Condo Resident Pays Price For Neighbor's F'closure Walkaway; Leak In Empty Unit Spurs Mold Problem; Told To Take A Hike After Calling Owner, Bank, HOA

In Fort Myers, Florida, WINK News reports:

• A new foreclosure crisis: damage left behind putting other homes at risk of foreclosure, too. Jan Swanson thought she'd live in her home the rest of her life. But a few weeks ago, she discovered something unsettling: a bad smell. When her neighbor walked away from his condo unit, somehow, water leaked out saturating everything and leaving behind evasive mold. "So this is what's right next door to me," Jan told Call for Action as she pointed out the mold growing in the home next to her.

• That same wall where the mold is growing is shared by her unit. Jan told WINK NEWS she worries, "It will eat up this townhouse since I have the greatest connection with the townhouse behind me that flooded, mine is going to be the first one to go." Once the mold enters her home, Jan says she'll have no choice, but to walk. "It's kind of an overwhelming loss," said Jan, "With the economy I'm really not working. I haven't had a full time job since July and now I'm looking at losing my property and it's depressing."(1)

For more, see Foreclosed homes putting others at risk.

See also, WZVN-TV Channel 7: Homeowners forced to pay for neighbors' violations.

• Swansen said she knew it wouldn't be too long before the growing mold appeared in her home too. So she called the homeowner, his mortgage company and her homeowners association. "Everyone who got back to me said, ‘This is your problem,'" she said.

(1) First time homebuyers, retirees looking to downsize, rookie real estate investors and others may want to hang on to these stories and reread them periodically if considering the purchase of a condo.