Bought a House in 2010, and Have Been Sick Since. What Can I Do
My question involves real estate located in the State of: Wisconsin.
I bought a house in Wisconsin in March 2010. At the time of the home inspection, no issues were brought up. Unfortunately, I have been sick since 2 months after moving in, so, I've literally been sick for a year. I have had 2 sinus surgeries so far, and they are thinking that I have allergic fungal sinusitis. Pretty much, sinus infection for a year that hasn't gone away despite 2 surgeries, and the doctors think I have a bad allergy to mold, and the mold continues to cause allergy issues on top of a chronic fungal infection. They think I probably have Black Mold in my house, and that something in my house is making me sick. I did leave my house for 3 consecutive days, and did have improvement in my symptoms while I was gone, and then they came back just as bad, if not worse when I got back to my house.
I have looked through the house, and cannot see any obvious areas of mold. Half of the basement is unfinished, so my guess would be if any mold existed, it would be under the shower stall, or in the interior wall. My huge issue is that since I have been sick for a year, it has totally drained my budget due to all the medications they keep putting me on to try to make me better. I'm honestly so broke, I am starting to fall behind on my bills, and have no money to hire a professional mold inspection, and/or pay for the repairs (if that is even what is making me sick). Is there any advice, or legal options as to how to procede? I don't know if I'm better off filing for bankruptcy and moving out of the house, or if there is some other option to get help paying for mold issues if they are making a person sick?
I'm very lost and overwhelmed in this situation being a single homeowner, and would appreciate any tips or adivice.
Thanks!
Re: Bought a House in 2010, and Have Been Sick Since. What Can I Do
Well, normally you require a "whole house inspection" as part of your offer to buy a house. This is a top to bottom inspection of everything including a test for mold spores in the air and a visual inspection by an expert. Everything is negotiable when you buy a house and that should have been part of your offer.
Now, I don't know what's best for your situation. Sorry about the troubles.
Re: Bought a House in 2010, and Have Been Sick Since. What Can I Do
What did the seller disclosure sheet say about leaks, water, mold, or anything that might be related to this issue?
You don't have any sort of claim against the buyer without demonstrating first that there is mold, and second that they concealed or misrepresented the condition of the home; that's often difficult if you have the home inspected. Also, as you note, there are no visible signs of mold in the house.
People react to mold spores, so if the mold is sealed in a wall or floor - although that suggests a presence of water which is something you would definitely want to fix - you need to ask, how would mold spores escape from the sealed cavity to trigger your allergies?
Something that you need to consider doing, if nothing else to confirm or disprove that mold is an issue, is to perform a mold test. They come in a variety of prices (a quick look on Amazon turns up tests ranging from about $8 to $80). I would say that I hope you're lucky and there's no mold, although that would leave you wondering what else might be behind your symptoms.