Yeah, so in Indiana having a baby in your home with certain midwives is bad news but you can be exposed to any level of mold spores by your landlord because there are no defined limits on mold here! Nice huh?

Yep, I found out that there is no regulation on mold growth here. We talked to the Indiana department of health about it today. Really just goes to prove how much the laws truly protect us.

DEM (direct entry midwives) and CPM (certified professional midwives) are not able to legally practice in Indiana simply because their training did not include licensed nursing. They are thoroughly trained and know their trade but they are considered unlawful by the state, the reasoning is that law is “protecting us”.

Yet mold safety limits are not set in Indiana and the presence of mold is not a health department or code enforcement issue (we’ve called both organizations) here despite the CDC’s statements that “If you can see or smell mold, a health risk may be present.” and that all forms of mold are bad and should be removed. Where is our law that protects now? *scratches head*

Oh and our landlords did allow that certified letter and rent check we sent to get returned to us. The post office held the letter and left them notice to come pick it up, the letter waited for for 18 days but the landlords just couldn’t be bothered with it… So now we are waiting for it to appear back in our mailbox so we can determine what to do now. Good thing we wasted like $5.00 to send it. I am just so damn mad about all this rental drama today!

Thanks for all your well wishes. Yesterday I was feeling a bit better but today I am back to feeling like a cold is coming on. We have our air ducts in the bedroom closed off and I have a humidifier with vicks vapor stuff in it that makes my breathing less painful but my head still aches and so does my body (like I am running a fever).

It is confirmed, I am breathing in mold while in the house, the mold tests are beginning to show mold growth on them so that proves it. Now we just need to see if the mold presence on the indoor tests proves to be more that the control test we were instructed to run outdoors. The tests have another day to incubate.

If there is more mold in the house than there is in the air outside that is considered bad news. I am certain the air quality is impacting our health and the health of the pets since we are all having respiratory issues.

Here is what those petri dishes are looking like today:

This first photo is of the outdoor air sample, the control test that determines what amount of mold growth is normally in the air surrounding the house. Click on the image for a larger view.

The next photo is of the basement test. This one was placed on the floor near the area that water seeped under the bar and in to the tiled area of the basement. Click on the image for a larger view.

So far it looks like more mold was present in the basement air test that in the outdoor air test. Just to be sure we did a second basement test today and N is also planning to run a HVAC mold test to sample the quality of the air from our heater and AC unit.

Honestly I am at a loss as to what the next step is. I do not have the physical or emotional strength to move right now nor do I think I will throughout the course of this pregnancy.

I know we are going to have to either way as our lease expires before I am due. Obviously we don’t want to remain in a home that has moldy air while I am pregnant and I am certain we can get out of the lease if we want to despite the lack of mold regulations in the state…

We are looking for a place to buy right now because quite frankly we do not want to be moving every year for the next 3 years while we are here for N’s job, especially with a child. But buying a home is also something you don’t just rush in to. If we rushed we might end up owning a dump that also has mold issues except we would own it and have to spend a ton fixing the issue.

I am just exhaused and can’t find a solution. In a perfect world we would already own a home, I would be decorating the baby’s nursury, things would be calm and I wouldn’t face heath risks as a result of my home’s air quality… Reality has presented me with the exact opposite of perfection and we’ll just have to find a way to make it work, as usual. That just pisses me off today, I am going to eat a corndog now.

The post In Indiana breathing mold is okay but home birth is not, just an FYI. appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

N called the landlord over the weekend about it and their response was “well, we’ve been busy and we figured it was returned to you already”. She then said once it was returned to us we could “drop it by some store of theirs” or she could come by and pick it up from us.

Yeah, you are going to have to come by and get it from us since your laziness is not our issue. We sent the letter off to you like we are legally required to and you were too lazy to claim the dang thing, not our issue!

So like I said it has been 18 days since we sent our letter and rent off and the landlord doesn’t seem to have any desire to get it. It is still sitting at the post office and a notice was left at the landlords residence to come claim it.

This raised some questions for us so we looked at county records and found that our landlord owns 38 other houses (not including this one) just within this county. Oh and the house we are living in is worth about $80,000, they are charging us $875 a month and are making killing.

