Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maryland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-09-2008, 10:03 PM
 
250 posts, read 1,373,798 times
Reputation: 148

Advertisements

In Maryland you can absolutely disclaim rather than disclose. Signing a disclaimer, however, presents 2 problems in this particular situation.

1) If the home is primary residence, and if (god forbid) the mold problem was found by the new owner at a later date, it could be considered a "material defect" in the home. Disclaiming does not mean that you can sell the home completely free of worry, material defects may still need to be disclosed if you have direct knowledge of them.

It raises a big red flag to any reputable agent when a primary residence that is not vacant is disclaimed (unless it is a 3rd party approval or something of that nature). The home seller could be subject to a serious lawsuit from the buyer if a potentially life-threatening mold issue (Not say this situation is or isn't; I'm talking in a hypothetical worst case scenario) were to be discovered and it could be proven that the seller was aware of the material defect.

2) If the seller's agent were to know about the mold remediation, they too would be bound to disclose the concern because it is a potential material defect. If it were discovered that the agent KNEW about the mold concern, they could be subject to suit as well if they were to neglect disclosing the concern to the buyer.

It's a delicate situation that needs to be assessed very carefully. Part of the concern is that because the mold was in the HVAC system and the entire HVAC system was not replaced (only 90%), How could you say with certainty that the mold was 100% remediated?

Last edited by TeamBenya; 02-09-2008 at 10:08 PM.. Reason: typo
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-10-2008, 07:28 AM
 
847 posts, read 3,344,170 times
Reputation: 247
How could a mold problem that was at least 90% remediated be a material defect? People are afraid of mold, but really, it's not life threatening. My daughter is actually allergic to mold and the worst that's ever happened to her from it is that she gets little itchy bumps on her arms and legs. Most people don't even have an allergy to the stuff, and live with it all their lives and don't even know it.

Boy, real estate is always going through these scares. Remember when everyone was worked up about some particular kind of plastic plumbing? Or when no one wanted to live near overhead high-tension power lines? And the asbestos scare still hasn't played itself out -- asbestos behind your wall is going to stay there and can't hurt you! Or the lead paint -- how often do your kids really chip paint off the outside of your house (it was ususally exterior paints that were leaded) and eat it? If your paint is peeling off your house, your wood is going to rot, and you'll have to replace all the trim/siding anyway -- paint and all. Replace it with hardiplank and you'll never even have to paint it again. Problem solved forever.

That's not to say that the things Benya is saying aren't true. Maybe they can sue your pants off. Who knows. It shouldn't be that way, especially when you give them a disclaimer form and tell them to inspect the house themselves and give them free access to do so. Otherwise, what's the point of the disclaimer form?

Anyway, I think if you tell them there was some mold in the ductwork once upon a time, but that you replaced 90% of it (and maybe even show them were the remaining old ductwork is), and tell them to do any inspections they want, it shouldn't be that big a deal. If someone's going to try to bargain you down too much, reject their offer and wait for another one, just like you would if they were bargaining you down too much for any other reason. If you don't think you can get a better offer, then suck it up and sell. You don't really have any other options. But I can tell you, some buyers will care about the mold, and some won't. Not everyone is so hysterical.

Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-10-2008, 08:16 AM
 
250 posts, read 1,373,798 times
Reputation: 148
Vanyali, the only reason I say that it could be considered a material defect is because I'm referring to previous lawsuits that have set a precedence.

Broker Sued for Mold Non-Disclosure

Why Toxic Mold Concerns Have Become A Big Deal Recently

Ten Tips To Avoivd Mold Lawsuits

Stachybotrys Wiki

"Black Death"
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-10-2008, 08:41 AM
 
847 posts, read 3,344,170 times
Reputation: 247
I believe you about the lawsuits, but I still personally think the whole scare is overblown.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-10-2008, 08:48 AM
 
Location: Maryland - Howard County
195 posts, read 742,431 times
Reputation: 60
This isn't just any old mold. This is black mold...allergic or not, this can greatly affect your health.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-10-2008, 08:51 AM
 
847 posts, read 3,344,170 times
Reputation: 247
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlicynD View Post
This isn't just any old mold. This is black mold...allergic or not, this can greatly affect your health.
Not likely.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-10-2008, 12:02 PM
 
297 posts, read 1,269,296 times
Reputation: 127
Just a personal note...when we sold our house in Ellicott City we signed a disclaimer instead of a disclosure. The buyers had a mold inspection done in addition to the regular home inspection, so any mold problems would have come out. Basically, I wouldn't count on a disclaimer to let you out of disclosing the mold problem.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-10-2008, 01:54 PM
 
5 posts, read 94,606 times
Reputation: 26
I plan on fully disclosing the mold. It isn't right to sell a house and not disclose it. This is serious stuff and the previous tenants moved out because they were getting sick from it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-10-2008, 04:34 PM
 
1,763 posts, read 5,981,846 times
Reputation: 831
One thing which I think stinks is how the insurance companies bailed out of the whole mold issue and passed it on to homeowners. Apparently there were a lot of mold issues in Texas a few years back and after a while the insurance companies just stopped covering for mold. I personally think they have too many coverage exclusions, especially ones people don't know about. I would rather pay more, but for real, "wall-to-wall" coverage.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-10-2008, 06:26 PM
 
847 posts, read 3,344,170 times
Reputation: 247
Yep, insurance is basically a scam. Like extended warranties.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maryland
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top