Moisture in basement=nightmare refi
My lender heard from the appraiser that there was moisture in the basement of a couple places I am trying to refi, and all hell broke loose. They are seemingly not aware that all homes of this age in the area have some dampness, or are possibly just fishing for a way to avoid following through on the loan. I'll go ahead and name the lender: Regions Bank. They delayed closing to complete a special inspection and are now requiring me to complete repairs totaling thousands of dollars to close. There's a little mold on the walls and a little water in the basement when it rains, but nothing that isn't found in 90% of homes in the area. Has anybody encountered this? Is this even legal? Interested in feedback.
Quote from @Mike Day:
There's a little mold on the walls and a little water in the basement when it rains, but nothing that isn't found in 90% of homes in the area. Has anybody encountered this? Is this even legal? Interested in feedback.
My sympathies are with the lender on this one, as your attitude about "a little mold" has no basis. "Ninety percent of homes" -- in any area -- do NOT have mold, and there's no such thing as "a little" mold. Mold problems get worse exponentially faster until they are cured. If your "damp" basement has progressed to mold then you have a real problem, and no sane bank will touch it.
Quote from @John Clark:
Quote from @Mike Day:
There's a little mold on the walls and a little water in the basement when it rains, but nothing that isn't found in 90% of homes in the area. Has anybody encountered this? Is this even legal? Interested in feedback.
My sympathies are with the lender on this one, as your attitude about "a little mold" has no basis. "Ninety percent of homes" -- in any area -- do NOT have mold, and there's no such thing as "a little" mold. Mold problems get worse exponentially faster until they are cured. If your "damp" basement has progressed to mold then you have a real problem, and no sane bank will touch it.
Interesting John, your comment tells me you haven't been in a basement on the east side of Indianapolis before. People buy these places and banks finance them all the time. I've done it many times myself and this situation is exceptional.
Quote from @Mike Day:
Quote from @John Clark:
Quote from @Mike Day:
There's a little mold on the walls and a little water in the basement when it rains, but nothing that isn't found in 90% of homes in the area. Has anybody encountered this? Is this even legal? Interested in feedback.
My sympathies are with the lender on this one, as your attitude about "a little mold" has no basis. "Ninety percent of homes" -- in any area -- do NOT have mold, and there's no such thing as "a little" mold. Mold problems get worse exponentially faster until they are cured. If your "damp" basement has progressed to mold then you have a real problem, and no sane bank will touch it.
Interesting John, your comment tells me you haven't been in a basement on the east side of Indianapolis before. People buy these places and banks finance them all the time. I've done it many times myself and this situation is exceptional.
I'm in Chicago, Mike, and South side basements here are as bad as anywhere, and I imagine Indianapolis is nothing special basement-wise. The kicker is when you poo-poo'd the presence of mold. I don't mind seeing the stains of hydro-static pressure puddling, but as soon as one gets into mold territory and then says "is it legal" for a bank to call time out, I have to question how accurately you are portraying the situation.
I advise all my clients to use only local banks that I have a rapport with. I ALWAYS have appraisal issues with larger, bureaucratic banks it seems. They all are supposed to have the same "standards" some are just more agile when it comes to it...If you need a great local lender in Indy, reach out!
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@Mike Day the second any lender hears about a moisture or mold issue, they will bail. I have no idea how this came up, but those are the facts.
I would be curious to know how hard the repairs are though. A lot of times with older basements, you can run a dehumidifier, clean everything with the stuff they sell at HD, and then kilz primer everything to solve the issue. The problem of course, is that you have to be licensed to do this, but getting your GC license is not very hard.
Quote from @John Warren:
@Mike Day the second any lender hears about a moisture or mold issue, they will bail. I have no idea how this came up, but those are the facts.
I would be curious to know how hard the repairs are though. A lot of times with older basements, you can run a dehumidifier, clean everything with the stuff they sell at HD, and then kilz primer everything to solve the issue. The problem of course, is that you have to be licensed to do this, but getting your GC license is not very hard.
That's a great idea John. A dehumidifier and coat of primer is all that it needs really. And the reality is it will be back in 6 months, but oh well.
@Mike Day I've run into this when refinancing a few of my Indy properties and, in my case at least, a good clean up with paint or primer and a couple hundred dollars to send my inspector out to take photos and write a short letter stating that the problem has been remedied satisfied underwriters. They are just checking the boxes so if they see anything that is flagged, you simply need to follow up in good faith.