An Ozarks family is blaming one of Southwest Missouri's largest home developers for making them sick.  They say a problem from the beginning of construction is now causing the spread of toxic mold.

After all the rain we've had, mold is something on a lot of people's minds.  The Ewing family of Rogersville says their builder, Montileone Development, ignored their requests to clean up standing water under their home, even though it's specified in their contract, and even though they believe it's making them sick.

That's when they called KSPR for help.

"We're getting desperate. We have to do something," says Michelle Ewing.  She and her family left Arizona for more land in Rogersville 18 months ago.  "We did research when we bought the home," she says.  "We went with new because we were told that mold was a major issue here and because of allergies." 

Michelle says there were problems from the very beginning with standing water but says her builder, Montileone

Development, assured her it was not a big deal.  "They had stated it was just because it was spring," says Michelle.  "The water fell during the lay of the foundation.  It wouldn't be that big of a deal.  They just needed to get the water cleaned out of there."

Mmichelle's realtor even added extra protection in the contract to not only clean up the water in her crawl space before closing, but for the builder to do whatever was necessary to prevent future problems.    "We don't believe they have followed through,"  says Michelle.

Though the builder installed a sump pump and added a drainage pipe, Michelle says nothing has kept out the water and now she has mold growing under the home.  Since she homeschools her two children there, they're exposed to mold for most of the day.  Michelle says they've gone to the doctor for breathing problems, like asthma and says her youngest has even been put on a breathing machine.

"We've been continually told [by doctors] that we've been environmentally exposed to something," says Michelle.  And now, she wants her builder to fix the problem.

"We shouldn't pay for it," she says. 

The job to remediate the mold and prevent it from coming back could be expensive.  The Ewings have sought eight estimates, ranging from $7800 to $12-thousand.  Michelle claims the supervisor for her subdivision, who's supposed to help her, has all but ignored her.

"Sometimes he answers [the phone], sometimes he doesn't answer," says Michelle.  KSPR also attempted calling the Montileone foreman and received a voice message saying the number had been changed, disconnected, or no longer in service.

"He had a problem with his phone, but it's not that big of a deal," said Robert Montileone, owner of Montileone Development.  KSPR spoke with him after driving to his office in Southwest Springfield.  Montileone says he was vaguely aware of Michelle's case, but he  was unaware of the specifics.

"Until you stepped up here, we didn't know there was a problem," said Montileone.  "About three weeks ago, they called and said their sump pump wasn't working.  Didn't mention anything about any other problem, just that it wasn't working."

We asked Montileone if he has been aware of continual problems with dampness.  He said no.  We also asked if he had known about the mold.  Again, he said no.  "I'm sure there's something we can do," says Montileone.  "But we can't do anything if we don't know about it. You said she's had some estimates, those have never been presented to us."

Michelle doesn't buy Montileone's reasoning.  "A lot of contractors have said you know he had to know there was going to be a water problem because they believe it's coming from the ground," says Michelle.  

Nonetheless, Michelle says action is what she needs right now.   "It's very frustrating," she says.  "It's scaring us."

Robert Montileone told KSPR he would make Michelle's case a priority from here on out.  If you have a problem that you'd like help with, give us a call in our newsroom, the number is 831-1234 .