Fw: MOLDY HOUSE in Naples, Florida

[Guest guest]

Sent to sick buildings for assistance on 8/9/2001

I sure hope the " meek shall inherit the earth, " because people like Rosemary

have earned their share. The next time I hear an insurance company whining

about attorneys getting involved in homeowner claims, I'm going to send them

this letter. Of course, the problem is as much Florida's since we don't

require squat of our home inspectors. Most of them work for the realtors -

not for us and they overlook mold all the time. Can you imagine the havoc

in this state, if there had to be a certificate at closing certifying the

home " mold free " - the industry would be in chaos.

Barbara

----- Original Message -----

From: " TAYNA MARTINO " <TAYNA311@...>

<ROSEBUDMAR@...>

Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 4:13 PM

Subject: MOLDED HOUSE

: HI SHEILA,

:

: MY NAME IS ROSE MARY MARTINO AND WE LIVE IN NAPLES FL. WE BOUGHT A

: MANUFACTURED HOME IN AUG. OF 2000. THE HOUSE IS 14 YRS. OLD. WE MOVED IN

: ON SEPT. 7, 2000 AND. AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER WE DECIDED WE DID NOT WANT

THE

: CARPETING IN THE BATHROOM. WE HIRED COLOR TILE IN OUR TOWN TO COME AND

: REMOVE THE CARPETING AND INSTALL VINYL. THEY HIRED A SUB-CONTRACTOR TO

: COME IN AND DO THE WORK. ABOUT 6 OR 7 WEEKS LATER, WE NOTICED THE FLOOR

: WAS BUCKLING IN THE BATH AND IT WAS TURNING BLACK. THE

: MOLDINGS WERE DISCOLORING.

: THEN WE NOTICED A FOUL ODOR COMING FROM THE BEDROOM DIRECTLY IN BACK OF

: THE BATH MY 28 YR. OLD RETARDED DAUGHTER USED THAT ROOM. MY HUSBAND

: TOOK ALL OF THE BOXES OUT OF THE CLOSET AND WHEN HE CAME TO THE BOTTOM

: ONE, ALL THE CONTENTS FELL OUT OF A WATER SOAKED BOX. AT THAT POINT WE

GOT

: FANS AND HEATERS TO DRY OUT THE FLOOR, AND WE SHUT THE WATER OFF IN THAT

: BATH, AS WE WERE GOING NORTH FOR THE HOLIDAYS. WE CUT OUR TRIP SHORT

: BECAUSE WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT THE HOUSE. WHEN WE GOT BACK IT SEEMED LIKE

: THE FLOOR HAD DRIED VERY LITTLE. MY COUSIN CUT OUT A HOLE IN THE FLOOR IN

: THE CLOSET TO SEE WHERE THE WATER WAS COMING FROM. AND FOUND IT WAS

: THE TOILET.

: WE CALLED OUR INS. CO. AND THEY SENT OUT AN ADJUSTER. THEY

: TOLD US TO CALL A PLUMBER IN RIGHT AWAY. WE CALLED THE PLUMBER THAT THEY

: RECOMMENDED AND WHEN HE CAME OUT HE TOOK THE TOILET OFF AND SAID THAT IT

: WAS NOT REINSTALLED CORRECTLY WHEN THE FLOOR MEN REPLACED IT AFTER PUTTING

: DOWN THE FLOOR. THEN CHEMICAL ENGINEERS CAME OUT TO THE HOUSE AND THEY

: TOOK SEVERAL SAMPLES OF THE BATH, BDRM., AND THE HALL. THEY TOLD US THAT

: THE MOLD WAS VERY DANGEROUS. A WEEK LATER THE ENGINEER CALLED TO TELL

: US TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE IMMEDIATELY, AS IT WAS VERY SERIOUS.

: OUR INS. CO.

: ALSO CALLED US AND TOLD US TO GET OUT AND CHECK INTO A HOTEL, WHICH WE

: DID. THEY SAID THEY WOULD PAY OUR LIVING EXPENSES UNTIL SUCH TIME IT

: WAS DETERMINED TO BE POOR WORKMANSHIP ON COLOR TILE'S END. WELL IT WAS

: DETERMINED AND THEY CUT US OFF FROM EVERYTHING. WE MOVED INTO A FRIEND'S

: CONDO WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY WOULD PAY THE RENT. THEY PAID OUR

: HOTEL BILL FOR 1WEEK AND PAID OUR FRIEND'S THE RENT UNTIL MAY 7, 2001,

: AND DEDUCTED OUR 500.00 DEDUCTIBLE.

: I CONTACTED COLOR TILE AFTER THE PLUMBER CAME OUT AND HE CAME OVER TO

: LOOK OVER THE SITUATION. HE SAID HE COULD STRAIGHTEN IT OUT. WHAT HE DID

: IN THE CLOSET WAS PUT A SHEET F PLYWOOD OVER THE SOGGY PARTICLE BOARD AND

: THEN A PIECE OF CARPETING OVER THAT. WE QUESTIONED HIM ON THE ODOR AND

: HE SAID IT WOULD DISAPPEAR AFTER A WHILE . WELL IT NEVER DID. I HAVE BEEN

: WORKING WITH THE INS. COMMISSIONER IN FORT MYERS, FL AND THEY HAVE REALLY

: DONE THEIR HOMEWORK ON ALL OF THIS, ONLY TO CALL US YESTERDAY TO TELL US

: THAT COLOR TILE'S INS. HAS FLATLY DENIED OUR CLAIM, SAYING THAT THERE WAS

: MOLD IN THE HOUSE PREVIOUSLY. WE HAD A HOME INS. DONE BEFORE WE BOUGHT

: THE HOUSE AND THEIR WAS NO MENTION OF MOLD. SO NOW HERE WE ARE STRANDED

: WITH NO OTHER RESIDENCE TO GO TO. WE ARE GOING TO GET AN ATTORNEY, BUT

: THESE THING CAN GO ON FOR YEARS AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY THE MORTGAGE

: AND RENT, SO WE MIGHT HAVE TO LET THE BANK FORECLOSE ON US.

