ever had black mold in a rental property?

Question

i know this is a rookie mistake, but believe me i have learned from it.

so i have a rental i just picked up, and it appears to have had water sit in it at some point.  we find some black mold around the baseboards and in a couple of cabinets.  the house is on a slab.

is this a serious problem?  as in, can i fix this myself with a facemask, a spray bottle and a mop, and lots of bleach?

any experience with this or suggestions.  i thank you all for your time.

Brian Ristola · Answer

Another good reason to have your properties leveraged and individually held.  If there is nothing to gain....

Richard F. · Answer

This is not an issue to be taken lightly. There are numerous types of mold, but only a professional can tell you what you have. Some are deadly to some people.

The OP states that it appeared that water sat for some period of time. If that is the case, drywall and most other materials act as a "wick" and pull the moisture up into the material. This means the drywall is wet on the back side also, in the wall cavity, and the mold will run rampant with proper conditions. The only way to remove it is cut out the drywall.

I have experienced two catastrophic (clean water) floods in the past year. The cleanup, dryout, and repair costs were 18K and 24K. A Pro water cleanup crew will have an infra red camera that allows you to actually see where the water travels up the joints and internally...very interesting. Periodic checks clearly show the drying action over days.

Big surprise, the insurance company canceled coverage when renewal came up on one of the policies. (one was due to a burst washer hose, the other a stuck toilet fill valve--another case for systematic, PREVENTATIVE maintenance). At present, in our market, ins cos don't want any liability for potential mold issues, so any water damage claim is a trigger. The agent actually recommends self insuring for those losses rather than making a claim.

The trouble with a parsimonious DIY approach, is that if you don't remove all of the mold, sensitive people will still be affected. If they are a tenant, they will typically go to a doctor for their symptoms. When the Doc says "it's mold", the tenant sees $$$. Now you have a big problem. Now you have to have a lab take air samples and test them, AND still make proper repairs by removing any affected materials, and treating exposed areas. Then you have to test again.  Much cheaper, as always, to do it right the first time (while the unit is vacant). You should still get the air quality tested before and after repairs to be sure, and so that you have a record that there is no issue at that point in time. A series runs around $500 here.

OTOH, simple surface mold as found in bathrooms or under eaves can frequently be successfully treated with clorox or tsp and a quality sealcoat with an anti-mold additive.

Ramon Allones · Answer

I have had everything from major mold problems to minor mold problems, to people trying to cultivate mold in a loaf of bread in their apartment to sue us.  the correct way to do it is to get an environmental company out and test for whatever kind of mold you have and its concentration.  but the problem with this is there is mold everywhere, and here in california there are no standards for what an aaceptable level of mold is, so they give you back a report stating something like there is "staccyboccious" (spelling off) and its level is 2 out of 7, or whatever the scale they use.  But they don't tell you that, level 2 is basically normal.  so now you have a written report that tells you you have mold in your place. which is not a good thing

some unscrupilous people, clean up everything very good first, then test.

the major risk is a tenant hooking up with a crooked doctor and lawyer and suing you for personal injury in the millions.

I've seen 3 million dollar remediation jobs done, and then years later there is still mold in the place.

for some reason in the commercial buildings i've encountered them with, it travels very fast in the baseboard, probably the adhesive used.  and of course the drywall as well.

Ryan Arth · Answer

re-update for the lurkers.

11k to gut the property to the studs and clean.

20k to rewire and rebuild.

selling to get my money out of it, looks like a break even at worst case.

not discouraged in the least.

Account Closed · Answer

With RE investing we generally end up paying one way or another to get educated. Some times you can control the costs of the education and other times you can not. Cutting corners on professional advice, skipping inspections and other things can really bite later.

John Corey

Scott Ficek · Answer

If the sellers (I think you said a Bank), knew about the mold, can you sue or arbitrate as they did not disclose it?

Lynn Z · Answer

blame the lawyers.  Also, query "Ed McMahon" "Erin Brockovich"  to review the millions they got in their mold cases.  Landlords are sitting ducks for mold suits as well as realtors.  The only professionals not actively being sued are surprise....closing attorneys.   Don't let anyone tell you they're mold experts and cut paperwork you'll have to disclose that will trail you to the grave.  There's no official airborne standards  that states what's a dangerous level or colony of mold and everyone is trying to prove "toxic mold" by sampling your property.  Most insurance companies do exclude any mold coverage.

Rule out invasive water entry points.  Faulty Air Conditioning Units.  Get your roof fixed..not patched.  Rely on good advice.  It's serious business and the lawyers hope for settlement (since they have a hard time proving a real recognized  hazard in court) for thousands of dollars.  Used to be asbestos and formaldehyde now it's mold.  Look out.  They mean business.

Tom C · Answer

That really sucks. Sorry to hear that. I'd start praying for a fire or some other freak accident that could distroy the place.

Ryan Arth · Answer

scratch that.

bank tore out mold infested carpeting and locked it in the shed. they also used thick paint directly over the mold on the drywall.  as-is sale.

complete gut of all drywall to the studs and cleansing : 11K
rebuilding : yet to be determined.

i hope that you learn from my mistake.

Ryan Arth · Answer

update for the curious onlookers:

removal, cleaning, and disposal = $4300 from a BBB certified outfit. 1200sqft, slab home.

reconstruction of what needs to be removed is yet to be determined.  this price includes the air particle test, a certificate, and a 7 year warranty.  supposedly cleaning out the air ducts for the HVAC system is much more expensive, which we dont have.

this was for "not too bad of a case, could have been a lot worse"