What Real Estate Brokers and Financiers Need to Know About Mold Inspections & Testing.

Sellers that order their own mold inspection & testing are more likely to make more on the sale of their property than if they leave it to the potential buyer to have done.

• We’re all familiar with the old saying that “knowledge is power.” If the seller knows what is going on with their property they have the ability to retain more power in negotiations.

• If the seller decides to be proactive with this knowledge they can maintain control over the cost of fixing any problems found and turn it into equity.

• If a buyer finds a problem, it can put the seller in a situation where they are under duress to get it fixed without the time to find the right contractors – leaving them more vulnerable to spending more money than they really need to or being outright scammed.
  
  

If your client is the buyer: You should recommend that they have a mold inspection & testing done by a certified, independent environmental testing firm.

• Because of the potential health risks and the certainty of property damage associated with indoor mold growth – it’s just a matter of common sense.

• The small investment in detecting & measuring any potential problems is well worth the thousands of dollars that can be saved by finding the problems early enough and the information required to properly assess repair estimates and choose the right contractors for the job.

• Because of the potential health risks and the certainty of property damage associated with indoor mold growth – it’s just a matter of common sense. (No… repeating this isn’t a typo.)
  
  

Because, more often than not, mold problems are hidden and require special equipment & testing to detect and measure: Most home inspectors “don’t do mold” because it’s not within the proper scope of their job.

• A mold inspection & testing is a specialized profession that should work in concert with a home inspection. A certified, independent mold inspection & testing should always be a routine part of any real estate transaction.

• There are still a few home inspectors out there who will “poo poo” the need for a mold inspection or tell you, “That whole mold thing is a scam.” If your home inspector tells you that: Ask him to put that in writing in his report and see what happens! Again, this applies to only the few. Most home inspectors understand the scope of their job and have enough knowledge about the potential problems associated with indoor mold growth to recommend a mold inspection be performed.

• Good home inspectors & mold inspectors will work together to ensure their clients receive all the facts they need to make the right decisions at the right time.
  
  

Remember: “Independent & Certified.”

• Due to the fact that mold is everywhere in our environment and it varies by region, weather conditions, etc. and that different people react to mold differently: There is no possible way that a set standard for “acceptable mold levels” can correctly be made. An Indoor Air Quality Professional certified by recognized organizations and trained in the most current and best industry standards understands the proper scope and limitations of mold growth issues.
  
  
• Due to potential conflict of interests: An environmental testing firm that is not also engaged in or “in cahoots” with a business of fixing the problems they find is essential. Why expose yourself or your clients to the possibility of getting scammed?
  
  
• A “free mold inspection” will end up costing you more in the end by charging you more for the samples to cover their cost of inspecting and/or finding problems that don’t really exist and/or exaggerating problems that do exist to make more profit on the remediation contract.

• Of course, we’d all like to believe that everybody is honest and trustworthy, but not everybody is. Again, it’s just common sense.

• Find out more about Mold Scams here.
  
  

AMI Environment Testing Northwest, Inc. is the independent, certified IAQ industry leader serving Oregon & Washington. Call us at 503.383.9457 first if you want to save time, money and ensure the job is done right, or call us last if you really want to find out the difference between us and the rest!

Mold in Foreclosed, Vacant Properties

As the number of vacant bank-owned properties rises, the link between foreclosure and mold keeps growing. The recent downturn in real estate has led to a growing number of vacant or abandoned homes owned by the mortgage holders that have serious mold problems.

Mold infestation in vacant properties is a serious problem throughout the country. Water, sewage, flooding and leaking problems go untreated when the homeowner is not there to notice and fix them. Even without the event of a major water intrusion many vacant houses—especially in areas with high humidity—can develop mold problems due to factors such as poor ventilation, lack of regular housecleaning, etc.

It also stands to reason that even if the previous owner knew they had a problem that they, more than likely, did not get it inspected or fixed properly while they were in the foreclosure process or planning to abandon the property.

Mold problems or even the suspicion of one can potentially scare away buyers! Most people just are not educated about mold. Chances are, though, that they’ve seen a news story on the television or read an article about “toxic mold” or “black mold” and that’s the extent of their knowledge of the subject. Whether the stories they’ve heard are exaggerated or not, the end result is the same – they’d rather just not bother going through the process of buying a house that has, or may have, a mold problem.

