Thinking about.....buying home with mold

[cherie9g via HomeKB.com]

I think you are being a little harsh there Steve, thanks for the concerns, but it seems as though you are attacking the situation in a rude manner instead of offering guidance.

As for the whole b/f issue, if you read earlier, it is a suggestion by him, but I am a very smart, independent person, I was just looking into his suggestion (which I do not think it is the best thing to do at this time, just fix it up and flip it)...it's a buyers market, not a seller's market. He's not abusive or manipulative, he was just giving his opinion and he just gets eager about homes.....(he is trying to do this with his brother, buy homes, fix them up, and either rent or sell them). So he was just offering advice.

I hope I have made that clear to everyone, GEESH!

Plus..... Steve, you are pretty pessimistic, there is a difference of be>>>I believe it is just surface mold.

[cherie9g via HomeKB.com]

Actually my problem is just the mold....I am handling the "pressure" and it is not just from the b/f....it is from those that aren't afraid to take risk (where I am a little more cautious). There is not much mold down in the basement though.....just on a piece of drywall that is near the stairway... the rest of the basement is not finished. There is no discolorations on the concrete and tomorrow I am checking out the "ceiling" of the basement to see how much mold is formed there.

I th>>>>>I believe it is just surface mold.

[cherie9g via HomeKB.com]

Thanks for bringing that up....

I have actually spoke with the neighbors and they gave me some good information. They moved in 8 months ago and at that time, the owners were still there. About 2 months later, the house was in the process of being foreclosed.

The neighbors said that they are not sure why people are not scooping it up (they knew about the mold issue) and they said that if they hadn't moved in next door already they would have most definitely considered it.

Can water from the basement....create mold spores throughout the home upstairs do to moisture and NO ventilati>>>Hello everyone,

[Steve B]

My words of advice and guidance for you: DON'T BUY THE HOUSE.

Good luck.

Steve

[mm]

Would't work for me. I might have the energy to fix the first or even second one up the way I want it, but by the 3rd or 4th, I'd just take it as I found it. I'd tell myself that all but the last fix-up was work to earn income, but in my case, I don't think I could convince myselt. I'm a lot like a duck. I get hooked on the first think I see (at least that is pretty good) and have a hard time liking something else. But everyone is different.

You may have to disclose his faults to the next girlfriend. Well, if she is paying you directly.

[mm]

Not sure. IIUC, she has a moldy boyfriend that she has pressurized.

[mm]

Yes, sometimes a contractor can be honest and say things like, If you want to be certain you have it all, you need to do all this. Everyone wants to be certain. And they can make it sound even worse by lying, but my point is that it can sound like you need to spend a lot just by using a variety of honest words.

Of course some people do need to spend a lot. I don't know about your house.

The best situation would be if your possible house is like mine. I've gotten mold a couple times, twice out of 10 or 15 floods or leaks, but when I dry up the house, the mold stops growing. One time I used bleach, two or three times, because for some reason I believed the wall would turn white again when the mold was dead. That was silly. The mold was dead but the wall still had grey streaks. I had to paint it.

Another wall on another, I didn't do anything, no bleach, but it still stopped growing, and I'm sure it's dead.

My basement must be natually very dry. Someday I should measure.

I overflowed the tub later, it's gotten to the point that I don't do anything and I just let it dry, even if that takes days. I have synttheci carpet with synthetic pad, and nothing ever smells.

I'm not recommending this and if I weren't depressed, I'd do a lot better myself.

OH, yeah, and when I did have mold, for a week or so, it didn't bother me at all. Didn't make me sneeze or anything. I'm sure it plays hell with some people, but not everyone.

[trader4]

I think water in a basement could produce mold upstairs, but I think it would take quite a long time to do it. If the basement was just flooded for a few days to maybe a week, I doubt it would be possible. But if it flooded and was never caught and sat that way for months, slowly drying out, then sure.

And the bad part is, if that's what happened, then you would think the mold would be everywhere, like inside the walls, particularly outside walls, where it would condense. Has anyone looked in the attic?

