FAQ: When is the best time for getting a mold test?

FAQ: When is the best time for getting a mold test?

One of the most-est scari-est (as my nephew would say) things to worry about is getting a mold test.  

Actually it is getting anything that is mold related.  

There are several thoughts floating around.  It is most important when you are a seller either ready to put your house on the market, or even worse, you are on the market and you have a buyer's inspection report and the inspector came up with a negative report on mold.  

So the question is "When is the best time for getting a mold test?"

So I ask one of my vendors who provides an EPA friendly bio-sterilization process to remove mold, smoke and odor from a home to tell me what he thinks is the best solution.  

(By the way, I was skeptical at first when a colleague recommended him.  I represented a buyer whose wife was HIGHLY allergic to cats. She couldn't even sit on a couch where a cat had been and she would puff up.  Of course, they picked a house with three cats.  I negotiated seller to treat the home after closing before buyers move in.  No problems at all for her.  NO reaction.  Simply amazing.Happy client, with a guarantee, I got paid. Yay! www.cleaneair.com Vaughan Pederson 832-276-6000 service@cleaneair.com)

Here's a summary of his reply ... 

So when is the best time for getting a mold test?

a) Whenever you sell your home
b) Before you buy a home
c) If you think you may have a mold problem
d) Never

Actually if you answered “d) Never” you would have chosen the best answer listed. 

Here is why.

Texas law requires full disclosure of mold test findings. If you have a mold test done, the results must be disclosed.

What if the lab gets it wrong?  That’s right, it doesn’t matter ~ if the lab gets a false positive, it is disclosed simply as a “positive”.  If that seems unfair, it is. 

But you still get stuck with a report that may make it difficult to sell the home, get a mortgage, and insurance.  What if you get a “real” positive result on a mold test?  It must be disclosed.  Then what?

Well, a mold test costs money.  You get what you pay for. Yes, you can get a test for as little at $395.00, but for that you don’t get much useful info.  Tests can go for $1,295.00 or more for more usable information.  So, let’s say you spend $1,295.00 on a mold test, and you get a “fail” or positive result.  Then, you need to have the surface or airborne mold eliminated (or both), then re-test, for another $1,295.00.  Sounds expensive.  It takes time.  It delays the sale of the home.  All bad news.  So what is the best way to handle the situation?

1)    Know your options.  Other real estate professionals have dealt with the situation before.  Do your research.  Talk to professionals.
2)    Don’t give in to fear.  There is a lot of fear around the “m” word.  Everyone has heard horror stories of  Farmer’s Insurance pulling out of Texas, the “Dripping Springs” mold nightmare, and so on ad nauseum.  All mold is not “toxic mold”.  All mold situations do not require Haz Mat intervention.  Use common sense.
3)    Find the right professional solution.  New technology can eliminate surface and airborne mold in many cases for less than the cost of a mold test!  Yes, why perform the test in the first place, if you can actually treat the home and solve the problem for less than the cost of the initial test?  Many homes are successfully treated for in the neighborhood of $500 to $900 dollars, and it can be done literally overnight in 10 to 12 hours.

So the correct answer is actually d) don’t test, when you can treat for less money and no delay. 

Don’t needlessly delay the deal.  Don’t spend money if it is not absolutely necessary. Apply the right solution for the health of the occupant, and successful and timely resolution for all parties.