Do you ever feel like you just can’t catch a break? My life is good, so I can’t complain. And yet, my healthy habits seem to be perpetually assaulted by factors beyond my control.
In 2018, we had a major pipe leak that flooded a third of our home. In 2019, we discovered black mold under the kitchen sink. In 2021, we discovered yet more mold, We’ve had three significant remediation projects in under four years, during which we were displaced from our home and forced to drain our emergency savings to pay the deductibles.
Well, we ended last year confident that our fungi problems were a thing of the past! In January 2022, per our doctor’s suggestion, we retested levels to confirm. I expected the levels to be higher than ideal, but was dumbfounded at the results.
The levels went up! The green mold tackled in the last remediation was largely resolved, but black mold is back for its encore.
Our home is a health hazard and we’ve largely depleted our resources. Home prices are so out-of-control in our area that the 700-ft unit above us was listed last night for $350,000 and has supposedly received 27 offers in under one day. For a tiny condo unit with major issues. That is to say, we’ve been priced out of our hometown, and even the distant outskirts of our hometown.
It feels like a losing battle. Despite undergoing somewhat expensive treatment for biotoxin illness, my partner and I have not been showing signs of improvement. I guess this is why.
I don’t know what to do anymore. Last summer, we paid extra for the mold remediators to cut squares out of the drywall in each room to look for hidden mold and they found nothing, signifying that a new leak has sprung in the last four months. My partner is running for the HOA board to push for a massive overhaul of the 50-year old pipes, but few resident will vote for a special assessment fee or increase to the already absurdly-high monthly fee.
I feel defeated. We desperately need to get our health in order, but it feels like each step forward is followed by two steps back. I don’t know what to do anymore. Do we try to strike a deal with the devil we know and pursue remediation again (and again)? Or do we flee the scene of the crime and hope that things might be better in some super-rural new build? It’s a tough call. Hopefully we’ll find our answer soon.
existential ergonomics 
This is terrible, so sorry you’re going through this. Being displaced in regular times is tough but during a pandemic must be awful… whatever you decide to do I think will definitely be better than what you’re going through now…all the best…
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Thank you, Miss Bossy Babe! In talking to my partner, he’s convinced it’s residual mold that wasn’t fully cleaned up rather than a new leak. I’m crossing my fingers he’s right and we can (re!)clean with a mold-killing chemical and be done with it!! 🤞
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This sucks. The housing market is ridiculous. On the bright side, you might get a decent amount if you chose to sell your place. Do you have a place to coast at for a bit and then search for something?
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We’re in a tough position. My partner owns our home free-and-clear and it’s worth 4x what he paid… However, he is on disability and will lose benefits if he posses more than $2000 or acts as if he “considers himself married” (e.g., home sale proceeds go toward home purchase with mortgage in my name). The only feasible solution would be an equal value sale-purchase within the same month with his name on all the paperwork, which sounds complicated if not impossible.
We do have family locally and they’ve been gracious enough to host us during past remediations, but we never hear the end of “you should just sell the place”… if only it were that easy, right? Thanks for the empathy! 🙂
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How about him selling the place to you for nothing and then you selling it? Granted – I don’t know the legal details on that.
I’m assuming you’ve assessed the value of potentially losing those benefits. Maybe it’s worth it if it’s impacting both of your health. Can he maybe regain that benefit once you buy a new place?
Good luck with whatever you end up doing.
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