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We bought our first house before "mold hysteria" (Google that phrase and read about it) set in. The house had a basement that leaked and mold on the basement walls. The owner (a contractor and real estate agent) had completely remodeled the house, leaving the basement for last, when his wife found another house she wanted.
The house was perfect in every other way, and "priced to sell" considering the basement issue, so we bought it. And we had a toddler son. The media hadn't fueled the hysteria over mold yet, so we didn't give it a second thought.
Right after we moved in, we got estimates from several basement waterproofing companies. (Hint: if the company sends out a salesperson, the price will be inflated. You want to talk to the person who owns the company and/or oversees the actual work and get a detailed explanation of what they're going to do.)
All of the companies said the work could be done from the inside (as opposed to digging around the outside of the foundation). The straight-talking owner of the company we hired told us it was going to be an extremely loud and messy few days while the work was done, so my son and I took a road trip to visit my sister and left my husband to deal with it.
They put in a floating basement floor and a sump pump. The mold was killed with some kind of solution. Then my husband and I painted the basement walls with mold and mildew proof paint. We bought a good dehumidifier.
The basement was dry as a bone after that and we never saw mold again.
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And finally upon resale it will be incumbent on you ethically and probably legally to disclose the mold issue even if you believe that you have repaired the problem.
If my roof needs repair, and I repair it, I wouldn't have to disclose that, would I? Just curious why this would be different. When we sold that house, we just disclosed that there was a sump pump. But, again, that was before the mold hysteria.
Is this a finished basement? Basements should never be finished, just for this reason. If its finished, and you have mold, its likely you will need to restore the basement back to an unfinished basement and use a dehumidifier.
Mold needs water, so finding the source of water is the real issue. The house may need a new french drain (digging around the entire foundation), it may need sump pumps installed, trenches cut in the basement floor leading to a sump pump, etc. Finding the source of the water can become very, very, very expensive.
After reading these posts I am glad to have backed out of house we were going to purchase.On disclosure statement it was checked off as no mold problem,we and my realtor were suspicious.He dug deeper and found basement area was treated by certified company and got copy of report.Listing agent had to refund inspection report money and deposit.I wondered as to whether to go ahead,now I am glad I didn't,1948 home with water seepage in an enclosed area.
We bought our first house before "mold hysteria" (Google that phrase and read about it) set in. The house had a basement that leaked and mold on the basement walls. The owner (a contractor and real estate agent) had completely remodeled the house, leaving the basement for last, when his wife found another house she wanted.
The house was perfect in every other way, and "priced to sell" considering the basement issue, so we bought it. And we had a toddler son. The media hadn't fueled the hysteria over mold yet, so we didn't give it a second thought.
Right after we moved in, we got estimates from several basement waterproofing companies. (Hint: if the company sends out a salesperson, the price will be inflated. You want to talk to the person who owns the company and/or oversees the actual work and get a detailed explanation of what they're going to do.)
All of the companies said the work could be done from the inside (as opposed to digging around the outside of the foundation). The straight-talking owner of the company we hired told us it was going to be an extremely loud and messy few days while the work was done, so my son and I took a road trip to visit my sister and left my husband to deal with it.
They put in a floating basement floor and a sump pump. The mold was killed with some kind of solution. Then my husband and I painted the basement walls with mold and mildew proof paint. We bought a good dehumidifier.
The basement was dry as a bone after that and we never saw mold again.
If my roof needs repair, and I repair it, I wouldn't have to disclose that, would I? Just curious why this would be different. When we sold that house, we just disclosed that there was a sump pump. But, again, that was before the mold hysteria.
This sounds similar enough to the house with mold that we bought. On top of everything else that you describe here there was also a product used on the block foundation that closes the porous surface to keep moisture from getting in again. I can't remember the name of it. 10k sounds high. It cost us somewhere around 2k, but I suppose it could be the damage wasn't as much as the house the OP is considering.
What you are required to disclose can vary from state to state. We do have to disclose it here, but it wasn't a problem with documentation to prove it had been fixed and what had been done. The house had several offers.
I'm editing here: The 2k was for the remediation work only, not for all the basement work.
I would not take the owner's word on how much it will cost to fix the mold issue, OP. As suggested, have a qualified mold inspector come out so you know the extent of the damage, why there is mold, and what it will cost to fix it if it can be fixed.
Hello there, can anyone help me out there? I found a house very inexpensive that has mold in the basement. The owner thinks it will cost about $10,000 to fix. What has your experience been? Have you gotten rid of a mold problem? How was your result? What were the challenges, frustrations?
thank you for your input!
Thank you everyone for your input! Here are some more stats: the house had no rain gutters for the last 4 years - it has been empty since the owner passed away. It belongs now to an estate. So that's were all the water was coming from. I'm going to take a couple of pictures on friday and post them here. Thank you so much again! Keep it coming! - Linda
Sometimes cheap isn't always better. Sounds like a mold inspection is in order. Once removed you will have to keep it from coming back which could mean installing drainage on the outside perimeter, possibly having a bobcat come in to grade the dirt from the perimeter and lastly painting the inside basement walls with an elastomeric type paint to keep out future moisture.
Get 3 professional quotes and take the one in the middle if you aren't doing it yourself.
Good luck.
Thank you everyone for your input! Here are some more stats: the house had no rain gutters for the last 4 years - it has been empty since the owner passed away. It belongs now to an estate. So that's were all the water was coming from. I'm going to take a couple of pictures on friday and post them here. Thank you so much again! Keep it coming! - Linda
Bingo! Replace the gutters, clean up whatever mold is there and repaint, buy a dehumidifier, and the issue is more than likely to become a non-issue.
All mold has the potential to be harmful ... even if it is dead. You need to stop the moisture first. Then you need to remove any components that has mold on it. If the components can't be removed, you need to remove the surface getting down to the roots of the mold. If there is a lot of mold, safe practices should be done (plastic sheeting, air-scrubber and etc.) during remediation.
I don't know if your state has laws. If not, then ask the remediation contractor to follow EPA's Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings.
If you have the funds, it would be wise to have a Mold Inspector look at it and confirm, before purchase. If you don't have the funds, then you could contact a mold remediation contractor to give you a free estimate before purchase.
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