Newlyweds Say Mold, Bacteria Drove Them From Recently-Purchased New Home; Pending Foreclosure Could Jeopardize Hubby's Job

In Gloucester County, New Jersey, The Phialdelphia Inquirer reports:

• After a honeymoon in Mexico, Danielle and David Beety returned to their dream home, a $407,000 yellow stucco on a cul-de-sac in Gloucester County. Their future seemed golden. "We were on cloud nine," said Danielle Beety, a first-grade teacher who also coached high school field hockey. "Everything was going completely great," added David Beety, a mortgage loan originator. That lasted two weeks.

• Suddenly, Danielle Beety was stricken with severe throat pain and developed flulike symptoms. Her baffled doctors ordered myriad tests. Three times they admitted her to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. She required two operations to remove a 5-centimeter abscess inside her neck. "It was like living a live episode of House," David Beety said, referring to the Fox TV show in which the eccentric Dr. House diagnoses mystery illnesses. Each time Danielle Beety returned to their home [...], her fever returned. Her neck would stiffen with such pain she would cry out when she moved.

• Their house emerged as a suspect when they received an urgent phone call from an environmental engineer who did air and wipe testing in their leaky basement. Michael Stocknoff, owner of A&M Engineering Services in Cherry Hill, reported that he had found elevated levels of mold and gram-negative bacteria - a resistant group of superbugs that can cause respiratory and other ailments. He said they should grab their dog and move out immediately. Doctors seconded the advice.

• That was nearly a year ago. The couple moved in with Danielle Beety's parents, leaving all their belongings behind. Her health quickly improved, but now the couple struggle to pay mounting bills and to replace their possessions.(1)

For the rest of the story, see Newlyweds chased from their home by mold, bacteria.

(1) Reportedly, the Beetys received notice last week from PHH Mortgage/Charles Schwab that foreclosure on their vacant house would begin next month. David Beety said that could jeopardize his license and job, under new regulations on lenders, plunging them into deeper debt.