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I would normally think legally a cancer victim could never prove in court that radon in a home was the culprit, but I think almost any crazy ruling is possible nowadays. These are the insane times we're in. If you doubt that, imagine an inexperienced incompetent unscrutinized socialist getting elected by a majority for president. Then imagine that same guy declaring war against corporations and pulling down the DOW to 6500 while STILL escaping media criticism and polling in the 60s.
Yeah, these are crazy times.
Expect government-mandated crap like radon only to increase.
I would normally think legally a cancer victim could never prove in court that radon in a home was the culprit, but I think almost any crazy ruling is possible nowadays. These are the insane times we're in. If you doubt that, imagine an inexperienced incompetent unscrutinized socialist getting elected by a majority for president. Then imagine that same guy declaring war against corporations and pulling down the DOW to 6500 while STILL escaping media criticism and polling in the 60s.
Yeah, these are crazy times.
Expect government-mandated crap like radon only to increase.
Imagine unemployment skyrocketing to 10+%, almost overnight.
Imagine the dow losing a whopping 22% of it's value, in a just a single day.
Imagine it taking years of targeted deficit spending/ interest rate manipulation to turn it around.
All this and more happened when we elected a former movie star to the office of the President.
It's always been " crazy times". We tend to forget.
My state requires both the buyer and seller execute a radon disclosure, regardless of the ivolvement of a real estate brokerage, or not.
The state disclosure strongly recommends that ALL have an indoor radon test performed prior to the purchase and mitigated ( by a qualified and licenced radon mitigator) if elevated levels are found.
The buyer is not bound to any contract if the seller refuses to complete the disclosure.
My state compels the homeowner to disclose knowledge of radon or test results.
My state allows any seller to not agree to a radon test.
It is likely that a prospective buyer would either assume radon was present and adust their offer accordingly or take a pass, and find another home.
My point in case. So then the RE market should not have allowed the "atmosphere" that if there were problems, it would be the seller responsibility to fix. I GUARENTEE, if this became a buyer condition in the contract, radon testing would cease to exist. As for as the state mandating disclosure? The only "disclosure" stated (from the seller) is that their has either been a test or their hasn't. Until these last "less than 5 years", no one ever heard of a radon test in a home selling/buying transaction. When it did come into existance, it automatically became the "sellers" responsibility to take on, where the expensive mitigation is concerned. So threatening to back out on a deal/contract to buy, becasue a seller refuses to mitigate, is NOT RIGHT!
As mentioned, if they are worried about getting cancer, mitigate it themselves after they close the deal. It SHOULD NEVER have been yet ANOTHER contingency to add on to a home buying agreement. There is already enough of them. Home inspections, approved financing, contingent on selling their existing home, all of these got blown way out of proportion! Home inspections used to be for the benefit of the buyer to make sure their was nothing wrong with a home, structurally speaking. Now, buyers demand new windows ((just because they are older(more than 15yrs.), not because they are broken, not funtioning, etc.)), credits for a scratch or 2 in walls, hard wood floors that may need refinishing, bathroom vents that need replacing, and even a dent in appliances, even though they are functioning PERFECTLY fine. Home inspections were supposed to list these types of things to say, they may need replacing soon, or may require maitenance, but always suggesting that unless if was compromising the working condition of something, the buyer had disclosure of possible "future expenses" that MIGHT be needed. Now, any little nit-picky thing all of the sudden becomes a wild card for the buyer to back out of the deal unless the seller pays for all of these things to be done or gives a credit at closing! It is ridiculous that the RE and the professionals in it, comply and run scared over all of this. Same goes with RADON! It should have been established, from the get go.
So this is nothing more than a lousy excuse to blame this on the state where disclosure is concerned. RE agents exaserbated this when they allowed it to be a "contingency" in a contract to buy!
RE agents exaserbated this when they allowed it to be a "contingency" in a contract to buy!