Even if a buyer isn’t scared away a mold problem or potential mold problem can drive the price of a property. Because mold growth not detected and repaired early enough can quickly add up to thousands of dollars of damage to take care of you can be sure that it will be a major factor in the price negotiations.

If history is any indication we will likely see more lawsuits brought by buyers that have purchased bank-owned properties and found a mold issue. Frivolous or not, lawsuits cost a lot of time and money for all involved to come to a settlement – a lot of time and money that might not have to be wasted if there are documented actions that can show due diligence to detect and remedy any mold problems by hiring professionals certified in the mold industry.

These are a few good reasons why it is important to have a mold inspection done by an independent, certified mold inspector first to find out whether there is a problem and what the scope of the problem is.

1. Ordering a mold inspection by an independent, certified mold inspection & testing service helps ensure that there is no conflict of interest presented by an inspection service that is also in the business of fixing the problems it can find.

2. For all parties involved in a real estate transaction, knowing the “what, where and why” of a mold problem can save headaches and money over the long run. Get the full picture in a timely manner, preferably before any price negotiations so that you can enter negotiations with the information you need.

3. By acting and showing “due diligence”, you can help avoid any future legal issues surrounding mold issues.

AMI Environmental Testing Northwest, Inc. is an independent Indoor Air Quality service that has nearly a decade of experience and customer satisfaction to bring to your service. Call us today at (503) 383-9457 and we’ll be glad to speak with you about how we can help you.

A Mold Inspection Might Actually Save A Real Estate Deal

Recently a client was referred by her real estate agent and called me to do a mold inspection on a property that she was considering making an offer on. She reported that while she and her investment partner were touring the property they noticed an "overwhelming moldy odor" throughout the house. They wanted an inspection & testing done prior to making an offer so they could take the findings into consideration for the offer or--if it turned out really bad--decide not even to make an offer in the first place.

There were several "red flag conditions" I found that prompted me to recommend air samples. As suspected - the lab results came back confirming an indoor spore count over 10 times higher than the control sample taken outdoors at the same time. I wrote up and sent my inspection report and the lab results to my client along with my recommendations of the proper types of contractors to consult for further investigation. After sending the report I offered my standard post-report consultation with the client.

Now, there are several reasons I always offer and hope to do a post-report consultation with my clients. Among them is the fact that there are a lot of myths out there concerning mold, and elevated spore counts represented in raw data may appear terrifying without a client being able to ask questions and get answers about the data. In this particular case: The client was "scared off" from making an offer on the property without a second thought or further investigation... initially.

However, during our post-report consultation on the phone I was able to answer several of her questions. I went over the fact that the conditions I had found during the inspection were typical in a home of that age and location and that she needed to contact the proper contractors to provide estimates for repairing the issues and that all of them were repairable. The only consideration that she and her investment partners had to take into consideration was what they were willing and able to do in the way of remodeling the home. The final decision, of course, was up to them to decide what to offer and if their budget and time would allow for the repairs estimated by the contractors.

It happened that, based on the initial mold inspection report along with the recommendations of the proper contractors, they decided to make an offer on the property after all. My client told me that this was all due to the "education" she received from AMI Northwest and the other contractors she talked to after my report. She added that, "nobody has ever taken the time to talk to me like you did in all my other property deals. It's great to understand things about mold that you don't hear in all the hype about it!"

So, why am I telling you about all this? Because I routinely run into sellers and real estate agents that believe any mold inspection will "kill the deal." That's not true. As we like to say: "Mold inspections don't kill deals; mold inspectors do!" So the trick is to find the right mold inspector. How can you tell whether you've found the right mold inspector? Well, there are no guarantees, but look for these qualifications to help:

1. -Independent: To remove the potential bias of findings, make sure your mold inspection service isn't also in the business of mold remediation or "in bed" with any mold remediation companies.

2. Certified: Make sure your mold inspector is certified by associations recognized by the IAQ industry and are trained to follow industry standards for inspection and sampling.

Obviously, this is not an exhausted list of qualifications since it would overreach the purpose of a blog. Here is a more complete list of "Mold Scams" and how to avoid them.