Mold, Termites, LBP

[naperbill]

Hello group,

The other day someone had posted they walked away from a deal because the property had mold in it which had me thinking about some of the problems we run into when we look at homes. I know costs vary around the country for taking care of things like mold, termites and lead based paint issues, but generally speaking what are typical costs in your area for getting rid of mold and what's involved in the process? How much is too much for a bottle of bleach to take care of? At what point do you say I'm going to be covered in green mold spores if I take on this project, I'd better just walk away.

Lead based paint is another big issue for me and the properties I look at. How can I get rid of it on my own, if I can, and what's the cost for your area to get it taken out if I can't do it myself.

I'm sure some of us are still bumping into asbestos on certain properties which I understand is a whole other ball game when it comes to taking that out.

I guess this could be half a dozen or more threads on the common things you see on a disclosure statement or when you walk in a place so feel free to chime in on anything and everything that we can either fix on our own or pay someone to do. I'm hoping to see what's involved in undertaking those projects or what they may cost if I have to have someone else do them.

Looking forward to your responses. Thanks for the help.

Naperbill

[aak5454]

mold has gotten way overblown.

there are many, many kinds of mold; most of them are not the "toxic" that you heard horror stories about.  Probably just about every bath room in america has some amount of mold in; heck its even in the air.

so if you think a property has problem, hire a mold inspector and send samples to a lab.  They charge a couple of hundred dollars plus like $75/sample sent to the lab.

I know this as I had to hire one when a tenant threaten to sue me.  While the bathroom walls were covered in mold (they never cleaned, duhhh), it presnted no big health hazard.  In fact, the air samples taken in the house showed a LOWER count of mold spores than one taken outside.

[mcwagner]

Heck, I think I even saw a "home black mold test kit" at one of the big box stores last week.

[campbellgroup]

What the heck were people doing 10 years ago when mold was something caused from moisture Not a Health hazard.Lead based paint was the best you could buy and termites were just those bugs that you really didnt see .The media, the worst case scenerios and the activist groups have taken what we once knew as common non pertinent issues and scared the he** out of everyone to make them buy new products and services.Common sence is your best defense against mold,termites,and LBP.yes all 3 CAN hurt you or your property but that should never stop a deal unless the cost to repair the physical damage already done removes the profit in your deal.

[WGGJR]

Yea, I agree. The media likes to scare the #[email protected]! out of people. What I am wondering about is aluminum wiring. Has anyone come across such a home? Do you run when you find out it has aluminum wiring. There are a lot of things that can scare someone away from a potential great deal. I don't know much about mold myself, so I could see how a house with mold growing up the walls would scare me away. I watched on "flip that house"where a guy did a home that had black walls. At first I thought it was fire damage, but it was mold. Fortunately the mold was not toxic and not growing in the walls. so he just tore out the sheet rock and rerocked it. I would have ran and missed out on a good deal.

Weldon

[naperbill]

That's part of my point. I don't know what the costs are. I guess I could google mold removal to see what's involved in the actual process.

I couldn't agree more about the media and every sort of activist available jumping on just about any of the latest trendy common causes, and that includes everything inside and out of RE investment. Generally speaking our society is turning into a bunch of lawsuit happy, whiny, I'm entitled to this, minivan driving pansies. Fortunately I've only got the whiny and minivan part of this down and I'm only a pansy when it comes to eating my vegetables. Other than that, people have got to suck it up.

Naperbill---surviving in the land of the whiny, minivan driving pansies

[Straightup]

I watched on "flip that house"where a guy did a home that had black walls. At first I thought it was fire damage, but it was mold. Fortunately the mold was not toxic and not growing in the walls. so he just tore out the sheet rock and rerocked it. I would have ran and missed out on a good deal.

Weldon

I saw that show.  Yeah, I've never seen that much mold!  I couldn't believe he was taking it on too, but it looked great in the end.

[kdhastedt]

Yea, I agree. The media likes to scare the #[email protected]! out of people. What I am wondering about is aluminum wiring. Has anyone come across such a home? Do you run when you find out it has aluminum wiring.
Weldon

I have a rental with aluminum wiring.  The only time it is a problem is where aluminum and copper are boded together.  All of your electrical connections MUST be good and tight.  I've had no issues.

Keith

[WGGJR]

I have a rental with aluminum wiring.  The only time it is a problem is where aluminum and copper are boded together.  All of your electrical connections MUST be good and tight.  I've had no issues.

Keith

Yea, I've read that you have to go back at least once a year and retighten the connections that have copper/aluminum touching.