It became Illinois state law in Januray, 2008 and governs all real estate contracts, regardless if an agent is used or not. I have no knowledge of real estate agents lobbying in Springfield, for this legislation. In fact, I have no knowledge of real estate agents lobbying for any contractual contingencies.
It became Illinois state law in Januray, 2008 and governs all real estate contracts, regardless if an agent is used or not. I have no knowledge of real estate agents lobbying in Springfield, for this legislation. In fact, I have no knowledge of real estate agents lobbying for any contractual contingencies.
It's the consequence of our litigious culture.
You misunderstood my point. I know no RE agent is lobbying, that's ridiculous. My point is that disclosure or not, if the RE industry would have met this head on with the "buyer being responsible" then this would not be an issue and radon testing and mitigating would not have gone too far. In other words, it is, almost always, in a RE contract, that the sale of a home is "contingent" on mitigation being done or an agreed amount of $$$ as credit, or it is free pass for the buyer to walk away from the contract to buy, taking their earnest $ with them. I know you are aware of what I speak. It's a "deal breaker" at it's best! Sellers that refuse to mitigate take a HUGE chance of a buyer walking! It should NEVER have been set up to have this be a "bargaining tool" in purchasing a home, never mind a "way out" if the seller doesn't choose to mitigate. It's is the buyers right to test, so it should have been their right to fix as well. No one is going to have a test done if it's going to cost them more money in the long run to "fix that test that fails". I hope you see my point. As I said, Radon is a "new blood" in the many wounds of RE. Actually, home inspections should be re-written as well. It should go back to an inspection that makes sure a home is structurally sound, and not a bargaining tool on thousands of dollars worth of "cosmetics" the potential buyer doesn't like.
Imagine unemployment skyrocketing to 10+%, almost overnight.
Imagine the dow losing a whopping 22% of it's value, in a just a single day.
Imagine it taking years of targeted deficit spending/ interest rate manipulation to turn it around.
All this and more happened when we elected a former movie star to the office of the President.
It's always been " crazy times". We tend to forget.
The former movie star rescued the country from double-digit interest rates and recession, lowered tax rates dramatically and ended the Soviet threat. The guy we have now doesn't know his a$$ from first base.
The former movie star rescued the country from double-digit interest rates and recession, lowered tax rates dramatically and ended the Soviet threat. The guy we have now doesn't know his a$$ from first base.
The rest of the story is that Reagan more than tripled the national debt, increasing it from $0.7 trillion to $3 trillion. Any idiot can escape a recession by borrowing, if someone will loan the money. Reagan left the nation far worse than he found it. Not one dime of the money he borrowed has been paid back. We still owe every cent and are still paying interest on that money. The guy we have now understands the danger of the national debt, which is why he's raising taxes and cutting programs. Maybe Obama can do something about the radon. He's spending $$$ to determine which medical procedures have the most value (and which are mostly unnecessary); that's along the same lines.
why i bet there is nothing obama cant cure........ except when all the smoke and mirrors of these rediculios ineffective stimulas packages do nothing to reverse the tide of a de-leveraging business cycle we will have some new cures.....
"Until these last "less than 5 years", no one ever heard of a radon test in a home selling/buying transaction."
I have been doing radon inspections along with home inspections since the early 90's (been inspecting since 1989). In PA and CO I know they (radon testing) have been going on much longer.
As far as home inspections go. The home inspector professional organizations such as ASHI and NAHI, as well as the States that license home inspectors, have Standards of Practice that dictate exactly what home inspections are and what inspectors MUST inspect AND report on.
In a nutshell, here's what they say. The inspector SHALL inspect "the readily accessible systems and components listed in the SOP, and the installed systems and components listed in the SOP", AND REPORT, "on those systems and components inspected which in the professional opinion of the inspector are significantly deficient or are near the end of their service lives, the reason why it is significantly deficient or near the end of it's service life".
So we are there to call out stuff that broken, or near the end of it's life. What our clients do with that information is something we have no control over.
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just to clarify
