I am helping my father get his house ready to sell next year. He swears that he smells mold in one of the rooms downstairs but I’m not convinced. He says if some inspector discovers mold, he’s “screwed”; he is by nature a tad paranoid but the damned thing is, he’s often right. I do know that their dehumidifier pulls a lot of water out of that room, I mean gallons of it. What is the best solution in this situation? Should I open up a stud bay and examine it? Is there a sensor that would obviate the need for demolition?
When the prospective buyers come looking, should we expect to just have to touch our toes or should we be ready for a full cavity search?
Replies
He probably does smell mold, but there's no telling where it is. Could be behind the trim in the corner, could be in or under the carpet, could be on the exterior sheathing in the stud bays. And any home of a certain age (and in the right climate) will have some mold somewhere.
So, you would suggest doing nothing? That was MY initial suggestion but pere seemed to think a potential buyer might bring in a bank or insurance person who would "sniff out" the mold and use it as bargaining chip. Again, with nothing visible, I didn't see the need to go all Gaza on the walls-and certainly would prefer not to.
Thanks.
mold detection
Do you or others smell anything? It might be his smeller is faulty. Plug in a bunch of air fresheners.
Get a mold test kit.
I'm going to start with a mold test kit and go from there. Good idea, then we'll at least know what we're dealing with.
I'm in Maine. With few dealings with realtors, house inspections, etc. I have not yet heard of a mold-free certificate, which isn't to say, there isn't such a thing required here. Perhaps it depends on discretion of the buyer. Will have to press my father's agent for answers to that question.
Thanks.
Of course you know that most states have seller disclosure laws now. Anything that your father knows is wrong with the house must be disclosed to the buyer. So it pays to be out in front on this. Take care of it then let your agent put a positive spin on the fact that mold remediation was done.
A mold inspection is pretty much standard in Florida these days. It might be best to get it yourself along with the certificate if it is clean.
Mitigation usually involves drywall (remove and replace) along with whatever they have to do in the wall. This usually indicates some kind of water intrusion.
Note that mold in a northern climate is very often due to condensation in the walls during cold weather.