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Thanks for the great tip! I don't have the ability to choose the remediation company without making an offer and deciding to do the remediation myself. I don't want to do this without seeing the remediation reduce spore levels to background.
If you want to, you can make an offer that says you do the remediation and they give you a credit for the cost, the offer contingent upon your satisfaction with the remediation.
I don't know your local market, but it seems likely you would be the only person interested in this house, so you could pretty much set your own terms.
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However, I will ask the seller for such a guarantee and see what happens. That should give me the same answer, of how extensive the problem was and how effective the remediation. I'll talk to the company that does the work as well.
There is no mold smell. It took detection equipment collecting a sample in a specific location to determine that there was mold and moisture. Levels were at background in most parts of the house. There are no visible or olfactory cues for moisture or mold. It is probably internal to the walls and won't be a small project or cost to fix.
Does it really not smell, or do they have air fresheners or something?
Anothe concern is that, if mold got in the walls, how did that happen? Were prior owners completely flakey with repairs, e.g. not replacing a badly damaged roof? Or (more likely) was the original construction and design done incorrectly? Either way, the mold is probably not the only problem. Have you had a whole house inspection? Pest and dryrot?
I don't know your local market, but it seems likely you would be the only person interested in this house, so you could pretty much set your own terms.
I agree with this. Mold is going to be a problem for pretty much any buyer - it already cost the seller one sale.
You need to insist on your own guy to do the remediation. I have seen significant variances in what one inspector finds over the other. Don't trust a reading from one corner of the basement - it could have spread.
Did they disclose a specific event that caused the mold? Make sure that's addressed too. Was it a one time issue with a plumbing mishap? Or (more likely) is there a seepage issue that will cause concern of moisture every time it rains?
Since there is a fundamental flaw with this home, you have time to do it right. I'd be very aggressive with my contingencies AND price on this home as a buyer.
One specific question
When looking at comps, do larger houses typically sell at lower $/sqft?
If I see a 3000 sqft house sell at $200/sqft, should I then apply that $/sqft to a 2000 sqft house?
I would expect that smaller houses typically sell at higher $/sqft. What's the deal?
How would you expect one to answer this question without knowing where the house is located? What you're asking depends largely on the land value.
The mold is guessed to be from leaky kitchen plumbing. The layout of the house is a little odd--with the kitchen upstairs and bedrooms downstairs. The mold readings were from a corner of a bedroom ceiling under the kitchen sink. Until they rip out part of the ceiling and the drywall and find the mold and the leaky pipe no one will know for sure. It looks like this might have been from an old repair that wasn't done properly, or there was a wet spot left from that repair that wasn't checked for mold.
It really doesn't smell, even without air fresheners, and the inspector reports the roof, walls, and foundations appear in good shape.
All my information comes from a full inspection and a mold inspection done by the previous buyers who backed out. It's very nice to have prior to making an offer. There are signs of rodent infestation (droppings) in the basement, so I also intend to put a guaranteed extermination in the contingencies.
It's nice to know that the mold issue might scare off other potential buyers, giving me a chance at this place.
If you go for this, I really suggest making sure it makes sense from a business perspective. I know it's a dream house scenario, but that's when your emotions get involved and make you think things like, "it's just mold, I can handle it" or "I can squeeze my budget a little bit more to afford this"....
Not saying don't go for it if it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but make sure you are basing your decision on your total cost of ownership - including resale. If you aren't able to get ahead of the mold problem and are selling in 5 years, you'll be the one on the hook finding the one buyer who is willing to look past it.
The mold is guessed to be from leaky kitchen plumbing.
Do you realize that even if the mold problem is "remediated" you will likely need to disclose the presence of mold if and when you go to sell? Most people will run from a house that has had toxic mold.
So there's no rule of thumb regarding larger houses in the same neighborhood having lower $/sqft than smaller houses?
No. In fact if you look at newer neighborhoods or even old ones where the land isn't worth much you'll see the opposite.
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