A few of you have probably seen my posts about our new build that had a mold problem. There was mold throughout the framing of our new build. We have an immune compromised 5yo with severe mold allergies. Yes, the builder was aware and promised to take extra care of the house. No, this wasn’t in the contract. Yes, I wish I had written something but I don’t even think it would have mattered given how this has transpired. Our builder denied it was mold. He didn’t have a mold inspector they used (bc they have never had mold in their homes…of course) but when their lumberyard told them to inspect the home for mold, the builder claimed he (the builder) inspected it thoroughly and the vast majority of discoloration was “green lumber yard paint”. Anything he wasn’t sure of, he said he would clean with bleach and water. I don’t want to get into a mold debate but as anyone can guess, that wasn’t going to ease our worries. They allowed us to bring an industrial hygienist in. The builder was there, was pretty mortified (or acted like he was) to learn almost all of the discolorations were mold. He empathized with us, was angry and said he was going to make his lumberyard pay once we (I) got the results back. He even told our inspector he wanted him to do a post remediation test and said the lumberyard is going us reimburse you for all of this testing. Fast forward, results are BAD. Like high levels of multiple toxigenic molds on all but 2 of the 20 samples taken. Active mold growth on most and dead spores on others. Our hygienist said the wood is salvageable but wrote an extensive remediation plan that was necessary to ensure the house passed post remediation testing. Meanwhile our builders seemed to realize their lumberyard wasn’t going to pay for this, but insisted we share the results to build their case to them. They insisted they were going to make things right. Meanwhile they called 4 remediation companies out to give general quotes, non of which followed the plans written up. None of which would pass the post remediation testing. None of which would provide a safe environment for our son.
They came back a week later, and what we thought was going to be some solution to make it right, was really them stating while they know we had a preferred remediation method we hoped was followed, they simply can’t take on the cost of what our mold guy guessed correct remediation would entail. They asked for the quote from the preferred remediation company our mold scientist had recommended and I reminded them that when I sent the results to them, that we had been in touch with our remediation company but to give an accurate quote they needed to come on site. The builder, in an attempt to instill power, said well they need to come out tomorrow if they want to be considered. Of course he assumed by waiting to call me until 5pm and hitting me with a deadline we couldn’t deliver on, he could claim he had no choice bc time was of the essence. Well in a panic, I pleaded with the remediation company and begged them to come out. They had all of the reports and the protocol but came and did a 3.5 hour thermal and 3-d imaging of every part of the house.
At that inspection, our builder was nervous. He told us to expect a call from his brother that evening. We had an idea that they were going to try and make us some offer. Around 7pm, brother 2 called me. He stated he felt horrible and knew this wasn’t what we envisioned when we went under contract in our dream home. He stated they simply can’t take on the large costs of remediation by (what he suspected) it would show needs to be done once we got the quote. He stated the last thing he wants is for them to use a company that can’t do the job and then our son gets sick in the house, then added and then it bites us. He said his brother was going to send us an email outlining the options going forward but wanted to discuss the option of canceling the contract and returning our deposit and earnest money ($165k) so that we can find a safe house for our son. He said he didn’t want us to be “trapped” and didn’t think it was fair for us to have to pay for an extensive remediation (how sweet of him). I stated while I was devastated that by the idea of not moving into this house, I thought it was respectful and decent of him to acknowledge this position were in. I said we would look out for the email and go over it.
The next day they send an email stating we have 3 options.

1. They will remediate the mold per cdc standards with bleach and water.
2. The lumber yard agrees to pay for all costs of our testing and our remediation plan.
3. We can pay for our “preferred contractor”.
4. An attached addendum stating they will allow us to cancel the contract and if they get a deal less than ours, at closing they will refund us our full deposit. If they get one less than ours, they will only give us a partial refund. If they get an offer over ours, they will refund us our full deposit.
   Is this fair?!!? Now we’re even more trapped and have to wait until February to potentially get some of our money back? How can we find a house with that kind of money not available? We never stated we wanted to cancel the contract, they did!
   We hired a construction lawyer and now it’s this battle and the last thing we wanted. I am so upset and we’re bleeding money by this lawyer going to war with their lawyer. Our lawyer wants to just demand the money or he’s going to take action. We’re in an apartment because we sold our house. We can’t send our kids to school next month bc them going back to their school was bc we were under contract in the town our school is in. We have 2 small kids and a dog in a one bedroom apartment. They have lied to us about so many things and we have it all documented but we just want our money back and to find some relief. What are our options other than filing lawsuits and dragging this out? If it goes that route, I feel like we deserve much more than just our deposit back. What else are we entitled to if this keeps going in this direction?