BY LISA PROVENCE

The good news: The mold has been removed from the house Larry Butler and Judit Szaloki saved for years to buy-- and that made their family sick.

The bad news: The gutted house is uninhabitable and the couple is staring hard at bankruptcy.

The American dream-turned-nightmare began February 11, the day after Butler and Szaloki closed on 2207 Wayne Avenue. Over at the new house, Butler discovered the full extent of mold that he claims his real estate agent told him could be washed off with Clorox. Worse, their asthmatic daughter ended up in the emergency room after spending a few hours in the house.

Following The Hook's March 31 publication of "This mold house: Family devastated by spore war," many readers were moved by the Butlers' plight of having to pay a mortgage on a house that made them ill-- and not having the funds to clean it up.

ServiceMaster owner Steve Taylor donated remediation of the house-- a job that normally would cost $30,000-- and now declares it mold-free. Unfortunately, getting rid of the mold meant ripping out cabinets, floors, and sheetrock, and Taylor says the house is still uninhabitable.

"The kitchen is torn out, the bathroom is torn out, the basement is totally gutted," he says.

General contractor Bob Fenwick is determined to get the Butlers into their new home. He's been corralling everyone he's done business with over the years to help out with materials or labor to rebuild the interior of the house.

"If I could just get a lot of people to do a little..." he says. So far, he's gotten help from 13 businesses (see below).

Both Butler and Szaloki call Fenwick their "guardian angel." And they repeatedly say how grateful they are to those who have helped them out.

Someone paid the Butlers' rent for May, giving them a slight reprieve. "I paid half the mortgage," says Butler. "I still need a couple of hundred."

But cash is what the family does not have. Szaloki's car has been sitting for weeks at Battlefield Ford, where it needs $2,500 worth of work. They don't have enough money to pay the $225 bill for having the mechanic look at it.

Butler hasn't been able to make the payment on his truck in two months. "They'll probably come pick up my car, sell it-- and I'll still owe money on it," says Butler, clearly a man on the edge.

"We've got to go to church to get food," says the former Marine. "There's nothing in the refrigerator. I feel like a failure to my wife and kids. I can't eat. I can't sleep."

"They're on the brink," says Fenwick. "I'm just hoping to bring them back. The deck is stacked against them. They're strong people, but they've really got an uphill battle. It's heartbreaking.

Both Fenwick and ServiceMaster crew leader Shirley Hodges, who cleaned the house, are dubious that the house's seller, Steve Dudley, did not know about the mold. "There's no question that the mold, mildew, dry rot, and wet rot that we've found have been there not for weeks or months, but for years," says Fenwick

Dudley has not returned numerous Hook phone calls.

Butler and Szaloki feel particularly betrayed by their buyer's agent, Sirlei Kaiser-Ramirez, who they felt was supposed to look after their interests in the deal.

They allege Kaiser-Ramirez told them the mold, which was noted in the pre-sale home inspection report, was no big deal and could be wiped down with Clorox.

She referred calls to her Real Estate III broker, Pat Jensen, who maintains the Butlers had sufficient warning of the mold problem.

"Real Estate III is trying to explore options with the buyer in order to effectively address this unfortunate situation," Jensen told the Hook in March.

"I haven't talked to Pat Jensen since three weeks before the article came out," says Butler. Jensen did not return phone calls from the Hook for this article.

Meanwhile, Butler worries about losing his store, Uncle Larry's Toy Shop, at Ivy Square, that he's nurtured for the past three years and thinks could be on the verge of profitablity.

Judit Szaloki continues her day care, the only source of income the strapped family now has.

"Judit is so brave," says her husband. "I hate to see the sadness on her face after everyone is gone."

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Businesses that have helped with 2207 Wayne Avenue

ServiceMaster

Fenwick Construction

Ferguson Enterprises

Abrahamse Construction

Spruce Industries

Central Virginia Rental

Snow's Garden Center

Electrical Engineers without Borders

Floor Fashions of Virginia

Classy Car Wash

Albemarle Heating and Air

Better Living

Airflow Diagnostics Institute

The mold is gone in the house Larry Butler wanted to move his family into. Unfortunately, the house is still uninhabitable.
PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

The bathroom is mold-free, but lacks essential fixtures because the water damage was so extensive.
PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

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