This outlay will be the responsibility of whoever buys the house, town officials say. Town Building Department officials say no certificate of occupancy will be granted until they're satisfied the home is habitable.

The home's former owner, Kristine Choma, who says she was forced to abandon the home after becoming sickened by mold, doubts that figure will accomplish the job.

"I don't see how they can strip that house down to the studs and rebuild it for $57,000," Choma said after being read highlights of the 12-page report, which she called "a very safe estimate - my estimate for the second floor alone was $85,000."

On June 22, at the behest of Realtor the Trevett Group, the town brought in engineer R. Russell Reeves to examine the abandoned home two days after putting it back on the market. Reeves' report to the town appears to concur with a former owner's assessment the home will have to be stripped to the studs and rebuilt if it is to be salvaged.

Last month, after installing a new roof but not otherwise addressing the mold, Trevett put the home on the market "as-is."

Responsibility for remediation will fall to "whoever buys the house," town Building and Fire Inspector Ron Neissen said. "There's a lot of work to be done all the way around. Whoever buys the house should get a (professional engineer) to supervise as well. If they don't do everything, when we come in there to do an inspection, there's a possibility we could say it isn't up to New York state code."

The basement must be upgraded with a new four-inch-thick concrete floor. It will be necessary to remove and replace all fixtures, including the sump pump, hot water heater and boiler. Elsewhere in the two-story home, rigging, linoleum, sheetrock, interior doors, windows, insulation must be removed, treated in a similar fashion and properly disposed of and an engineer must inspect the entire job. Staffers said realtor Tom Trevett was out of the office Tuesday and could not be reached.
 
 

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