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Mold & foreclosure

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jarad

Junior Member
State of VIRGINIA

Here's the short of my story:

I'm still a rather new home buyer, having purchased my first home in October 2008. In September 2009 I had the attic insulated with blown in fiberglass. When the contractor insulated he blocked off all attic ventilation and the entire attic became a wonderful petri dish for toxic mold to flourish. My wife became very ill due to allergic reactions to the high levels of Aspergillus mold spores which were present in the home. Under doctor's order we had to get out of the house.

December 1, 2009 we moved out and had to destroy most of our personal property because it was contaminated with mold. I have not been in a position (financially) to be able to pay both rent and the mortgage on the home and thus have made no mortgage payments since leaving the house.

The bank has record of this story in writing but is indifferent to the reason for my not paying the mortgage. I filed two separate claims with my homeowner's insurance - one for mold and the second for faulty workmanship. Both were immediately denied on grounds of policy exclusions for both mold and faulty workmanship.

My credit is going down the drain fast and I believe foreclosure is imminent. Anybody out ther have any advice? Thanks for reading this long post.

By the way, I have hired an attorney to sue the insulation contractor, although that process has made little to no progress since I first met with the lawyer in December.

Questions:

What can I do to make the foreclosure easier on me and my credit?

Can I expect the bank to sue me for deficiency after they are unable to sell the property for half of what I owe?
 
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FlyingRon

Senior Member
If you default to the point of foreclosure your credit is already trashed beyond recognition. Not much you can do at this point. Yes, a deficiency judgement is possible, note that it matters little what the BANK sells the property for, it's what it nets at the foreclosure sale (that's handled typically by a subsitute trustee, and the bank will generally bid what they have in it). If you ain't got anything less, you don't much have anything for them to come after.

I'm not sure why you think that either the bank or the homeowner's insurance should have any responsibility for you allegedly rendering your own home uninhabitable. I'm skeptical of your story.

The ventilation is just a band-aid on the REAL problem. The moisture should never have gotten in to the attic. Your house seems to lack a proper and effective vapor barrier (in addition to the deficient insulation you were trying to correct). I suspect this is part of the reason you're having problems with the contractor.
 

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