Help Barbara Lunsford Escape Toxic Mold
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Kilynn Lunsford - I'm starting this fundraiser for my amazing mom. After an 11-year battle with incessant flooding, she was forced to leave her home 4 years ago due to a toxic mold issue, but still continues to pay the $1,700/month mortgage in fear of ruining her credit. Today, despite working for 35 years as a public school teacher, serving the community, and owning her own home, her only option is to stay with her mother who is 89 years old and lives on a reverse mortgage. When she passes, my mom will have 3 months to vacate her home, with nowhere else to live. If you donate to her GoFundMe, the money will be used to pay off her toxic home so she can be free to restart her life in a new home which she currently can't afford to do.
She writes:
"My home has been flooded countless times over the last 15 years. My wood floors are sinking and caving in. Just yesterday my foot went through the floor as I was surveying the damage from Isaias. The water runoff is not safe as it contains harmful bacteria. The same year I began struggling with the fallout of the mass flooding, I was hospitalized with Guillain-Barre syndrome for 7 months, 4 months of which I spent paralyzed in an intensive care unit. My doctor advised me not to live in that house because of complications likely arising due to my autoimmune disease. Yet I still pay the mortgage because no one including the bank will help. I have been passed around to many state and local officials and have had multiple visits to my home by them to no avail. I am continuing to fight for a solution.
"The county, in which my house is located, forced me to place my home on an “abandoned house” list because it is uninhabitable. This requires me to pay an annual fee that will increase yearly. Because of this, my homeowner’s insurance will also continue to increase drastically. Furthermore, even though my flood insurance is sky high, they will no longer remediate the flood damage because it’s a recurring problem, forcing me to pay for insurance I can’t even use! I do not feel it’s fair that I’m the one being penalized -- the creek does not belong to me and I was sold a home with a flooding problem which was not disclosed!
I loved my house and am heartbroken that I had to abandon it. I recently retired and can’t even enjoy all for which I’ve worked so hard. My entire social security check will go to the mortgage each month until I’ve paid the remaining $175,000 on the house. At this age and time in my life, I should be able to downsize and take that equity for retirement. Instead, I feel I have been left with less than nothing."
She writes:
"My home has been flooded countless times over the last 15 years. My wood floors are sinking and caving in. Just yesterday my foot went through the floor as I was surveying the damage from Isaias. The water runoff is not safe as it contains harmful bacteria. The same year I began struggling with the fallout of the mass flooding, I was hospitalized with Guillain-Barre syndrome for 7 months, 4 months of which I spent paralyzed in an intensive care unit. My doctor advised me not to live in that house because of complications likely arising due to my autoimmune disease. Yet I still pay the mortgage because no one including the bank will help. I have been passed around to many state and local officials and have had multiple visits to my home by them to no avail. I am continuing to fight for a solution.
"The county, in which my house is located, forced me to place my home on an “abandoned house” list because it is uninhabitable. This requires me to pay an annual fee that will increase yearly. Because of this, my homeowner’s insurance will also continue to increase drastically. Furthermore, even though my flood insurance is sky high, they will no longer remediate the flood damage because it’s a recurring problem, forcing me to pay for insurance I can’t even use! I do not feel it’s fair that I’m the one being penalized -- the creek does not belong to me and I was sold a home with a flooding problem which was not disclosed!
I loved my house and am heartbroken that I had to abandon it. I recently retired and can’t even enjoy all for which I’ve worked so hard. My entire social security check will go to the mortgage each month until I’ve paid the remaining $175,000 on the house. At this age and time in my life, I should be able to downsize and take that equity for retirement. Instead, I feel I have been left with less than nothing."
Organizer and beneficiary
Kilynn Kiki
Organizer
Wilmington, DE
Barbara Lunsford
Beneficiary