Evidence Of Mold In Hud Foreclosure
I am looking at a couple of HUD homes that have "Evidence of Mold" signs posted on the properties. My question is, how serious of a problem is this? I have seen the specials on Dateline where the houses have had to be torn down. Is this usually the same kind of mold problem? Otherwise, if it's not "Black Mold" can the problem be corrected very easily?
Thanks!
Dear Iowarei,
My wife and I went through this with our own home recently. The home was built in '62 and we have owned it for 6 years. We had a couple of small leaks in the roof, but after replacing the roof, the moldy smell still existed. We found a crack in the tile tub-surround which had been leaking for years, the mold had eaten thru the subfloor and partway through the beams. Fixed this, killed off the mold, still had a problem. Our HVAC contractor did not replace the old metal ductwork with insulated ductwork when we had central air installed. This created condensation in the crawl space, and thus mold. Replaced all this, and things got better but not all gone. Recently I was fixing the rear walkway, to get rid of standing water. I found the faucet for the rear hose leaked. That combined with the drip pipe from the AC unit always had a puddle. Added drainage, replaced the faucet and now, finally it is better.
This took a long time to find ALL the possible issues and fix them before it went away. We had an air quality tester come, we did all kinds of things.
My point is...... You never know how much effort or time will be involved in fixing the problem. If the moisture and mold has gotten into the structure, you may never get rid of the smell short of replacement of all exposed wood. If there is a lot of water and it has been leaking for a long time, the soil could be wet, once you find and fix the problem, the foundation could crack as the house settles again as the soil dries out.
I don't want to scare you. I know people that have tackeled this and won, I also know people where this has dragged on for a long time, with major $$ going for fixes.
If you are confidant that the problem is a roof or something "simple" and the damage is recent it might be worth it. Stay away from properties with longtime damage.
I consider this a rehab specialty, just like fire damage and would not invest in a property with mold problems, it is a real wildcard and there are so many other deals out there.
All said and done, consider carefully. Don't just look at the upside. If things go wrong can you cover it?
I would suggest passing and going for smaller rehab projects before even attempting something like that.
My 2cents.
-Rick
I wouldn't take this so lightly. Mold is the new 'lead based paint' scare. I personally don't think it's as serious as people say, but HUD, (If my source is right) considers mold a serious health risk. In some instances, they have required that all the sheetrock in an entire structure be removed and replaced. Like you said, I've only heard about 'black' mold being bad. It's something I plan to look into more and I would suggest you do the same. Call HUD. I'm sure they will either tell you how severe they consider mold, or they probably have an expensive, glossy tri-fold pamphlet that will tell you all about it. (At least their opinion.)
I am a contractor and have dealt with this many times. I would look at this as a great opportunity to walk away with the property cheaply. Mold is generally easy to deal with as are the smells if you do the right things.
Get an honest contractor to have a look at it and give you his opinion. I m sure however tha HUD has already done an extensive inspection and will be able to point out the specific locations of the mold.
First, if there is visible mold deal with it (remove the sheetrock in that area and replace it) generally you can check out the other areas of the house that might have dampp/damage. If you can't find it then no-one else will either and you will not be hiding anything.
For the smell, an ionizer like the ones sold on this website or rented at an agency will kill just about any odor and any odor causing microorganisms.
( many damp problems can be cured with proper venting which is not only cheap but easy to install
If you have any specific questions feel free to e-mail me.
[addsig]
Thanks for the replies! This is all excellent information and very helpful. I think I will find out the extent of the damage from HUD and ask for your opinions later in the week. Thanks again.
Mold is the new pariah. You have to disclose knowledge of it's existence on your seller's disclosure and everyone is afraid of it in terms of resale effect. Lender's won't go near it until it has been definitively corrected, and the costs are unknown. IMHO Avoid properties with this issue like the plague!
Whether mold is easy to fix or not is really not the issue here. As the previous posts said, mold is a big scare and people run from it like the plague.
Whether or not you successfully fix the mold problem, you have to disclose that the property has had a mold problem in the past. This alone could cost you a buyer.
You need to expect to have to sell at a discount to get buyers interested. That said, I wouldn't attempt an offer (especially with HUD) unless the price was already at a steep discount.
Roger