'Mold house' needs thousands of dollars in work

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Report: 'Mold house' needs thousands of dollars in work

By: Charniga, The Record07/12/2006

http://www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?

newsid=16910147 & BRD=1170 & PAG=461 & dept_id=7021 & rfi=6

Troy Record - Troy,NY

This outlay will be the responsibility of whoever buys the house,

town officials say. Town Building Department officials say no

certificate of occupancy will be granted until they're satisfied the

home is habitable.

The home's former owner, e Choma, who says she was forced to

abandon the home after becoming sickened by mold, doubts that figure

will accomplish the job.

" I don't see how they can strip that house down to the studs and

rebuild it for $57,000, " Choma said after being read highlights of

the 12-page report, which she called " a very safe estimate - my

estimate for the second floor alone was $85,000. "

On June 22, at the behest of Realtor the Trevett Group, the town

brought in engineer R. Reeves to examine the abandoned home

two days after putting it back on the market. Reeves' report to the

town appears to concur with a former owner's assessment the home

will have to be stripped to the studs and rebuilt if it is to be

salvaged.

Last month, after installing a new roof but not otherwise addressing

the mold, Trevett put the home on the market " as-is. "

Responsibility for remediation will fall to " whoever buys the

house, " town Building and Fire Inspector Ron Neissen said. " There's

a lot of work to be done all the way around. Whoever buys the house

should get a (professional engineer) to supervise as well. If they

don't do everything, when we come in there to do an inspection,

there's a possibility we could say it isn't up to New York state

code. "

The basement must be upgraded with a new four-inch-thick concrete

floor. It will be necessary to remove and replace all fixtures,

including the sump pump, hot water heater and boiler. Elsewhere in

the two-story home, rigging, linoleum, sheetrock, interior doors,

windows, insulation must be removed, treated in a similar fashion

and properly disposed of and an engineer must inspect the entire

job. Staffers said realtor Tom Trevett was out of the office Tuesday

and could not be reached.