Privy Pit

Would you know if there is a privy pit under your home?

Probably not.

I mean, I never found myself wondering, "Is there a privy pit
under my home?"

But, I did find myself wondering:

While the one answer to all of the above questions, if you are
living in a home that was built over raw sewage, like I was, is
Hydrogen Sulfide, I had no idea I was living over a privy pit. I
had, after all, purchased my home from a reputable Realtor who
was the developer and whom I believed to be honest. (An ill fitted
toilet can let hydrogen sulfide - sewer gas - into your home, too.)

My initial fear, caused by large holes that kept forming outside,
and then much smaller ones inside between my floor bricks (laid
on sand without a slab) was that I was living over some kind of
deep underground cavity that was just waiting to become a full
fledged sink hole - and that in time it would swallow my home,
everything in it, and possibly me.

This fear was fed by loud bangs which I interpreted as things
shifting in the underground cavity/would-be sink hole.

Because I knew my home was near the Santa Fe River, I thought
the holes could be related to an underground river or channel that
had once been a river.

Because my home is a condo, I ran the problem of the holes past
the owners of the other condos, emphasizing how the water from
the condo adjacent to mine torrented into my tiny patio. "Could
flooding cause subsidence?" I asked.

"Get a structural engineer in. We'll share the cost," they said.
(They've yet to pay their share.)

After a structural engineer came and advised addressing the
water/drainage situation, I reported back to the other owners.

When the other condo owners ignored the structural engineer's
report and my pleas for help, I stepped up my complaints on the
"squeaky wheel" theory.

This resulted, after a really long time, in them contacting our
insurance company.

The insurance company, Ohio Casualty, sent over Doug
McLeod, a structural engineer who thoroughly checked the inside
and outside of my condo, then took soil samples from the bottom
of the hole.

Based on the s oil tests, he concluded that there was a privy pit,
and warned that there was often more than one.

Mr. McLeod didn't mention hydrogen sulfide, though, so all I
knew was that the privy pit was causing the holes and I didn't
have to worry about a huge sink hole appearing and swallowing
me and my home. I was so happy and relieved!

Which I wouldn't have been if I hadn't been so ignorant of what a
privy pit that near my house meant, (I didn't yet know that part
of it was under my bedroom!)

I wasn't going to learn what it meant until after there was such
a loud BANG one day that I thought someone had shot out a
living room window.

When I ran to see if I could catch a glimpse of the gun wielding
culprit, there wasn't a broken window, nor was there a car
accident outside, and Los Alamos up on the hill appeared intact.

But at floor level, there was a cloud of dust which was not
reassuring.

I began calling around to find out what was going on. Mostly, it
turned out that no one had a job description that mentioned privy
pits, so EPA, New Mexico air quality, county health, city building
inspectors, and many more all said, "Gosh," and not much more.
Though, each of them told me to call one of the others.

One fellow, however, was of the opinion that the loud bang had
been an explosion of gases from the privy pit, possibly nitrates.
He said I should get the air tested because there was significant
risk of further explosions, possibly serious in nature.

I made an appointment to have the air tested, closed up my
condo as asked to do in preparation for the tests, and went to
Colorado to stay with a friend, since I was told it wouldn't be
good to stay in the house with no fresh air.

Three days later I came back, met the air quality guy, Michael
Curtis from CERL, who immediately upon entering said he
smelled hydrogen sulfide, which I'd never heard of. He said that
if I couldn't smell it, (and I couldn't) that it had deadened my
sense of smell, which it was known to do.

He did hydrogen sulfide tests in different areas and identified
that there was hydrogen sulfide coming up through the floor.

He said that when hydrogen sulfide is there, there are most likely
other heinous gases as well, but that to test for all of them would
get pricey. He said that since it was known that once you had
hydrogen sulfide the other gases were likely there also, hydrogen
sulfide was considered a "marker" for the other gases.

