Austin Familys loss of home due to toxic mold!
Donation protected
We are the Austin Family we sold our home in the city, and relocated North to Port Sydney ... we wanted a better life/future for our girls... we got a smaller “Newly built” home but with property... we invested everything we had substantially into our new home...we had a full home inspection done by a certified home inspector ..well known/reputable in Huntsville/Muskoka area ... we did our homework on him and he was very thorough...he checked everything ... we walked around with him ...tested the wood it was all dry ... nothing was visible or indicated any issues or concerns...we paid $1000+ we also inspected septic system and well/water!! The only test we didn’t run was an air quality test ..it wasn’t suggested to us ... as we were all led to believe this home was “new” so why would that need to be done right!!!
Once we moved in (June 2018) we decided to do some minor renovations to suit our style ... we lifted the vinyl flooring in the kitchen area and found black mold... we had it tested and it was reported to be an abundance levels air quality and bulk samples of the black toxic mold Stachybotrus !! Our home has been deemed a tear down by the mold investigators and a professional engineer... “the cost to try to remediate far outweighs the cost to rebuild “ both stated!! We had to move out immediately ...we have 2 small little girls 1 &3, so there was no option to stay ...
we are now pursuing the issue legally... however this will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix and take approximately 2-5 yrs..... we could potentially lose everything we’ve invested if we cannot manage to maintain financially the expenses of our home & property as well as a rental home & property!!
Our story/situation is very disturbing!! I’ve exhausted every means to try to get “help” the bank will not do interest only payments to help us out (and also protect their own investment)... we applied to borrow the $$ we invested into our home and that was also denied ...the bank is afraid of losing that $$ and the mortgage amount ... we are destroyed financially!!
Our home we have found out was NOT new it was started back in 2006...the foundation poured and left for a long period of time the a prefab/modular home was delivered ...left bare not sided for years & left wide open to the elements ... the house had been completely infested with mold, the foundation dropped and roof split wide open ...it was left this way exposed to the elements for several years and this was NOT disclosed to us nor did our home inspection find it ...it was all covered up in order to list & sell it, the drywall was replaced in highly damaged areas (kitchen ceiling was so black with mold it dropped to the floor!!) and an enormous amount of paint in hard to replace drywall areas such as the linen closet , the ceiling & wiring in the basement was painted out white to hide the mold... we thought it was done to “brighten” the dark unfinished basement ...by any means we never in our wildest imagination suspected mold ....our Home Insurance doesn’t cover toxic mold , nor does our Title Ins ... so we have no means to cover alternative living expenses ....so at this point it’s a very long waiting game 2-5 yrs ... we in the meantime need to pay for both our mortgage/utilities/Ins & property taxes as well as a rental home/utilities etc all on a single income...
I am a stay at home mom of 2 little girls and daycare is too expensive for us to afford to put both in daycare... we won’t qualify for childcare subsidy with 2 incomes if I find work (I’d be basically working to pay for daycare take home for 2 children) so once my oldest starts school in the fall ... I can then put our youngest in daycare and find work to help manage our expenses!!
We have lost everything pretty much due to the toxic mold... so we have had to replace a lot at this point!!
We need help so that we can continue to maintain the mortgage so we can keep our property/home... to avoid a foreclosure and wait to have it fixed!!
It’s been very stressful financially & emotionally on all of us!!
I’m hoping that by doing a Go Fund Me fundraiser we can try to raise some $$ to help us out and keep our home...while we fight this!!
I’m not the type of person to ask for help... but honestly I feel hopeless and scared and I dont know at this point what else to do or how to manage ... if you have any further questions please feel free to contact me!! For all who share our story and help us out during this hardship ...my love and appreciation to all!! ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks
Bridget Austin ☺️
Below is the link to the broadcast/article run by CTV National News!
https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/ontario-family-buys-dream-home-to-find-it-s-infested-with-toxic-mould-1.4486646
Once we moved in (June 2018) we decided to do some minor renovations to suit our style ... we lifted the vinyl flooring in the kitchen area and found black mold... we had it tested and it was reported to be an abundance levels air quality and bulk samples of the black toxic mold Stachybotrus !! Our home has been deemed a tear down by the mold investigators and a professional engineer... “the cost to try to remediate far outweighs the cost to rebuild “ both stated!! We had to move out immediately ...we have 2 small little girls 1 &3, so there was no option to stay ...
we are now pursuing the issue legally... however this will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix and take approximately 2-5 yrs..... we could potentially lose everything we’ve invested if we cannot manage to maintain financially the expenses of our home & property as well as a rental home & property!!
Our story/situation is very disturbing!! I’ve exhausted every means to try to get “help” the bank will not do interest only payments to help us out (and also protect their own investment)... we applied to borrow the $$ we invested into our home and that was also denied ...the bank is afraid of losing that $$ and the mortgage amount ... we are destroyed financially!!
Our home we have found out was NOT new it was started back in 2006...the foundation poured and left for a long period of time the a prefab/modular home was delivered ...left bare not sided for years & left wide open to the elements ... the house had been completely infested with mold, the foundation dropped and roof split wide open ...it was left this way exposed to the elements for several years and this was NOT disclosed to us nor did our home inspection find it ...it was all covered up in order to list & sell it, the drywall was replaced in highly damaged areas (kitchen ceiling was so black with mold it dropped to the floor!!) and an enormous amount of paint in hard to replace drywall areas such as the linen closet , the ceiling & wiring in the basement was painted out white to hide the mold... we thought it was done to “brighten” the dark unfinished basement ...by any means we never in our wildest imagination suspected mold ....our Home Insurance doesn’t cover toxic mold , nor does our Title Ins ... so we have no means to cover alternative living expenses ....so at this point it’s a very long waiting game 2-5 yrs ... we in the meantime need to pay for both our mortgage/utilities/Ins & property taxes as well as a rental home/utilities etc all on a single income...
I am a stay at home mom of 2 little girls and daycare is too expensive for us to afford to put both in daycare... we won’t qualify for childcare subsidy with 2 incomes if I find work (I’d be basically working to pay for daycare take home for 2 children) so once my oldest starts school in the fall ... I can then put our youngest in daycare and find work to help manage our expenses!!
We have lost everything pretty much due to the toxic mold... so we have had to replace a lot at this point!!
We need help so that we can continue to maintain the mortgage so we can keep our property/home... to avoid a foreclosure and wait to have it fixed!!
It’s been very stressful financially & emotionally on all of us!!
I’m hoping that by doing a Go Fund Me fundraiser we can try to raise some $$ to help us out and keep our home...while we fight this!!
I’m not the type of person to ask for help... but honestly I feel hopeless and scared and I dont know at this point what else to do or how to manage ... if you have any further questions please feel free to contact me!! For all who share our story and help us out during this hardship ...my love and appreciation to all!! ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks
Bridget Austin ☺️
Below is the link to the broadcast/article run by CTV National News!
https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/ontario-family-buys-dream-home-to-find-it-s-infested-with-toxic-mould-1.4486646
Organizer
Bridget Austin
Organizer
Huntsville, ON