:

: I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS STORY IS LONG BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU

: KNOW THAT THERE IS SOMEONE ELSE OUT THERE WITH MOLD PROBLEMS.

:

: THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS.

:

: ROSE MARY MARTINO

[Guest guest]

Barbara,

Sorry, but as a home inspector, I have to respond

to this.

To some extent, I would agree with you that too many

home inspectors who get all their referrals from brokers "overlook" things

that they feel might jeopardize the deal and their next referral if the

deal goes south.

In this case, however, the problem was clearly caused by

the tradesperson who re-installed the toilet.

Unfortunately, there is no way to certify a house

as "mold free," and all home inspectors, including me, exclude concealed

defects, which mold growing inside a wall is. It is impossible for any

home inspector, including one who uses random (and foolish, I might add)

petri dish testing to determine for certain that there is or is not a mold

problem.

I should also add that no decent home inspector should

go out into the field without a moisture meter. I would advise any buyer

only to use a home inspector who owns AND uses a moisture meter on every

inspection. Ask when you make the appointment!

I have inspected over 3000 homes, taken over 12,000

air and dust samples in homes and investigated over 650 sick buildings.

Most of the problems I have observed (but by no means all) were the result

of minor errors, lack of understanding and poor homeowner maintenance.

In a study for ASHRAE IAQ 2001, I compared 600 sick houses with 300 control

houses. I found that an inhabitant is twice as likely to have "sick

house syndrome (SHS)" if there is central air conditioning. Other

very significant contributors to SHS are hot air furnaces and basement

carpets. Usually the cause for the IAQ problems is bioaerosol (mold,

yeast, bacteria) from AC coils, contaminated insulation, ducts and basement

carpets.

I have lots of advice for home buyers and owners

on my web site. Larry Cerro (Tallahassee) 850-222-4404 and Mark Cramer

(Indian Rocks Beach) 727-595-4211 are two outstanding ASHI home inspectors

in FL.

Jeff May

www.jmhi.com

bherk wrote:

Sent to sick buildings for assistance on 8/9/2001

I sure hope the "meek shall inherit the earth," because people

like Rosemary

have earned their share. The next time I hear an insurance

company whining

about attorneys getting involved in homeowner claims, I'm going

to send them

this letter. Of course, the problem is as much Florida's

since we don't

require squat of our home inspectors. Most of them work for

the realtors -

not for us and they overlook mold all the time. Can you imagine

the havoc

in this state, if there had to be a certificate at closing certifying

the

home "mold free" - the industry would be in chaos.

Barbara

----- Original Message -----

From: "TAYNA MARTINO" <TAYNA311@...>

<ROSEBUDMAR@...>

Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 4:13 PM

Subject: MOLDED HOUSE

: CARPETING IN THE BATHROOM. WE HIRED COLOR TILE IN

OUR TOWN TO COME AND

: REMOVE THE CARPETING AND INSTALL VINYL. THEY HIRED A SUB-CONTRACTOR

TO

: COME IN AND DO THE WORK. ABOUT 6 OR 7 WEEKS LATER, WE NOTICED

THE FLOOR

: WAS BUCKLING IN THE BATH AND IT WAS TURNING BLACK.

THE

: MOLDINGS WERE DISCOLORING.

: THEN WE NOTICED A FOUL ODOR COMING FROM THE BEDROOM DIRECTLY IN

BACK OF

: THE BATH MY 28 YR. OLD RETARDED DAUGHTER USED THAT

ROOM. MY HUSBAND

: TOOK ALL OF THE BOXES OUT OF THE CLOSET AND WHEN HE CAME TO THE

BOTTOM

: ONE, ALL THE CONTENTS FELL OUT OF A WATER SOAKED BOX.

AT THAT POINT WE

GOT

:

: TOLD US TO CALL A PLUMBER IN RIGHT AWAY. WE CALLED THE PLUMBER

THAT THEY

: RECOMMENDED AND WHEN HE CAME OUT HE TOOK THE TOILET OFF AND SAID

THAT IT

: WAS NOT REINSTALLED CORRECTLY WHEN THE FLOOR MEN REPLACED IT

AFTER PUTTING

: DOWN THE FLOOR. THEN CHEMICAL ENGINEERS CAME OUT TO THE

HOUSE AND THEY

: TOOK SEVERAL SAMPLES OF THE BATH, BDRM., AND THE HALL. THEY TOLD

US THAT

: THE MOLD WAS VERY DANGEROUS. A WEEK LATER THE ENGINEER

CALLED TO TELL

: US TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE IMMEDIATELY, AS IT WAS VERY SERIOUS.