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how can I handle this situation? Would insurance rebuild the house?
1. Read your insurance policy to see what it says about mold. By the way, most policies no longer cover mold.
2. You said you have "no money".
Well, you are going to have spend some.
a. If your insurance covers mold, then you need to hire a lawyer to help you deal with the insurance company.
b. If you policy does not (and the house really needs to be demolished), then you need to hire a lawyer to help with the foreclosure and possible bankruptcy.
3. You should not live in the house again.
a. You need to understand that anything you take from the house will have mold hiding inside it (furniture, clothes, drapes, books). Even dishes, if removed, should be cleaned thoroughly with bleach.
b. If you enter the house again, you should only do so while wearing a bunny suit with a mask/filter.
I think it'd be extremely doubtful that the insurance company would pay to rebuild a house, especially with minimum coverage and maybe even if you had the max, and maybe not even the cost of demolition, but you should of course check. Is there a city or county housing department or other agency that could advise you?
If the house is demolished, what would be your legal liabilities? Presumably you'd still have to pay property taxes, and if you leave the land vacant there may be zoning restrictions on its sale. You may need to contact a lawyer (perhaps a local agency or association can help you find one at low cost) both for dealings with the insurance company, as suggested above, and to deal with local governments.
I assume the inspectors have encountered situations like this before. Did they give any suggestions other than to just tear the house down (presumably at your own cost)? Maybe you could find someone who's faced a similar situation. Yes, 20/20 hindsight is perfect, but you're certainly not the first person to face this. Good luck.
The demolish the entire house sounds very extreme. I would recommend a few more opinions about what can be done to save the property.
Normally mold is caused by water intrusion (leaking pipes, roof etc) Even if you had to replace some walls and roof, that would at least leave you with a home that you could actually live in and potentially sell when repaired.
I did notice the mold but I never knew it could be so hazardous. I know it's stupid on my part. I didn't have the money so I left it alone till I started to feel ill. went to doctors and got meds but was still ill so I did some reading and I realized it was the mold that caused my health problems.
Right now I'm staying at someone else's place, how can I handle this situation? Would insurance rebuild the house?
When did you first notice the mold and what is the source of water for the mold?
Get a couple more opinions. There are many molds that aren't toxic, mildew, for example. Some years ago the media started alarming everyone about toxic molds and every illness known to mankind seems to be blamed on them. The mold remediation outfits clean up on people's fears. When I worked in real estate in California I had an offer fall through for a listing I had because of a non-toxic mold that was on the surface of about 4 square inches of the ceiling of a closet under a loose shingle. People can over-react.
Have the mold actually tested and identified by an independent laboratory that doesn't offer remediation services. You still have a mess to deal with if the mold is that widespread, but it *might* not be as dangerous as thought.
Get a couple more opinions. There are many molds that aren't toxic, mildew, for example. Some years ago the media started alarming everyone about toxic molds and every illness known to mankind seems to be blamed on them. The mold remediation outfits clean up on people's fears. When I worked in real estate in California I had an offer fall through for a listing I had because of a non-toxic mold that was on the surface of about 4 square inches of the ceiling of a closet under a loose shingle. People can over-react.
Have the mold actually tested and identified by an independent laboratory that doesn't offer remediation services. You still have a mess to deal with if the mold is that widespread, but it *might* not be as dangerous as thought.
Regular mold at high concentrations can cause people to get sick. It doesn't have to be black mold.
Regular mold at high concentrations can cause people to get sick. It doesn't have to be black mold.
Well, I know you have more experience with it than I do, so I'm sure you're correct. I would still get it checked again, though. I'm very distrustful of mold companies, but perhaps I'm overly suspicious.
I had a professional inspect our house due to mold. He says the cost will be too much and it's spread throughout the house. The house needs to be demolish. Now I have no money so what do I do in this situation?
Who does the house belong to?
You say you've had it for 10 years?
Speaking about your parents on 12/30/2012...
". Even though I live with them I help them with their business and I work part time so I pay for my own food and gas. I'm trying to find a full time job and move out ASAP." //www.city-data.com/forum/27549823-post26.html
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