[Sick_House87]

We have deadly mold. The seller who we bought our home from is in the business of buying foreclosures, fixing them up, and turning them quickly for a profit. When we bought our home we had an inspection and the inspector noted several problems. One was how poorly the roof was constructed and that there were several leaks. So, the seller didn't want to fix it. We were in a bind as my husband was injured and on bedrest and I was doing everything myself. We were in a hurry as our landlords had leased our home we were in and we had to get out.

I spoke with a friend at our insurance agent's office. She informed me that they couldn't insure the property because of the age of the roof. So, I went back and informed the seller. He then jumped through hoops and got the roof replaced. Just the shingles. We have later found that they lied and did not replace all of the boards.

Here is where our problem is... the mold came from the terrible condition of the roof. Leaks formed and caved in the ceiling in several places of our home. We have cleaned the walls and found the original paint under the contractor grade paint and have mold coming through the walls. This is NOT something we can bleach or paint over with a product. The mold is in our air ducts, our air we breath, everything in our home now. We have a child who is having severe problems because of the mold and we all stay sick.

We can't afford the 30K to fix the problem as we are inundated with medical bills from my husband and now our toddler (who was not sick until we moved in). We now have a baby who is going through similar problems.
We have to get out, but we are stuck. What can we do legally? Attorneys want upwards of 25k to take our case. We don't even bring in but that much after taxes. Please help.

[Sick_House87]

I also meant to include that the roof cave in happened prior to the repairs by the seller. He repaired the cave in and didn't disclose it.

[Sick_House87]

If someone buys a house and fixes it up and then resells that house do they have to provide a disclosure about what was wrong with it? This home is in Georgia.

[ScottGem]

Anyone who sells a house needs to disclose defects. However, if you repaired any problems then disclosure isn't necessary. But you need to be sure they were repaired.

I see this was the second question you asked. I merged the threads since they bear on the same issue.

You have a valid cause of action against the seller. But it may be more expensive to sue then to fix the problem.

[Fr_Chuck]

Did your inspector list mold in the attic ? If not, then the seller will say it was not there at the time of sale. And I doubt a flipper most likely even went to the attic. Plus of course the seller would also say, that you were aware the roof leaked so you had to know that the insulation would have been wet and need to be replaced. ** guess you did not ask for that with the roof being fixed for closing.

So questions, was it in house inspection ( mold) if not why.

Next mold in the air ducts, fairly easy to clear with a duct cleaner.

Next the issue with a house flipper, they don't live in the house, so many issues with the home, they just don't know,

The small areas of mold on the walls can just be cut out and new dry wall replaced.

You need to remember you "rushed" into this, you took a house with obvious problems.
The issue is, that you needed to either require more to be done, or walk away from it.

Even if you had to rent another house till you found another one.

First you get air ducts cleaned, and then start working on other mold issues one at a time.

[Sick_House87]

I talked with a 3 litigation attorneys. They have all 3 told us the same thing. The seller was aware of the defects and had to, by law, disclose any issues he repaired. This particular seller did flipper fraud. He took moneys from a bank to fix up the home... only cosmetically did anything, and sold it for the most he could get from a mortgage company.

The mold being present would not have been seen by an inspector. We have talked with 2 different professional companies, 4 labs that process mold and they all said the same thing: the deadliest is the type in the air that you do not see. Just as the worst pollen in the spring is the particles you do not see. They are the ones that get in your lungs and nose and make you sickest.

When the seller replaced the roof he told us he was replacing the entire thing down to the boards. He did not. He put some cheap insulation (blown in) over the existing insulation so we were not able to see nor was the inspector able to see anything. He covered his bases.

Also, if you just cut out sheetrock to "fix the mold" issue... that will not do it. Especially if it is the type we have that is in our furniture, in our hardwood floor grooves, in the wood in the home, in the carpets, and in everything we own. The estimates have been twice as much as we bought our home for.

The attorneys have all said this flipper has 3 options... jail time for fraud, buy the house back, or completely gut the house and have everything in our home thouroughly cleaned.

Why? Well, because we have neighbors who spoke with him and we have proof that he knew there were issues with moisture/water damage and did nothing to fix it. Also, we had animals living in the chimney where there were holes he covered up with siding (have witnesses to that too). We had to pay a lot of money to get these critters completely out of our home.

We also have major cracks the seller spackled and painted over that are now coming through the contractor grade paint.

No, we are not responsible whatsoever. This was a scam from day 1. The agent is the wife of the seller... they have used the same attorneys for these type sales and done the same thing to many residents in our area. We have found this out by calling and doing our homework.

Whether the seller lived here does not matter. He repaired things and patched over things and made the statements to neighbors and never informed us. That is not legal.

Yes, you are correct in stating that it is costly to go after the seller (sue him), but I have a 2 year old and a 10 month old who are breathing this junk and getting sick from it. What would you have us do? We can't afford the repairs. My husband has endured brain damage from an accident and I am the only one able to do anything.

[ScottGem]

So basically they told you what we told you. I know this sucks and I certainly empathize with you. You need to decide what is in your best interests. We can't do that for you, we can only let you know your alternatives and pitfalls.

Good luck