Most real estate contract have inspection contingencies to protect the buyer. A buyer has to decide which inspectors he/she wants to hire. Most people just hire a general inspector to run through the home or condo and give it a thorough inspection. If there are signs of a problem the general inspector will recommend hiring a specialist. For example, if there are signs of a roof leak the general inspector will recommend you hire a roofing contractor to come over and give an inspect the roof. Some buyers send a whole team out to inspect. I have had buyers bring out a roofer, pool contractor, general inspector, plumber, mold specialist and electrician for inspections. He spent a fortune to do it but at least he had a good idea of what was wrong with the home. You can do this but it generally costs quite a bit of money. Some may think it is over kill. I do not what it cost him to have all of the inspectors come out to the house but I am pretty sure it was in excess of a $1,000. If you do not feel like spending that much then just hire a general inspector and if they show any problems you can always hire a specialist to come in and inspect it as well.
Do You Need a Mold Inspection?
Many buyers and real estate agents overlook mold inspections. This is Florida, we have mold. It is a fact. However, you have to be careful of toxic or too much mold. Visit www.eblackmoldremoval.com for an explanation of nlack mold and what it can do to you. It is very harmful and could cause serious health problems. Symptoms include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Coughing
- Itchy or red eyes
- Headache
- Rashes or hives on skin
- Prolonged exposure to mold can lead to infertility
- Nausea
- Memory loss
- Bleeding in lungs
- Lethargy
- Dizziness
- Lack in concentration
- Vertigo
- Asthma
- Allergic reactions (such as itching of nose, runny nose etc.) of respiratory and/or nervous system etc
- Irregularity in blood pressure
- Damaged digestion and respiratory system
- Infections of urinary track, problems in urination etc.
- Pain in liver or other internal organs
A mold inspection is going to run your about $250. A general home inspector can usually handle it for you. What they do is take air samples outside of the home and compare to air samples within the home. The air outside of the home should have hire levels of mold than inside the home. If there are higher levels inside then further investigation is needed.
Recently, I have had two transactions where the home had mold and needed remediation. One of these properties was a beachfront condo on Longboat Key. The previous owners had not used it for 18 months and they had the hurricane shutters down and the were not running the air conditioner like they should have been. Subsequently, mold grew in the condo because it likes dark, humid locations. It was not toxic mold but it was everywhere. It was hard to see form the naked eye but if you shined a flashlight on various places within the condo you could spot it. It was on the stove, microwave, books, furniture, artwork, clothes etc. It required a complete cleaning which took about a week. The entire process costs roughly $6,000. Fortunately, my buyer decided to spend the $250 and get a mold inspection. She would have been stuck with that expense had she not done the mold test prior to the closing. The seller ended up paying for the mold remediation.
Another transaction I just had involved mold. You would not have known it or suspected it with this home. It was extremely clean and very bright with plenty of light (mold does not like light). There was a slight leak through some french doors. The leak had been fixed. However, there was some water intrusion into the office. Eventually, the moisture created a small amount of mold in the carpet tack strips. This was easily fixed and did not cost much. The seller ended up having to pay for the repair which was roughly $500. Again, it was a good thing that the buyers decided to get the mold inspection.
If you suspect mold then you should definitely test for it. If you are buying a home that has been closed up with little or no air conditioning for a long time then there is a strong chance for mold. A lot of vacant foreclosures have this problem. People generally are not living in the property and the air conditioning is not running. This promotes mold growth. Getting a mold test is worth the expense.