Did I want to try to identify other gases, he asked, saying he
didn't think it was necessary because of the marker quality of
hydrogen sulfide. He added ominously that the pit had to be dug
out right away: I couldn't go on living with the hydrogen sulfide.

The other owners still would do nothing, so I got started and
came face to face with excavation that produced a really really
big, deep hole -- ten feet deep. (Most ceilings are only eight feet
high.) And, it wasn't exactly where the holes had been, it was
partially, directly under the corner of my bedroom.

But before I could get anyone to go under the house and dig,
once the location of the actual pit became apparent, I had to get a
pier to support the house to eliminate any danger that the house
would fall on the men doing the digging. (That's what I believed
when I had it installed.) See the sidebar.

The Developer/Owner/Realtor/Broker, Wally Sargent, from
whom I purchased the property, which he also financed, about a
dozen years ago, has the prestigious Santa Fe Properties, which
makes me wonder, "Why was my home constructed in so shoddy
a manner that it is actually dangerous?"

When I called Wally Sargent after I learned of the problem he
said he would take care of it, to send him the papers. But after I
sent him the bills, he said his lawyer said not to "become
involved." When I wrote to his lawyer, his lawyer sent me a
threatening letter.

(Wally Sargent usually drives is a Jaguar with "PURRRR" on its
license.)

Not having money to complete the job, because the other
owners refused to pay their share, I had to stay in a hotel while
the hole was under my bedroom: there's no slab, just bricks on
sand which at that point were balanced over the hole.

Now, I'm in foreclosure because of how much the remedial work
cost and the fact that the condo association refuses to pay what
they owe o n the common element.(the ground under our
respective condos is a common element). The Third Party
Complaint I filed, naming Dorie Deal, Rob Hunt, E.W. Sargent,
etc. is made clear by means of the exhibits.

One of the condo owners, Dorie Deal, spent tens of thousands on
common element landscaping near her unit, while refusing to pay
anything toward remedying the common element health hazard
that was also affecting neighbors.

I mention this only because it reminds me that the mindset that
allows food to be stolen in countries where there is famine, so
that profit can be made, is not limited to far away places.

INCIDENTALLY, when I went to Wells Fargo, across the street
from Federal Place, to withdraw money to pay Miguel and Felix
for digging, the drive up window was closed. This is three blocks
from the Plaza. Conversationally I asked why it was closed. The
teller said that the sewer had exploded and there was a big hole in
the floor. I had no idea that sewers exploded, so the information
made me take the privy pit more seriously.

Sadly, the City officials were not helpful. The building inspector
and the plumbing inspector didn't even tell me that hydrogen
sulfide from the main city sewer lines was being released from the
sewer pipe that had broken when the outhouse pit subsided under
it, and was now exposed.

WARNING: That last dose of hydrogen sulfide caused my
mouth to swell so severely that my gums bled; my forehead
swelled; the soft tissue in my chest swelled causing considerable
pain when the doctor pushed on my sternum; and my feet and
ankles mimicked those of an elephant, so that what had been
loose, slip-on sandals, became tight, foot constricting shoes
around the tops of which my swollen feet bulged.

In actual fact when I say "That last dose of hydrogen sulfide," I
am forgetting that there may be a second outhouse pit in line with
the first, the second being more or less under my bedroom
doorway, where bricks have begun to sink. (Yes, if you are
thinking it sounds like I don't have a slab, you are right. My brick
floor is laid right on top of the sand. In terms of the hydrogen
sulfide, I think no slab may be a good thing, since if there were a
slab it would be harder to detect where the hydrogen sulfide was
coming from, if and when the slab cracked, which it inevitably
would do.)

If you are exhibiting any of these symptoms: you wheeze in the
early a.m.; your chest hurts (because your mucous
membranes are swollen, but you don't
know that and fear it's your heart and lungs); your memory
becomes much worse; you have a hard time finishing sentences;
your balance becomes much worse; you bump into doorways;
you weave when you want to walk a straight line, and you live in
an old part of your town, you may want to have a hydrogen
sulfide test done in your home. Your home will need to be closed
up for a few days, during which time it's best if you are not there.

