I’m looking at this REO that has water in the basement which is causing all this condensation everywhere. I could see drips of water all over the ceilings and the walls throughout the house and can smell mold. I want to make an offer on this property but I really don’t have any experience when it comes to getting rid of mold. If I were to act very smart, would I get a mold remediator in there to tell me how much damage the mold has done before I make an offer?
My main question is:
Can mold completely destroy the studs in the walls if not treated right away?
My fear is that the mold would eat through the wood causing most of the studs to be replaced. It’s hard for me to make my offer because I’m not sure how much of the mold is affecting the house. What type of repair estimates should I factor in to my offer or does it really all depend on an inspection? Any insight and experience would be helpful!
Isn’t there anything better you could make an offer on?
Mold can be as easy as stopping the source of moisture and spraying everything down with bleach.
Or it can involve removing and replacing every inch of drywall and sterilizing all the studs.
Removing all the drywall and refinishing all the walls is getting into the area of a pretty major renovation. Not to mention, you don;t know what you are going to find when you start taking walls out.
Mold all by itself won’t damage the studs, but moisture brings insects what eat wood: termites, powder post beetles, carpenter ants.
Why is there water in the basement? That could be an easy fix or a very expensive one, depending upon why the basement is wet.
Are you sure all the water is from the basement? If there is mold on the walls of the upstairs area, you may have a roof leak, leaking windows, bad plumbing.
If the house has had mold remediation, are you required to disclose? If so, it will make the house harder to sell.
This had better be a great deal, and you really need to have someone who knows what they are doing go in and take a look and discuss with you what needs to be done to fix it.
This is already a moderate renovation. Without any mold costs, it’s probably in the neighborhood of $20,000 in repairs
We’re almost certain there’s water in the basement because the sump pump went out.
Once that’s fixed we’re “assuming” the water will be pumped out and all should be fine.
I think right now the mold is confined mainly to the basement but because I saw condensation on the walls in the kitchen upstairs, I was thinking that it might be forming on the walls up there soon.
yeah I could be working on properties that don’t have water in the basement but normally people (even some investors I know) walk away from properties like these. To me mold = larger discounts.
ARV $240,000 (Realtor thinks $250,000)
Offer price $105,000
If you are not sure, get a contractor in there to give you better idea.
you can always assume you will replace everything to get rid of the mold and make the offer based on that. It will be an extremely low offer, but it is a safe bet. but like tater said, there are better fish in the sea… find a better deal.
If this is a home run or even a double, why would I drop it and look for a better deal ?? … in my opinion, this is “the better deal”. Besides I’m already looking at other deals. It’s a 4 bed / 2 bath in a great neighborhood, right across the street from a park, it has a huge kitchen with a nice layout, good school district and all that. I don’t really understand the “find a better deal” statements when the reasons why I’m pursuing it haven’t been layed out. These comments aren’t meant to sound negative. I’m just trying to understand why people would want to walk away from these.
Some of the repair estimates to be expected were close to $10,000 in a bad infestation … that doesn’t sound too bad.
If repairs are 10K - fine. Sitting in front of my PC, I can’t tell how bad the mold issue is. But a couple of years ago I looked at a deeply discounted house that had a mold problem that was subsequently condemned due to the mold and had to be torn down. So, an inspection would be a wise investment in this case.