure you go thru the townhouse with a fine tooth comb and when you do move in if

your moving anything that might be

T> contaminated take in one piece at a time. I've talked to several people and

rather hire someone to come check out place I'm going to hire a mold dog. Even

if it's to move into another hotel room

T> the very first thing I'm going to do is have the mold dog sweep the place. I

hope everything works out for the best

T> Tug

T>

>>

>> I will be going to look at a townhouse this week. It is furnished, I have my

own furniture so they will need to remove it and probably steam the carpet as I

don't want to look at indents from that

>> furniture in the carpet. The realtor told me he uses a 'green' company to do

the rental properties, says it is chemical-free

>>

>> Appreciate input...Corky

>>

February 7, 2011

In every town house there is an association, usually made up of evil people I

find who do not usually accommodate anyone. They control was does , doesn't get

sprayed , how grounds maintained. They have contracts for people to come spray,

etc to lawns and common areas. If you have a chemical intolerance I suggest you

also consider this.

God Bless !!

dragonflymcs

Mayleen

________________________________

From: dianebolton52 <dianebolton@...>

Sent: Mon, February 7, 2011 2:01:56 PM

Subject: [] Re: Questions on rental townhouse

I do not think that being a non-smoking building, you can assume that they do

not use pesticides. They are only concerned with the smoke because of the odor

it leaves behind, not for health reasons. The hotel I live in just changed to

non-smoking in the entire building but they spray pesticides regularly. D

>

> I will be going to look at a townhouse this week. It is furnished, I have my

>own furniture so they will need to remove it and probably steam the carpet as I

>don't want to look at indents from that furniture in the carpet. The realtor

>told me he uses a 'green' company to do the rental properties, says it is

>chemical-free and all are non-smoking.

>

> Ques: When they take the wall

February 7, 2011

I agree, getting any one to accommodate is virtually impossible. Trying a

place out probably even less possible, not that it does not happen just

unlikely. bad market out there.

God Bless !!

dragonflymcs

Mayleen

________________________________

From: Tug <tug_slug@...>

Sent: Mon, February 7, 2011 9:07:15 PM

Subject: [] Re: Questions on rental townhouse

I think Kathy give excellent advice in every one of her posts and we as a group

are lucky to have her BUT the problem in today's housing market and the number

of foreclosures that the people that are losing their houses have to live

February 7, 2011

I feel bad posting this to a public forum, cause it's not something I would ever

consider under 'normal' circumstances but a couple of my friends who have mcs,

during inspections they'd quietly unlock as many doors as they could.. and post

inspection, they'd come back and break in.. and basically sit there for a

while.. see how they felt. Reactions can sometimes take a bit of time to start

and during inspections we are confused by perfumes, aftershave of other people..

Other VOC's so it can be a good strategy. I know it's dodgy, feels wrong, but

what can we do in our position? For some of such a decision is a life and death

issue...

________________________

On 2011-02-08 13:44:08 +1100 dragonflymcs <dragonflymcs@...> wrote:

>

> I agree, getting any one to accommodate is virtually impossible. Trying a

> place out probably even less possible, not that it does not happen just

> unlikely. bad market out there.

>

> God Bless !!

> dragonflymcs

> Mayleen

>

> ________________________________

> From: Tug <tug_slug@...>

>

> Sent: Mon, February 7, 2011 9:07:15 PM

> Subject: [] Re: Questions on rental townhouse

>

> I think Kathy give excellent advice in every one of her posts and we as a

> group

> are lucky to have her BUT the problem in today's housing market and the

> number

> of foreclosures that the people that are losing their houses have to live

>

February 7, 2011

Kathy,

Your being precise and specific with your verification reminded me of something

I learned years ago - and apparently forgot.

Back when I was still very ill and only about 30% functional I always felt

guilty about asking for what I needed. Or revealing the slightest hint that I

was different. I thought being challenged proved there was " something " wrong

with me and I deserved the ridicule.

