Mold Houses Harder to Sell?

Question

Hello, I am looking to purchase a home with mold about two feet high in the basement on the drywall.  It is black mold from the looks of it and I'm not sure if its a safe bet.  It doesn't need much work other than the mold.  I'm able to pick it up for $108 and resell from what the realtor is saying at least $180.  Does anyone know if this is worth tackling?  This would be for most of my cash, and I would not want it to stay on the Market for a long time.  Would you get a contractor to fix it or a specific mold remediation company?  Thank you in advance.

J Scott · Answer

First, there is no way to tell what kind of mold is growing (or how toxic it is) just by looking at it.  Just because it's color is black doesn't make it "black mold" (Stachybotrys)...it just makes it mold that is black...

Second, the big issue here isn't the mold...it's the source of the mold.  Remediating the mold -- if it's really just in the basement -- shouldn't be more than a couple thousand dollars (and could be significantly less), but until you fix the source of the moisture that's feeding the mold, it's just going to come back.

Depending on the cause of the moisture, the fix could be cheap and easy, or it could be very expensive and very difficult.

I would recommend first talking to a qualified mold remediation company. They should be able to give you an idea of the source of the moisture.  From there, you can talk to contractors or a waterproofing company to figure out how to solve the problem and what it will cost.

As for resale, if you remediate both the mold and the issue that caused the mold, reselling shouldn't be too much of an issue.  You will have to disclose the previous mold, but if you don't draw attention to it, and if there is absolutely no indication it was ever there, the buyers shouldn't have much of an issue.

Just my experience...

Nick Henson · Answer

Agreeing with JScott in that the source of the moisture is what you really need to find out to see how your numbers fall.  As long as the mold is only in the basement, you shouldn't have too much trouble. I would back my disclosure up with my own inspection report just to show due diligence.