Because, here's the thing, I doubt anyone else thinks their
dwelling is built over an outhouse pit any more than I did.

But, it could be, and that is not good for the dweller's health.

Note: since I did this page I haven't found anyone else with this
problem, but I have learned that if you have several bathrooms
and don't use the sink or tub in one, the water in the trap dries
out and that allows hydrogen sulfide from the city sewer to come
into your home, as does a toilet if there's been a particular thing
installed that creates a suction. I forget the name of it, but a
plumber found one at my townhouse and explained the danger to
me. The toilet should just be sitting on the wax ring without any
plastic or rubber device to supposedly keep out sewer gas,
because the device has a tendency to do exactly what it's
supposed to stop from happening.

2/13/06 I'm Devastated -- But, curiously hopeful --

Because I paid to have as much corrected with the privy pit as I
had money, and because I didn't want to rent my unit to someone
who could be hurt by toxins from another privy pit, if there is
one, I am in a desperate situation with my property being
foreclosed. And not only that I didn't have the money to go to a
doctor when I got a darning needle in my toe, and I got tetanus
and have been drastically sick and in bed for five months. Then,
about a month ago, the City turned off the water at my rental
while the gas was on, and that burned the boiler out, so now
(2/13/05) I don't have a source of income until the boiler is
replaced at a cost of $3,400, and I don't qualify for any sort of
federal safety net program because I guess none exist for people
like me.

I worked 16 hour days as a Realtor to have my condo, and then
when my son wanted to come from England I got a larger home
so he could live here, but then he didn't want to stay in Santa Fe
and went back to London, so I cried and cried and I decided to
get a smaller hoe that wouldn't remind me of my dream of being
reunited with my son. That's how I got three properties.

Now I'm without any income because, basically, of the privy pit
and I'm as scared as I was when the tetanus was making my back
muscles contract and pull me backwards.

I don't know why there's no law to protect people like me.

Is it right that I'm losing everything because of this?

If I'd sold my properties without fighting, I'd only have gotten a
small portion of what they are worth because of the desperate
situation I've been forced into. And once I don't have my
properties I don't have my income source.

So, I fought, except I got tetanus... But now, if the default
judgment "works" thing could still turn around.

I'm praying. I hope you pray for me. And I hope Sargent gives
me the money for the default judgment to pay the foreclosure
plaintiffs -- in time.

7/12/06 - The recent New Mexican articles don't make the fact
of the privy pit clear. I can't help but wonder if that is because the
New Mexican p ublished a story in 2003 written by Christopher
Alba which said that "the real culprit" was the broken sewer pipe.

Alba was paid over $1600 by the Condo Association, and the
only thing I know of that he did, was write the article which said
false things, made fun of me and damaged my reputation.

The privy pit is a matter of fact. The sewer pipe broke because it
was laid over the privy pit.

I filed a defamation case against the New Mexican and Alba, but
Judge Hall would not let me produce evidence. Judge Hall
seemed to strongly favor the newspaper or be seriously
prejudiced against me. He certainly refused to accommodate my
disability and he dismissed the case without looking at the facts.

The Newspaper goes out to thousands of people and they all
believe, most likely, that I'm pretending about the pit. The stories
make me sound awful. I did a search for my name on Yahoo and
found a story that ran on the KIVA site in El Paso based on this
latest New Mexican story, and it made me sound just horrible.

If not for the privy pit I would not have gone into arrears on my
mortgages. If not for my feet being so numb from the hydrogen
sulfide I would have felt the broken bit of needle in my toe that
gave me tetanus.

I wish a thousand people would write to Wally Sargent and tell
him what a despicable thing it was to build a condo over part of
an old privy pit and then sell it to someone to live in. Wally
Sargent himself sold it to me.

At first, in 2003, Sargent said he would take care of the costs, but
then he hired a lawyer instead.

