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mold question


Trigger Mike

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a friend wants to buy a house REALLY bad. its 2 doors down from her mama. when i looked at it per their request to get my opinion i noticed that even though the paint looked fairly good, there was a dark wet spot on the master closet just off the bathroom. it looked older than the paint. i suspect a leak behind that wall and possibly mold since it is always humid here in south Georgia. i asked the agent to find out about the stain but the seller had rented it out and then replaced the floors and did not have an answer about the stain and refused to determine if it was mold or make any repairs and wants full asking price which the mortgage company said is about 10000 too high. the friends mom says mold can't grow on a slab but i say it can. they seem to want the house regardless of price or repairs that might be needed. can mold grow on a slab?

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Yes it can and you might want to check local laws. I believe a home cannot be sold legally without mold remediation in many states if mold s found. Your friend should have the house inspected. $150 might save a lot of future heartache.

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Hire a home inspector and get a full report on the condition of the home.

An inspector will look at and find things you would likely never think of.

Recently, the fellow I know found asbestos, mould, faulty wiring and improperly installed roof joists in one house he inspected.

Another had fire damage the current owner "forgot" to mention.

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And if its pier and beam construction is there a ground seal? Even at that if its too close to the ground and not enough ventilation or drainage you can have some mold and rot. Always the obligatory termite inspection as well. I had one in Tifton, Ga that fit what I just described.

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Trigger Mike,

I have purchased several homes. DO NOT TRUST the Seller, the Loan Officers, the Banks, the Realtor to do anything in your best interest except get your signature and take your money! Period. Take it from someone that has learned the hard way. DO NOT trust any inspector arranged by anyone that I mentioned. AND do not hire an inspector that has the best price. Heck, you might even want to call the County and see if they have a dedicated mold inspector and have them look as well,

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As a contractor I will tell you this. GET AN INSPECTOR. Have the home inspected before you buy it.

5 years ago I got involved with a family that just bought a house because they fell in love with it. $30,000 and 4 months later I had all the termite and mold damage repaired not to mention plumbing, electrical, and other problems that arose because of it. That was only repairs not improvements. I cut them a deal and gave them my price on materials and did the electrical and plumbing myself versus hiring an actual electrician or plumber that would have had a field day with what I found.

Get it inspected. It's more than worth the price.

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A lot of information on a house that may have been remodeled, altered is, or should be, available at the town hall. Open permits or closed ones can sometimes tell you a lot about what was changed or what might not meet code.

Not everything needs a permit depending on local regulations. Not everything that needs one gets one either.

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ABOLUTELY, GET A HOME INSPECTOR! Depending on state, county, local law, find an inspector who is a Professional Engineer licensed in that state. Be sure to ask if the inspector inspects for mold, as well as plumbing, electrical, structural and foundation problems. (In Colorado, for example, we have expansive soils that can wreak havoc on foundations!) BEFORE signing a purchase contract, be sure there is a provision in the contract that allows for an inspection and a reasonable period (check with the inspector on how long it will take him to submit a WRITTEN REPORT of his/her findings and write that into the contract PLUS a reasonable amount of time to make a decision, with the proviso that you can cancel the purchase contract and get your deposit back. If the house seller won't agree to those terms, WALK...NO, RUN AWAY! If there are problems that the inspector finds and the buyer still wants the house, be sure to get several estimates on what remediation will cost, and negotiate with the seller about the seller either taking care of the problem at seller's expense, or reduction of the price of the house.

 

When I sold my late mother's house, there was a heating oil tank in the front yard, left over from when her furnace was converted to natural gas. Even though there was no ground water problem if the tank rusted out and developed a leak (even though it had been pumped dry after the conversion), the mortgage company insisted the tank be removed. We negotiated with the buyer to split the cost of removal and repair to the lawn. Similarly, the roof leaked, and because the roofing material was asbestos shingles, requiring remediation, even though the roofer said he had never had a problem with asbestos, the buyer paid for some of the remediation.

 

All sorts of things... As we used to say back when I was selling real estate (between rocket engineering jobs), "Anyone who owns their own home...deserves it! :blink:

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around here you can renovate without permits, you can build for a $50 permit and no county inspector except for the tax assessor because they want to raise the tax revenue. i decided to totally back off of this one. the friend and her mom both insist she get the home regardless of price and inspection that may be done and its results. i keep telling them it does not help to overpay. thankfully she can't qualify for the full amount. that may be what saves her. sadly though they want me to come up with the difference between the sale price and what she qualifies for. i predict disappointment for them.

 

i just finished renovating a home at the end of my driveway that was under foreclosure. it had 8 acres with it and i wanted to protect it. i knew it had termite and water damage but as we got in it it really got bad. i could have bought another small house for the cost of the repairs but i rent it out and in time hope to give it to one of my children. when i see water damage i start rethinking my purchase unless the seller is willing to work with me. if i run into a seller that will not budge in price nor make repairs i like to walk away.

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