Well no wonder they don’t care about cashing our rent check, they have tons of money coming in from us and other sucker renters! Now N thinks they are acting unresponsive and avoiding our communications because they know they are caught and have wronged us.

Like I said in a previous post, I am fairly certain we have a mold issue just based upon the home’s age and the leaky basement issue. Our basement is finished, here have a look:

I think the electric heater/ fireplace thingy gives the decor age away don’t you?

Then there is the wood siding and the indoor/ outdoor carpet that is water stained from our recent floods.

Check out the green cabinets! Those scream 1970 to me.

So I am wondering… If all the decor and “finishing” in the basement is that old and there is such a big leak issue down there. How many years of mold growth do you think there are? It is kind of scary to think about.

We are certain there is mold growing because we have all had some odd respiratory issues since moving here, including the pets. You know allergies, sinus issues and even bloody noses. Generally nasty stuff!

That is why we sent out the certified letter outlining our concerns about their “lack of disclosure” on the flooding issue. We also mentioned the fact that the moisture from the leaks is impossible for us to fully clean up since the basement is finished and that they need to provide us with a means to clean up the soaked carpet each time the basement floods (aka a carpet cleaning machine or dehumidifier).

Seems like we covered all the bases right? Too bad they have not claimed the letter from the post office and they intend on leaving it unclaimed until the letter is returned to us…

I am not sure what to do next. We did just spend $50.00 on 4 do-it-yourself mold test kits so we’ll have proof of the mold soon but we can’t really afford an attorney to sue them. Is that the only way to take action on this?

—————–

Updates: There have been updates regarding this landlord saga, you can see them by checking out the following posts.

1. Slumloards, credit scores and a prenatal chiropractor [in a pear tree]…
2. In Indiana breathing mold is okay but home birth is not, just an FYI.

Related post search results can be viewed here.

The post I am just a tad angry right now! appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Yesterday I mentioned that our landlord informed us that the home we are renting was being put on the market and that we would need to show the house to potential buyers, this is not good news to us!

We looked over our lease and had a family member and real estate expert, Jerry, look over the lease. Nowhere in the lease does it say that we are obligated to show the home to potential buyers and agents (like it did in the previous lease we signed for another home) but it does state the landlord must provide 48 hours notice of intent to enter.

We only have 3 months left on this lease and we would prefer to not be showing the home in addition to trying to plan and research a cross country move. Plus we have a medium sized dog, who is not friendly to strangers and we have inside cats who have to be prevented from escaping the house so allowing strange people into the home when we are not present isn’t really an option. It is barely possible when we are home!

So I went online to do some research. I found this page which outlines that in Arizona according to A.R.S. § 33-1343
“the purposes for which a landlord may enter a rental premises are to:

• Inspect the premises
• Make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements
• Supply necessary or agreed services
• Exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen or contractors”

So it seems like we are going to be forced to show the home we are renting even though it was not agreed to when we signed the lease. Apparently that is the crappy law here in Arizona that favors the f*&kers landlords.

I emailed the landlord about how this is an inconvenience for us and I warned that our dog was not friendly and that entering the home without us being present was a very bad idea for them since our dog is not nice to strange people. I also stated that we were not agreeing to anything at this time because we were waiting for more information about our rights.

The landlord responded that we had nothing to agree to and that the only right we had was the right to a 48 hour notice of intent to enter. He also went on to say that after the 48 hour notice was given we could not refuse the showing and that they could enter whether or not we were home.

Then my phone rings and it is our landlords secretary stating that they were trying to schedule a showing for Saturday, which is 2 days/ 48 hours away. We wont be here for the showing but I am sure they will just do what ever the hell they want to!

I am now wondering if the landlord can “check keys out to possible buyers and their agents” and allow them to show up here unaccompanied while we aren’t present, I was under the impression the landlord had physically to exhibit the dwelling under this law, can they just give keys to anyone who comes by and allow them to enter after giving us notice? What if we aren’t able to be home, can they enter the home anyway? What do you think?

If they do enter the home they will be unpleasantly surprised and possibly bitten in the ass by our very protective dog.. Maybe we will leave some sex toys out around the house! Bet that would cut the visit short huh? I am so flipping MAD!

The post Being a renter in Arizona kind of sucks! appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.