Real Estate Blog - Conflict Of Interest

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Conflict Of Interest - Mold

So often I am brought in as the 2nd opinion person...

Unfortunately, my industry is still light years away from where it should be with regard to regulations and enforcement of inherent CONFLICT OF INTEREST issues.

Here's the deal... I am a consultant. Just a consultant. My job is to call it like I see it - good or bad, make recommendations to help you solve your problem, document that the problem was fixed correctly, and make sure that everyone is living/working in a healthy and safe environment.

I have people call me all day long who are price shopping and wonder why my rates are so much higher than the fox guarding the hen house guys. You know - the companies who perform consulting AND remediation AND clear their own work guys. Or the duct cleaner, home inspector or carpet cleaner guys who went and got a one day certification and now do mold sampling.

This is why they charge less than me to walk through your door - THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL YOU!!! Like a $20,000 remediation, or a new HVAC system, or an un-necessary carpet cleaning and bad for you ozone treatment.

Everyone wants to save money - I get it. But please understand that by hiring an independent consultant who will have your best interest at heart, YOU WILL SAVE MONEY IN THE LONG RUN AND HAVE THE JOB DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!!

I can't tell you how many of these projects didn't even need mold remediation. Or a bunch of stuff was missed which could have led to future liability/health/structural integrity issues.

My rates are comparable to those in my league. Those who have also spent time getting a meaningful certification, have done thousands of hours worth of research, have attended numerous conferences and training courses...

Buyer beware! You get what you pay for people! It's up to you as to whether you want to wear the 50 cent yard sale sneakers or the $150 leather Italian boots...

Posted by Stacey Champion on 02/05/2008 04:45 AM

Comments (5)

conflict of interest, mold

5 Comments on Conflict Of Interest - Mold

FEB

2008

As home inspector, I protest. It is a TWO day certification. You are right; a customer should be aware that they need the best information, good or bad, and that can come from the person who is best trained. I always tell my clients it is their right to have as many inspections as they want from different consultants. They may wish to do so, if they are worried about something specific. As for inspectors and mold sampling, I have seen practices that I wish would be done better, but there are inspectors who carefully take samples to be sent off to a lab. These inspectors offer a good first step.

As a home inspector, I feel that it is my obligation to my clients to tell them if they have a mold issue. Too many lawsuits out there against inspectors and agents. I give my clients a list of reputable contractors to assess the situation and give a price for remediation. We do take samples upon the buyer's request and send them to a certified lab for analysis. It is how the mold is affecting the indoor air quality and the type which is important.

To take ANY samples without having a hypothesis and sampling strategy is a waste of money...

Are you taking non-viable samples, viable samples, or both? Are you addressing root cause? Are you performing the post-remediation verification sampling and documentation? What is your training to determine how the mold is affecting the indoor air quality? Why would it matter what kind of mold is present - are you referring to only the dreaded "toxic BLACK mold" nonsense? If you are only collecting non-viable samples, do you realize that there are 200 different species of Aspergillus alone - a handful which have the ability to produce mycotoxins?

ALL mold has the potential to be allergenic. Mold should not be growing in buildings period - as it's job is to decompose organic matter and it will eat whatever it is growing on. Black, white, yellow, purple, pink - the color doesn't matter.

What training do you have to analyze those results that you recieve from the lab? If you say a house is "okay" because there were only elevated counts of Cladosporium and a child with asthma moves in, will that child be all right?

Do you have training in other possible sources for indoor air/environmental quality triggers as well?

I am VERY familiar with the 1 and 2 day courses offered to home inspectors by the labs to teach "sampling techniques." Quite frankly, I could probably teach a monkey how to pull an air sample if I had a free day.

Something as important as the health, safety and well-being of people should not be taken lightly.

If you are more than a "one-day wonder" AKA "air sucker" I apologize in advance, but unqualified individuals should NOT be performing this work.

My comment about the two days was meant to be humorous, and I am agreeing with you that it is better to find a professional who will truly help. The majority of inspectors that I know take their profession seriously, and we try to provide the best information possible. I am sure your training skills will let you train a monkey, but an inspector is a more thinking individual than that. At least we recognize that we are a first step, and that qualified, reputable professionals should be called in.

Hey Frank.

I got your humor - it was not lost on me! My comment was more directed to Michael's comment, as in my opinion a good first step would simply be calling an expert as you stated.

Thanks.

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