Three Tips When Buying a Foreclosed Home With Mold

Sadly foreclosed homes are becoming a reality more and more each day. We see homes on TV and hear about families being forced out. I even heard a story where the family had to find new homes for their pets. The flip side of this very sad situation is opportunities for new homeowners and investors to find very inexpensive properties. Here are three tips on buying homes with mold

Mold Testing in Foreclosed Homes

When the prospective home buyers search for a foreclosed home, chances are they find what appears to be mold. Now you noticed I mentioned the words "what appears to be mold." Just because something looks like mold, may not actually be mold. It is always wise to have what appears to be mold tested. Not by a mold removal company , but by an independent third party , who has training and certification in training. The reason is simple. You don't hire the fox to watch the hen house. You don't have the mold removal company test themselves to see how they did ( doesn't that sound silly ). Now you don't as a rule really need mold testing in foreclosed homes to know what kinds of mold you have. Customers ask me all the time what type of mold is the bad mold. Although there are definitely molds that are more harmful, the general concept is that any type of mold in great quantity can be a health issue. What you should concern yourself, is the amount of mold and mold spore counts. Quality mold testing companies, will test to see if the foreclosed home you are buying has mold counts that are not normal for the area you are in. If they find the mold count is above normal, you should request a protocol or a list of suggestions and how to have the mold removed and how to get the mold count to a normal level. Again you should have noticed I said normal level. No building or home ( not even hospitals ) are mold free. The other advantage of mold testing ( if done correctly by EPA suggestions ) , will tell you if you really don't need mold removal services. This answer may save you thousands of dollars in mold remediation costs, as well as repair costs.

Mold covered up in foreclosed homes

Future owners of foreclosed homes tend to forget or not think about the fact that most foreclosed homes have been sitting around for months , if not years. Foreclosed homes have been passed around by the banks and by realtors, to try to sell the homes. Each time the house is passed off, there are cosmetic changes made to the home especially to cover the mold growth. There is still a thought process, that if you use a paint blocker called “ Kilz “ or Bulls Eye “, that will cover up the issues and make the mold growth go away. What previous homeowners do not realize about these wonderful products is that they are designed only when the surface that is used is clean. That means the mold has to be removed before these products are used. Imagine that a management company hired buy the bank of the foreclosed home decided to paint over the mold using a stain block product. What the management company doesn’t realize besides that the mold particles are still lose on the surfaces that can penetrate the paint blocking product ( Kilz and Bulls Eye ) is that mold has roots that grow into wood and drywall surfaces. Unless the drywall is removed and the wood surfaces are either sanded or wire brushed, the original mold will grow through the covered up painted surfaces or find another way of finding you when you buy the foreclosed house.

Leaks and water stains cause mold growth in foreclosed homes

Sometimes when examining a foreclosed home, you will see old water stains and old leaks from years past. In many cases these stains and leaks have developed over a period of time due to the fact that the foreclosure was sitting without being inspected for weeks and months. As time goes on, mold will develop in the areas. If you didn’t know there are three items needed to create mold ( darkness is not one of them ). One is moisture, a food source and warmth. You may think that warmth wouldn’t be a factor, but in the summer months, foreclosed homes are not air conditioned. In the winter months it’s only necessary to keep the home warm to prevent pipe bursts. The food source is easy to get in the form of dust, drywall and flooring. Moisture is your biggest concern and with mold spores naturally occurring in every home, a little bit of moisture can create big problems. When you are touring foreclosed homes for that great deal, look for water leaks and water stains and question the possibility of mold growing behind those leaks. If they let you , cut a small piece out of the stain and see if there appears to be mold. When searching for foreclosed homes it is usually a good bet that foreclosed homes will have some type of mold. Be careful not to take anyone’s word that there were no water intrusions in a foreclosed home. Again due to vacancy and months if not years of avoiding correct maintenance, mold most likely will appear in a foreclosed home. Call your local Industrial Hygenient or call us and we can recommend one for you if you are located in our service area. If you have mold, please visit our mold removal page for more information about our services.

SI Restoration mold remediation clean up services are available in the following Maryland areas  : 

Towson 

Pikesville 

Catonsville 

Bel Air 

Baltimore City 

Baltimore County 

Dundalk 

Essex 

Laurel 

Parkton 

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