Is the black mold behind the sheetrock in the basement concerning?

Question

I'm thinking of buying a house, and the closing date is coming up. I knew that the house had mold before, but I never thought that it was still there. I had a mold test done, and there were problem counts for aspergillus/ Penicillium spores. Then, we had the sellers cut up a piece of the sheet rock, and they found a chunk of "black" mold growing there and removed it. My wife started coughing when she went down. Since i have a baby in the house and my wife was coughing, i am considering whether or not to buy the house

Is the mold a huge issue and health concern?

My question is if i were to sell the house someday, would the mold scare you, a potential buyer, off or make you give me an extremely low offer?

Answer 1

I would say yes, whole house may have a damp problem, I'm sure you can get moisture tests done on house b4 you move in. better to be safe than sorry

Answer 2

Yes, it's an issue.  And yes, I would have a problem buying that house.

Send in a mold INSPECTION service before a mold remediation service.  They are different and will be honest about the issue.  Then, make sure the seller does everything in their power to remove the problem before signing contracts.

Answer 3

Hi Jerry,

I hope you read this letter. I suffered brain damage from living in a toxic mold environment. My health is devastated and i lost all my personal possessions. You could not pay me any, i mean any amount of money to live in a toxic mold environment ever again. Please please please dont take any chances in moving into this home if indeed it has had mold problems in the past and you have black mold growing behind walls and ceilings. Its Def toxic mold if this is the case.

You and your whole family will be in extreme danger. And you have have a baby and it can kill all of you. Sorry to be so graphic however this toxic mold is no Joke. DONT BUY THIS HOME!! God Bless you!

Eli

Answer 4

Do not buy the house unless the mold is completely removed by a certified installer. There are MANY other houses out there. Why would you buy one that will cause you alot of headaches??? The mold problem is serious. Just your wife coughing is a clue. Why would anyone with a baby expose it to this kind of health concern? Your realtor should be advising you better on this home purchase. Did you have a home inspection? Most current contracts to purchase have a clause in it about repairs and clauses specifically designed to deal with this problem. RUN to your realtor and discuss this as soon as possible.

Answer 5

Mold is sometimes an issue, but it's often blown out of proportion by mold-remediation companies.  However, if they took down a piece of sheetrock and found mold behind it, there's pretty much no way they "removed it" - it's probably behind more of the walls.

Here are a bunch of questions you should consider:

-Where is the dampness/water coming from?  Was there a drainage problem that has been corrected, or is there a likelihood of continuing basement dampness?

-How old is the house, and does it have Tyvek under the siding?  Mold is much more prevalent in newer houses, because the Tyvek keeps the house from "breathing" - moisture is kept out, but it's also kept in.  Mold in an older house indicates a more severe dampness issue.

-What did the owners do to fix the mold problem when it occurred before, or did they just let it go away?

-How much would it cost you to remove and replace all of the sheetrock in the basement?

If it's a relatively small or half-finished basement, ripping out and replacing the sheetrock may not be a huge problem, but until the moisture source is eliminated, you'll probably always have problems.

Answer 6

My daughter experienced it in her apt once.Came from a water leak in an upstairs apt.I was never familiar with it till then.She was always ill and got better the day after she moved out.I do know that it effects some differently than others.Just like allergies do.Takes extreme measures to get it removed so take care of it before you close on the house.

Good luck.

EDIT: I probably would lose some interest in the purchase.

           Unless I could make the seller agree to eradicate it.

Answer 7

Definitely a BIG concern. I would not even consider the purchase UNLESS the seller agreed on paper in the purchase contract that they would handle ALL expenses in the removal and repairs. Otherwise you best have some real good medical insurance. It will not get better or go away by itself! It only spreads!

**JD

Answer 8

yea black mold is a big health concern . my brother had it in his bedroom once and he got really really sick . buy the house and get the mold out of ther before you move in , or dont buy the house. baby could get sick from it too .