Advice needed - Bought House & has issues. I want out

[Kyle Geoghagan]

My fiancée and I bought our first home in June 2024. It was built in 1954. Shortly after moving in, I started having symptoms like headaches. After doing some research, I hired an industrial hygienist to test the house for mold, which cost $1,200.

Fortunately, there was nothing major like black mold. However, the home did test high for what I believe was Aspergillus/Penicillium in a few areas. It is not widespread throughout the house, but it is present at elevated levels that would require remediation. The affected areas are a small bathroom, under the kitchen counter, and part of the crawl space.

At the time, I got several quotes for remediation, and the best prices were around $8,000 to $10,000. That would only cover remediation, meaning they would tear out affected materials and leave it that way. Everything would still need to be rebuilt afterward.

Our original plan was to live there for about a year, then move out and rent it to college students since we are in a college area. Now, I feel it would be unethical, and likely illegal, to rent the house knowing there is mold growth. Selling also seems difficult.

We bought the house for $175,000 and put about $25,000 down. In just under two years, we have likely paid very little toward principal, maybe $1,000 to $2,000. So in theory, we may have around $25,000 to $26,000 in equity, but I am unsure what the market supports right now.

Our next-door neighbor has a very similar home listed for $200,000. Their house has one extra bedroom, one extra bathroom, and about 300 more square feet. It has been listed for 140 days with around 500 views and 40 saves, so activity has been slow.

Because of that, selling feels very tight financially. We would need to disclose the mold, and any buyer would likely want a discount. If we listed at $175,000 and had to reduce $10,000 to $15,000, then add realtor fees, taxes, and closing costs, we would probably come out negative. It also seems unlikely a normal residential buyer would want to take this on. More likely it would be an investor looking for a deal.

Right now, my plan is to remediate the house first, then either move out and rent it later, or possibly sell depending on what our neighbor’s home sells for. Either way, remediation seems like the first step.

We currently have about $7,000 saved. The hygienist’s original remediation protocol is now outdated, so we would likely need a new inspection before companies would take the job. We originally got a discount, but I assume a new assessment could cost around $2,000.

If remediation pricing has not increased, I estimate:

• $10,000 remediation
• $2,000 new assessment
• $700 post-remediation clearance test
• Around $8,000 rebuild costs

That would put the total project around $21,000 or more.

A general contractor told me redoing just the bathroom from the studs would likely cost $3,000 to $4,000, so I am estimating the rest from there. The challenge is remediation companies say they cannot know the full cost until they open walls and start work. If they find more mold, they must remove more material to pass final testing.

At our current savings rate, it would likely take another 10 to 11 months to save the remaining $14,000. We would also need somewhere to stay during the work. I asked how long the project would take, and they said it could be anywhere from 48 hours to several weeks.

I am looking for advice on the best path forward.

I have considered a HELOC, but I am concerned about the appraisal value and whether we would qualify for enough. I have never used a HELOC before and do not know what the process or closing costs look like.

Would it make sense to use some of our $7,000 savings toward getting a HELOC? Are there better financing options I should consider? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Note: The remediation will fix any moisture sources as well (adding a fan to the bathroom for ventilation, sealing cracks, etc). The industrial hygenist is also third party and very well respected in our area.

[Jonathan Klemm]

First Great Off Post @Kyle Geoghagan and thank you for sharing.  Not an easy thing to do and sounds like quite a tough situation.

Is there any chance you can just figure out how to tackle the remediation yourself?  If it's not a ton and it's just the black spoils something that can even be cleaned off and removed.