When the foreclosures started I filed a Third Party Complaint in
each and had Wally Sargent served. He never answered. So I got
a Certificate as to the State of the Record, showing that he was in
default, and filed for a Default Judgment.

Judge Garcia refused to act on it. Contrast that with how my
condo was foreclosed with a Default Judgment after I answered,
with no hearing, and I wasn't even notified of the judgment or the
sale.

Would the court and newspaper treat you like Wally Sargent, or
like me? Think about that.

I've been thinking about how I
bought my condo -- I'd been
selling advertising on trolleys
and had not been paid my
commissions, so I thought real
estate, being more regulated,
would be safer.

I used my IRA, and borrowed
money to start because it takes
a long time for commissions to
come in.

I paid everyone back, but not
the first year because my first
year I only made $5,000.

My second year I made almost
5 times that much, and then the
next year, or the next, I forget,
but when things were really
looking up, IRS levied f or a
year I had paid years earlier,
and I just did not have enough
to survive their error and abuse.

It was in the spring after the
$5,000 year that I realized two
things: I did not have enough
money to pay for gas and lights
for my rented apartment in the
upcoming month, so the only
way to avoid having them shut
off, was have them
disconnected myself; and, more
importantly, I realized that I'd
never not paid my rent -- no
matter what, I'd always paid
my rent.

If that was true, I thought, then
I could buy a home and always
make the mortgage payment,
and I'd have an investment.

It was true, so I gave notice at
the Enclave apartments where I
was living and decided that I'd
save my rent money for three
months and use it as a down
payment on a home. Never
mind that I didn't have any
money.

I was reading Norman Vincent
Peale on positive thinking in
those days. (I'm going to find
his book and read it now.)

I moved all my things into a
garage, put a couple of dresses
into my car, and took to
sleeping on the office sofa,
except when I could find a
place to house sit.

I ate tortillas and peanut butter
and the office provided all the
coffee I could drink.

For three months I looked for a
home to buy.

My first offer on a home wasn't
accepted. Based on that
experience, I wrote an offer on
the condo, using my
commission as the down
payment. It was owner
financed by E.W. Sargent, so I
was able to buy despite my
rocky financial situation.

My mistake was to not ask for
a year longer on the owner
financing. If I had, I'd have had
so much paid down before the
IRS disaster that my payments
would have been low enough to
have been able to make even in
the bad times.

I was so keen to have the
stability and security of a home
that I didn't go to movies or out
to eat except when I was taking
a client to lunch, which I
actually did a lot because it
reduced buyers' stress. In
search of the American dream,
I put every single extra dollar I
had into paying down the
principle.

It was that effort which allowed
me to be able to do a Chapter
11 in 1997, after the IRS
destruction.

That's probably also why I
think I may, with enough
prayer, survive this. Do you
think there is any reality to the
American Dream, any more?

I ask because it seems like
things have changed since
wealth in the United States
became concentrated in the
hands of 10% of the people,
with the rest of us struggling to
make ends meet.

I so hope that the condo seller,
the developer/broker I bought
from, E.W. Sargent makes
good now, in the nick of time.

The only possible reason I can
think of for his delay is that
years ago after I'd had an
abortion that left me devastated
in the true sense of the word, I
let all the mountain people who
wanted to, crash at "my
house", which I was renting
from the very same Realtor
who later sold me my condo.
(The little home had been his
grandmother's.) So I and the
crowds were asked to leave,
and that's when I did a bad
thing: I took the lead pipe from
the sink plumbing.

Bad Kharma.

I wonder, if I hadn't done that,
would this be happening now?

The other thing that worries
me, now that I think about
Kharma, is that I convinced
four lawyers who owned the
back two units to list and sell
through me, back when the real
estate market here was really
bad, when the interests rates
were really high.

After they did that, the market
rebounded and so in reality I
caused them to lose a lot of
money... If they were still the
owners, this would not be
happening: they would not have
been negligent about paying
their share of the remediation.

So, once again, I am forced to
look at what I did along the
way, that contributed to where
I am today.