There's Mold In The Attic!
So, everything is going great during your home inspection. No signs of water leaks in the basement. Newer windows. Drains all drain good, etc. Then the unthinkable happens.
There's Mold In The Attic! And not just a little bit. In fact, the home inspector says that in almost 6,000 home inspections, this is the worst case of mold and moisture in the attic that he's ever seen!
Now what? There are a few options...
- Cancel the purchase based on an unsatisfactory private inspection.
- Have the homeowners take care of the mold problem and move on with the purchase.
- Lower your offer to compensate the costs of taking care of the problem yourself.
- Hire a licensed and insured mold remediation professional to come out and survey the situation, tell you exactly what needs to be done and what it'll cost.
One of the problems we have is that this is a Short Sale. And with a Short Sale, the homeowners aren't going to make any money on the sale of their house. No money from the sale means that they won't spend any money to have the mold taken care of. And because it's a Short Sale, the bank isn't going to pay for it either. So, we're on our own.
Most buyers would cancel the sale on the spot. My buyers possibly still want to move forward with the purchase.
They've decided to have a mold remediation professional come out and inspect the attic. Depending on what his advice is, they'll want to lower their offer for the home to cover any mold removal costs AND any possible mold problems in the future.
It will obviously still be up to the bank to accept of decline the buyers offer, but we're doing our due dilligence and we'll see what happens after the mold inspection.
Please, please, please, hire a licensed and insured home inspector! If you don't know one, ask your real estate agent to reccommend a couple of good ones to you. Preferrable inspectors that they've worked with successfully in the past.
If you need the name of a home inspector in South East Michigan, call or email me.
Eric...
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