Then I had a few wealthy clients who just as a normal matter of fact said, 'I

want this done and I want it done this way. " It wasn't their wealth which spoke

with authority (although it didn't hurt!). It was their expectation, almost a

sense of entitlement. Do as I ask or I'll find someone who will. Besides, " I'm

paying you to meet my needs, not for me to make you happy. " It had to be

presented solidly, not in anger or accusation.

As for being different not automatically being a sign of shame I saw for the

first time with a ridiculous argument. Most in a small group of friends drank

wine. It was poison to me but I didn't say anything. I just didn't drink. Then

one day a newer member said, " that stuff rots your guts. Give me a diet Coke. "

another responded right back with " diet drinks will rot your brain. "

So I wasn't alone in my weirdness after all!

They didn't argue or fight. It was black and white and nothing personal. BUT -

what they had to do absolutely was be crystal clear up front. That's hard to do

with our situations.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

(fm my Blackberry)

[] Re: Questions on rental townhouse

Hi Corky-

With the housing issues...been there, done that. Numerous times. As well as

many of my MCS friends.

And quite often for many of us, we end up footing the bill for painting, carpet

cleaning, etc. because there is no assurance that the rental company will really

do what we need them to do. And now in this day and age, good news is that

" green " is the buzzword and am grateful that it is elevating toxicity

awareness...yet also notice that quite often " green " does not mean what I need

it to mean as an MCS person. For example, " green " may mean made out of recycled

materials or made in a factory with low energy usage. But that product maybe

still be loaded with all sorts of chemicals or components that are toxic to me.

So in my opinion, green does not necessarily mean non-toxic although it is

certainly a step in the right direction.

Housing has been a major challenge for me and being so proactive in my MCS

recovery, personal tolerance testing is a must. With all the VOC free paints in

the market, there is only one that I do well with right out of the can. With

all the low tox carpet cleaning options in the marketplace, there's only two

that I do very well with. And in both cases, the pricing is fairly competitive

with what a landlord would pay for the regular stuff anayway so it is much less

of a hard sell than it use to be years ago when that price difference was more

significant. So it is really up to me to be persistant, proactive and lead the

landlord in that direction. And also the outgoing tenant, if at all possible.

Anyway, my experience with housing or even buying a car is that I put EVERYTHING

in writing...what I need them to do or what I need them not to do. I spell out

exactly what to do, what products to use, what products they can't use, to

notify me when the unit is all done and that I need to go sit in it and see how

I feel. I make sure to get in writing that if I then have any problems, I have

to right to get out of the contract. I have also learned how to do all this in

such a way that the other person does not become spooked thus afraid to do

business with me.

Whether buying or renting, I find a way to personally meet the people who are

already living there. It gives me that person to person contact directly with

them and increases my chances that they won't do something dangerous for me as

the are moving out. I bought a house once and the previous owner out the

kindness of her heart hired a cleaning company who cleaned the house with

ammonia, bleach and a ton of a particular wood cleaning product. So when I

found the house I own now, I met with the daughter of the estate, explained my

situation and asked her to not do a thing to the house...don't clean it, don't

do a thing. Just move everything out and shut the door. Most people are happy

to comply because it means less work for them. But I also find most people very

compassionate and want to know more about MCS and what they can do to make it

easier for me.

As far as hole fillers...once again personal tolerance testing to make sure it's

a product that works best for me. Usually so little is used in the case of

picture holes that it is much less threat than patching a huge area. Some MCS

folks do better with joint compound while others do better with a vinyl or some

other type of spackling product. Some prefer a paintable caulking instead. My

personal concern with hole patching product is reduced if it's going to be

topcoated anyway.

Perhaps many of the excellent MCS books with how to find housing may also be a

help. I wish you the best with this as finding safe housing can be such a

challenge w/MCS.

