Mold Mitigation & Remediation is a potentially dangerous deal for both the buyer's and seller's agents in our lititigious world today. But, when Servpros and most certified mitigation / remediation pros are on the case, the lawyers usually walk away!
Excessive amounts of mold and certain types of mold may present health concerns. In some cases, we have seen plaintiffs go after sellers of properties, TWO or THREE sales back, and name their agents based on "discovery." They have accused the sellers and/or their brokers of not doing due deligence for mold or related health problems, prior to a home or business sale.
Well, hey, we bury the attorneys in paperwork about drying measurements, relative humidity readings, maps and measurements room-by-room, filling boxes of paperwork -- although we try to be paperless in our Servpro. In cases that we've heard in training for mold and water remediation, Servpro's water pros tell us that the plaintiffs' attorneys are walking away when they see our company name on mold mitigation paperwork. That's after a home or business owner, or their realtor, calls in one of the 1,600 independent ownerships like ours near Bronxville, NY.
Water damages of even one or two years ago can cause mold growth in a home or business, so it's important to have water damages cleaned promptly and professionally. Or, in the case of an empty home, one that a "snowbird" couple have decided to sell at last -- but, it was closed and locked up-- or, a bank owned home that's been empty and sealed up for a year or two, and there may be evidence of mold. Many empty or abandoned homes had ice dam related leaks last winter, or flooded during our amazing rainstorms this spring and summer. An ambassador's residence that we're helping with had floor to ceiling rainbow colored mold of different types throughout the 12,000 square foot Scarsdale property, including a priceless Steinway piano that we're trying to save.
Signs of the presence of excessive mold include:
- The presence of visible mold that could be black, green or a rainbow of colors.
- Strong, musty odors.
- Any evidence of past moisture problems that might have caused undetected mold growth.
- Excessive humidity.
NOTE: No one is a mold expert, except the folks in white jackets, in a lab, with those testing petri dishes that prove it's mold. So, don't identify or point out mold because it could "make you liable" and even we don't know or tell clients it IS mold, unless a Home Environmentalist has printed lab reports they hand us / their client. We never say it's mold unless we have that lab report and neither should you...it's not necessary.
You may want to suggest that your seller call a qualified remediation company and just get the mold removed before a sale. Make sure the company they call is certified. For example, Forrest and I are trained and certified with the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). It's a non-profit that began in New York state and is now international, setting standards and ethics for structural drying -- including addressing humidity and other water concerns that contribute to mold growth. Your sellers may be wise to deal with the problem directly and not open themselves to problems and legal concerns later on. Offering an "credit at closing" to a buyer who just wrote a big check for a property and may not remdiate the mold, but doesn't, could come back to haunt the seller and their agent later, according to remediation companies like ours that have been brought in to court a year or so after such sales. That's because the buyer's child developed asthma, or the buyer may have been immune suppressed or a cancer survivor and had health problems that theymay be able to blame on a moldy basement, after living in their newly bought home for even months or years. For agents bringing in clients to purchase a home, it's "buyers beware."
If you think you or a client might have a mold problem, call a company like ours to do a complimentary walk through with our humidity and other investigative equipment. In most water damage situations, mold growth is not a problem in a home or business, if it's dried and taken care of quickly. For visible problems that are in a small area (approximately) 4 feet or less, we recommend total removal. Of course our guys are well-trained, background checked and uniformed with gear like Tivek suits, gloves and masks to remove unhealthy mold. Don't rub or touch it, as you could release mold spores into the air and inhale them.
If months or years have passed since a water damage, like the flooding storms in March 2010, or this June, and there is "the visible appearance of mold," as we say, then we may suggest you call in a Home Environmentalist, like Jim Rood at Lighthouse in Westchester County. The need to address the presence of mold can only be determined by an on-site, indoor environmental inspection. We do not subcontract these specialists because Forrest and I believe it is a conflict of interest. Jim and others can test, send samples to professional labs and come back to your client (the home or biz owner) and give them (and us) a "menu" to remediate the mold. We may have to rip out a wall, sandblast the mold, use dry ice and other measures to remove the mold and then spray a fungacide -- that's because mold is a "fungus among us" and a sporicidin kills it.
As I've mentioned in other blogs, bleach will not work, sorry. A recent rainmaker blog had great pictures of basement walls that looked like they'd been washed with bleach. Guess what? There was still the "appearance of mold growth" but the walls looked lighter; it may have smelled better in the seller's basement...for a week or so. Our mamas and grandmas had okay luck with bleach in cleaning bathrooms because they are usually always a bit humid, but are cleaned regularly and mold spores don't have time to really get going and grow.
Anyway, don't try to remove or clean mold in a basement or attic...and even a whole home...yourself. It's unhealthy, dangerous and can make humans ill, plus you can send spores into your duct and home system. It's not worth compromising a building's indoor air quality, especially if your client is trying to sell an otherwise lovely home. Companies like ours can restore the initial water damage to preloss condition, safely and quickly and we limit the demolition so your clients and insurance companies love it.
Get someone in to check on a situation if you detect that "mildew smell" and see dark or colored stains on lower level or attic walls. We've seen growth take over 2nd and even 3rd levels of homes and one 12,000 square foot ambassador's residence that was closed for two or more years. Remediation and mold mitigators like us are experienced at carrying out an assigned plan and working with home environmentalists, to make it "Like it Never Even Happened."
Get your seller or buyer to take care of ANY mold concerns, with us or a qualified and certified mold mitigation company BEFORE you go to closing, so the buyers don't end up with a "sick house," and name you and everyone in paperwork that "suggests" you come to court. That's our word to the wise among our great ActiveRain community! Any lawyer Rainmakers who want to weigh in on this one?
Have a great "cooler" summer everyone...we can only hope, as the humidity is keeping us busy with moldy properties.
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