Tell inspector about mold or stay quiet?
Testing inspector's competency could backfire on buyers
By Barry Stone, Tuesday, June 17, 2008.Dear Barry,
We're about to buy a six-year-old home that originally had a mold problem. Fortunately, the builder removed all of the affected materials from the building. If we buy this home, are we required to disclose the initial mold issue to our home inspector, or should we wait to see if he notices any evidence of mold? --Jack
Dear Jack,
What possible advantage could there be in withholding information that would assist your home inspector in evaluating the property you are buying? The inspector is your hired consultant, there for your exclusive benefit and to provide you with essential decision-making data. Any information or other assistance you can provide toward full evaluation of the property is to your advantage. If the property has a history of mold, let your inspector know about it. That way, pertinent moisture conditions and related defects can be carefully considered and evaluated during the inspection.
Testing your inspector, rather than lending your trust and assistance, can have costly consequences. Here's a true story that illustrates the point: The buyers of a home had been told the property was located within a flood plain, but they never mentioned this to their home inspector. The inspector observed no evidence of potential flooding and therefore made no disclosure of it in his report. The buyers therefore dismissed the issue of possible flooding and proceeded with the purchase. After the close of escrow, the first heavy rains caused ground water to flood the interior of their home. They blamed the home inspector for this "surprise" and filed a lawsuit for nondisclosure, even though they had withheld prior knowledge of flood potential on the day of the inspection.
If you alert your home inspector to the history of mold infection, then potential moisture sources such as plumbing leaks, roof leaks and ground drainage problems can be given particular attention during the inspection. By withholding that disclosure, there is greater likelihood that a significant issue could be missed.
Be aware also that home inspectors do not make determinations regarding the presence of mold. Since the property has a mold history, you would be prudent to hire a mold expert to affirm that there is no residual mold infection in the building.
Dear Barry,
We're thinking about adding a room to our house, and we've already done some remodeling. Is there any way to find out the current value of our house and the added value if we were to proceed with the addition? We are not looking to sell any time soon, but knowing the added value of an extra room would help us to make this decision. --Sheri
Dear Sheri,
The best way to determine market value is to hire an accredited real estate appraiser. A qualified appraiser can provide a comparison of current value with the projected value after the remodeling work and the addition are completed, based on comparisons with similar properties in the area. A less expensive approach would be to contact a real estate broker for a market analysis of your home. However, since you don't plan to sell your home, that could be an unfair waste of the broker's time. If you call a broker, be sure to disclose that you are not planning to sell.
To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the Web at www.housedetective.com.
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Submitted by Ralph M on June 17, 2008 - 7:27am.
"A less expensive approach would be to contact a real estate broker for a market analysis of your home. However, since you don't plan to sell your home, that could be an unfair waste of the broker's time. If you call a broker, be sure to disclose that you are not planning to sell."
Thanx Berry, for insinuating that the person should NOT compensate the real estate broker for their time and effort. Your a heck of a guy and a great person for all real estate professionals.
Keep up the good work
Submitted by Wenceslao Fernandez Jr on June 17, 2008 - 10:01am.
As I understand it, mold inspections can be very easily missed if the inspector does not come prepared to take samples which would be professionally evaluated at a lab for presence of mold and type.
If it is something hidden, there is no way the inspector would notice it in a cursory inspection since, as I understand it, they are not required to dismantle or dissassemble anything in order to do their work. Something building up behind walls would not be caught without the proper testing. Disclosure in this case would definitely be your best approach.
So, not only should you consult with an inspector, but make sure you hire someone licensed to also perform mold inspections since in most states, this requires additional licensing.
The person looking to do the addition may also consult with remodeling professionals who may have information on what different work costs may be recovered and what value if any, do they add to the property.
Remember though, if you have no intention of selling, but this is something that will make your life happier, DO IT. Enjoy it while you are there and recover its cost in the appreciation accumulated over the years.
Keep all your records of costs spent in the project since you will be able to add these costs to your base for tax purposes should the need arise after the sale. Consult with your tax professional for more information about this or the IRS.
www.MiamiRealEstateKing.com
Certified Distressed Property Expert
Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Submitted by Nick Ostrowski on June 17, 2008 - 1:55pm.
As a buyer, there is nothing to be gained by willfully withholding information about a past issue in a house from your home inspector. While I do not put much stock in the credibility of most disclosure statements I see for houses I inspect (most forms are filled out incompletely, haphazardly, or with erroneous information), I like to ask all my clients before the inspection if they have any concerns about the condition of the home. Some clients have no concerns, some have a long list of items they want me to check. This is the time to speak up.
What the buyer needs to realize is that if the house had a disclosed mold issue is the past, there is a reason for that mold issue and the root cause of the mold is moisture. Has the moisture issue been corrected and what was the nature of the moisture issue? Was it basement water penetration, a plumbing leak that had gone on unchecked for a prolonged period of time, high humidity levels in the house, etc.? Just because the mold may appear gone to the naked eye doesn't mean that the situation has been resolved.
Making the home inspector aware of the past mold issue up front only makes sense for a buyer to do. I can't imagine any set of circumstances where it would be to a buyer's advantage to purposefully keep their home inspector in the dark. If I were to complete a home inspection for a client and he/she mentioned at the end of the inspection or in the days following the inspection that "Oh by the way, this house had a past mold issue. Did you see anything like that during the inspection?", I would at the very least be mildly annoyed and at worst, question the buyer's motives for purposely withholding the information.