Take Care

Kathy

> I will be going to look at a townhouse this week. >

> Appreciate input...Corky

February 8, 2011

Thank you all for your input-- I will ask the realtor if we can put it in

writing about letting me out of the lease if I get ill in the townhouse.Â I

always take my folding chair and ask if I can stay in there atÂ least an hour;

locally, go back several times.Â The townhouse is clean & Â ready,

furnished,Â so they need to get all the furniture out and take care of holes

from removing nails.Â

Â

AssumingÂ I rent it, they could:

Â -Â remove nails but leave the holes until I see if most of my wall hangings

willÂ cover them

Â Â up-- that way, less to do.Â

Â -Â do the living areas and let air, do bedrooms next time then air-- that way

I have a section of the house that might be safe for me to stay in.Â

Â -Â leave their wall hangings until I put my things up, and keep some of

theirs, just put up my mirrors and a few others -- would be less holes to take

care.

Â

I will be 67 yo soon, my clock is ticking....no safe independent living housing

for me, no safeÂ nursing home for me later on if I don't drop dead from a heart

attack.Â I am in Phoenix,Â been looking for 2 yrs for a place in Tucson.Â

Anxious to get it over with.Â The long drive to look at rentals is very hard on

me, joint problemsÂ -- 8-1/2 hrs & 10 hrs for the 2 trips last year--Â did not

think I would make it back home the 2nd time, L leg & R ankle hurt so bad.Â No

friends here to to w/me toÂ helpÂ w/ the driving.

Â

I had a friend in Tucson (from 1979 when I lived there), in touch until a few

years ago -- Â who would have looked for a place for me but I have reason to

believe she died.Â

Â

My 'targets' for rentals are 55+ communities.Â A lot of older folks have

respiratoryÂ and heart problemsÂ and are very picky about what is used in the

homes.Â Those places rent fast.Â From my experience looking for rentals in Sun

City here I know of the HOA situation-- was to rent a patio home, nothing

bothered me the 3 time the realtor allowed me to stay in the house awhile and

lock up when I left.Â On a Mon I signed the lease, paid the $$, she asked move

in date and if I was coming in the next 2 days-- should have been

suspicous!!!Â Â Thur I took some boxes over and almost dropped dead on the

spot, immediate reaction Â (you know about severe reactions), got out before I

was about to fall to the floor.Â Two weeks later I found out they treated those

homes for termites-- sprayed inside and out plus plugs around the foundation.Â

Â

One friend lives in a patio home up the street from that patio home, I never got

ill in his place.Â He says the HOA sprays only outside-- might be beause it was

his elderly parents' home first and they were in poor health, probably requested

no spraying inside to the HOA.Â

Â

I have more questions for the realtor.Â He is the only realtor that did not

decline dealing with me because of the MCS.Â He was very adamant about that

cleaning company using safe products,Â but I did tell him over the phone that

the carpet should be steamed only to get the furniture indents out (and only

baking soda used for any spot treatment).Â He said he will try to find out more

info on the place, especially pesticides.

....Corky

Â

I do not think that being a non-smoking building, you can assume that they do

not use pesticides. They are only concerned with the smoke because of the odor

it leaves behind, not for health reasons. The hotel I live in just changed to

non-smoking in the entire building but they spray pesticides regularly. D

February 8, 2011

Where do you find a mold dog for hire?Â

Â

Since I can be running back and forth from city to city, I was wondering if it

would not be too much trouble for the realtor to put a canary in the house and

see what happens to it.Â (lol???)

....Corky

Â

maybe we should all ask for companion mold dogs from WC and

disability.

Barth

February 8, 2011

Dana, wow, I don't blame them.

It can take hours for me to start reacting too. The problem with that is I have

symptoms all the time that are always changing and it can be very difficult for

me to determine at first sometimes if they are a reaction or because I need my

protocols or several other things. That is why I need at least two days in a

new place to know what is going on. Even then I have sometimes been fooled. It

is very difficult. There are just no easy answers at all when it comes to

accomodations.

anita

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From: Dana S

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