Should you buy a house with mold in the basement? What if mold is found during a home inspection? Can a house be condemned for mold?

Here is what you should do.

On the surface, buying a property might seem quite easy and direct. However, there’s more to it than you might imagine. A lot of thought and considerations need to go into the process.

Home Inspection Found Mold

There needs to be a thorough evaluation to determine whether it’s a wise decision or a good deal to make the purchase.

A house on sale might have several defects including issues like mold. Here, although the property is something you love, the mold comes under focus.

For a lot of buyers, this might be a deal and there are good reasons why. For others, the purchase might still go on despite the mold problem.

Should I buy a home with mold in the attic? Is mold in the attic a big deal? Do sellers have to fix mold?

This article will be discussing buying a house with mold in the attic.

Home Inspection By An Expert Is Important

One huge mistake a lot of home buyers make is the impatience they have when they see a property they love.

In other words, they tend to throw caution to the wind by not carefully weighing their options. Without proper assessment, you might buy a house with mold issues and only get to discover when you move in.

  • Found Mold In House After Purchase?

As always when mold presence is established, it’s simply a result of underlying moisture problems. Getting rid of the mold completely will depend on measures taken to address the moisture issue.

By fixing the moisture problem, you also get to prevent future mold growth.

So, a thorough assessment of the house is needed before you ever commit to buying it. It’s not enough to rely on what the seller says.

Having an independent professional such as a home inspector to look around will be of great help. You get a heads-up about a potential or existing problem beforehand.

Dangers of Buying a House with Mold in Attic

As long as there’s moisture presence, mold growth can appear anywhere within the home.

Areas include basements, showers, heating & cooling appliances, attics, ventilation ducts, crawlspaces, drywall, ceiling tiles, and many other areas.

There are several dangers associated with buying a house with mold issues.

Such dangers include being unsightly, being a health risk, the possibility of hiding such information from you, being expensive to treat, as well as a drop in property value. What more?

The HVAC system could be affected, and also, there are several types of dangerous mold. Let’s discuss each point mentioned.

  • The Unsightly Nature

As mold growth spreads within your attic, it makes it unsightly. This is even more worrisome when you seek to transform or put your attic space to good use.

When not fixed, this could eventually spread to other areas. Having discovered mold in the attic, you’ll have to decide whether to proceed with the house purchase or not.

For a lot of potential buyers, mold in the attic will be a deal-breaker. However, there are situations where such mold problem isn’t spread-out and can be contained. You’ll need to ask your home inspector for expert advice on what to do. People make different decisions when faced with problems such as this.

  • Being a Health Risk

Without a doubt, mold presence in your attic is bound to pose a health challenge to occupants. The most vulnerable group of people are kids, seniors, and those with pre-existing health conditions.

One of the most common health problems associated with prolonged mold exposure is asthma.

This knowledge should help you determine whether or not to proceed with buying the property. It’s also important to note that mold in the attic could spread to other parts of the home as long as moisture issues persist.

  • Possibility of Hidden Mold Problems

Just as there are honest business people or investors, there are also dishonest investors.

Some try to hide or mask existing conditions such as mold problems to make a sale or profit. This is why you need the services of an independent home inspector is crucial to your decision making.

With the help of a trained eye, the possibility of hidden mold issues being discovered is higher. In other words, do not trust your ability to thoroughly inspect a property if you aren’t experienced or trained in this field.

Without expert help, you’re likely to make a mistake.

  • Expensive to Treat

Whenever mold presence is determined in the attic or any other section of the home, having the understanding that it’s a costly treatment process is vital.

Here, the underlying moisture problem causing the appearance or growth of mold needs to be addressed.

With this knowledge, you get to decide whether the house is worth buying or not. No buyer wants to buy a faulty property unknowingly.

  • Drop-in Property Value

Mold presence in an attic or any other part of the house will significantly lower its value.

A buyer that goes ahead to purchase without knowing about the problem will have a property whose re-sale value is significantly lowered.

The mold problem will have to be resolved by the new owner to get a higher resale value.

  • HVAC System could be Affected

Mold issues get worse when they spread to the HVAC system. From the attic, mold can spread to the HVAC system due to the presence of moisture and humidity.

This is further worsened because the mold spores are easily distributed throughout the building, thus causing an even greater health risk.

Of course, other sections of the property with moisture will readily serve as fertile ground for mold growth. A lot of buyers will rather not deal with this type of problem.

  • Multiple Types of Dangerous Mold

When it comes to mold variants, there are different types considered dangerous.

Mold presence could easily spread, thus putting your family or occupants of the house at risk. For a lot of potential buyers, such a problem will be a deal-breaker until fixed.

This is why you need to have a certified home inspector around to help you see or discover any issues you might be oblivious to. This inspection process helps with better investment decisions.

So far, we’ve seen the dangers of buying a house with mold in the attic. There are times when such problems are manageable and can be resolved when not widespread.

At other times, it’s best to simply pass. You should know when to walk away from a house with mold.

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