WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Mold:

Question

Tenant has mentioned it twice now, “after initial inspection [no mold test was done then]” – suspicion of mold.I do not doubt it, because I have seen a few cracks and need for regrading.We do not close on home until January 2018.If we (buyer) do a mold test and find something, then we are liable to address, but at least at this point we may be able to negotiate seller contribution to resolve.If we wait until after closing, it becomes our problem entirely.“WHAT WOULD YOU DO?”

Clay Hartwig · Answer

good mold or bad mold is not the problem whether or not tenants will get sick in the future or anyone for that matter it's obviously serious but if you have mold or can smell mold what you really have is a moisture problem or a water problem and whether or not the mold will kill you or not the moisture will kill the house you need to find the water you cant stop all the mold until you take away the water .

Kim Meredith Hampton · Answer

Anna, make sure that the seller takes care of it now. Don't get yourself into the scenario with tearing out walls, mold remediation etc... Also make sure that they(seller) don't just throw some bleach on it, paint and think that they solved the "mold issue". It must be done correctly. Can be a real nightmare if you get tenants in and they get "sick" and want a million dollars!!!

Brian Pulaski · Answer

What doesn't your purchase contract say? Have you already done inspections, asked for all your fixes, and are just waiting for closing now?  I would make sure you still have time to request additional inspections/tests.

Anna M. · Answer

Thank you @ Brian Pulaski.Inspections have been done, so this is information that is coming up after the fact and thus trying to see how best to address this without taking on a potentially huge liability.Thanks to the great comments here, I have come up with an action plan and presented this to buyer’s agent and will see if sellers will work with us.

Thank you @Mario Alexandrou for the suggestion, definitely part of the plan.

Thank you @Clay Hartwig.I agree with you that, this needs to be addressed both for health reasons, and really to save the house too.

The common advice seems to be, work at a fix before buying.Bring it to the seller in a tactful/reasonable way and just let them know that it’s a concern and I want to have it further evaluated prior to closing.I am hoping that they do not have a problem with it.Someone suggested threatening to walk and/or notifying bank of our suspicion and the fact that they will not let us inspect.I am trying to avoid any kind of antagonizing approach in the hopes that this can be resolved/mitigated without too much issue.I do like the property and not wanting to walk away, just want to figure out a way to resolve before I take ownership.For now, my summary action plan is to move forward with tactfully notifying the seller of my concern and desire to inspect, complete an inspection, mitigate or come up with a plan to mitigate and then also empower tenants to work with management at addressing mold by reporting any leaks in a timely manner to allow for prompt fix, as well as possibly suggesting they purchase damprid which I hear helps with moisture and making sure to pass on educational/informational material on indoor air quality.There is an indoor air quality guide that someone in a facebook group that I am part of suggested, which I intend to make as part of my lease addendums/guides for tenants.https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaqI do have a contractor lined up to address some regrading issues and also visible cracks which could be where the moisture is coming in through.

The challenge is that mold is everywhere and I do not doubt, that we will find something, the key is to work together to “address/mitigate” vs. turning a blind eye which I suspect may have happened here.In the end, I like and appreciate all the comments.I think the comment that sums it up well is @ Clay Hartwig’s comment that the problem is not limited to just the tenants getting sick, the problem is also in working to mitigate moisture which could essentially kill the house.Thanks again to everyone that offered suggestions on what to do here.

Anna M. · Answer

Thank you @Kim Meredith Hampton and @James Thomas Nakashian.I feel the same way, in that, if I wait, this could potentially turn into a pricey lawsuit, that a few splashes of bleach unfortunately will not fix.Waiting on call back from buyer’s agent to put together our action plan.Thank you both for this advice.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Mold:

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