[cherie9g via HomeKB.com]

[PaPaPeng]

Not always so. A contractor wouldn't want to do the surface cleaning and risk a warranty recall if it doesn't work. Even if you are to undertake this job yourself it may actually be easier and faster to remove damaged drywall than to try to micro-fix only the affected areas. If they are only surface condensation spots with mold colonies and there is no internal dampness in the drywall or in the studs behind them then surface treatment should suffice. Its a judgement call.

[PaPaPeng]

There were a lot of post to read through on a very interesting subject.

Your above detail is to me the most important. Its an unfinished basement where everything is exposed and can be inspected. The mold there is not serious although the humidity from the leak and a sealed house must have created mold heaven. The mold problem sounds fixable without too much risk of recurrence. Ask they neighbors if they have to watch for occasional mold colonies in their houses.

What is the year round climate like? Is the ambient humidity mold friendly? You mentioned a dehumidifier. I live in Alberta where the air is quite dry. Unless constantly damp, such as runoff condensation on a window sill in winter, mold is not a problem. I got rid of the furnace humidifier (horrendous lime build-up) and that fixed a lot of humidity related issues.

If you decide to buy exaggerate the mold problem to the agent and maybe he'll knck down the price further.

[cherie9g via HomeKB.com]

There is also mold that has formed on the main floor because of the basement situation. I live in Michigan so the climate is somewhat humid, especially spring/summer time. I am taking pictures today so be on the look out.

I was curious if flooding from the basement can cause mold spores on the main floor?

PaPaPeng wrote:

[Doug Miller]

Michigan? Humid? You've got to be kidding.

Ever been to Mississippi or Florida? Heck, even St. Louis...

I've lived in SW Michigan and central Illinois, and now live in central Indiana, and travel to Michigan frequently (my brother lives there) -- Michigan isn't anywhere near as humid as central IL, and that doesn't begin to hold a candle to the Gulf Coast.

[PaPaPeng]

I'll have to back off advising here as I don't know your local conditions.

Sure. Even cooking moisture or bathroom condensations do support mold growth. But again it depends on local conditions. But these two instances will be localized molds.

>

[aemeijers]

You a long-lost brother of mine or something? I was born and raised in central Indiana, now live in SW Michigan, and own a house on the Gulf Coast. Central/Southern IN does get pretty miserable in the hot months. The humidity in Louisiana is worse, but at least there is usually a breeze there, and the 3 pm monsoons most days to cool things off. I find the MI climate to be similar to IN, just that growing/swimming season is about six weeks shorter. (Up here, Memorial day to Labor day, unless you heat the water somehow.) This past winter was not bad, but it was awful wide. First snow 12 Oct, last snow 12 April. Come retirement, I'm heading south. Kentucky or Tenn sounds about right, climate wise, and normal people can still afford to live there.

aem sends...

[cherie9g via HomeKB.com]

[Banty]

Where?

Do you realize that HomeKB.com is just fronting a much wider, and older and more established, set of newsgroups on Usenet? Did you realize that most of your respondants come from there?

We don't 'see' HomeKB.com unless we go hunting for you.

This is one of the problems of these piggy-backing web-based message boards. Not only is it cheap and dishonest (this isn't the result of their work or sponsorship, other than just setting up the interface), folks like don't know what their posting environment is.

You'll have to post links with a message.

Banty

[Doug Miller]

Just about the reverse for me: moved to Muskegon at age 2, brief stint in Illinois, been in or around Indianapolis since age 15. Whereabouts in central Indiana are you from, and where in Michigan are you now?

[aemeijers]

Spent my first 23 years in the Columbus/Bloomington/Indy triangle. Took a 'temporary' job in Battle Creek six months after college, since I was broke. That was 26? years ago. Used to visit the old hometowns in Indiana almost monthly, till family and childhood friends scattered to the four winds. Only get down twice a year or so lately. My father ended up down in Lousiana. He was renting, and I needed an investment, so I bought a house for him to rent from me. (He insisted on paying rent.)

aem sends...

[Doug Miller]

Geez, we're even the same age.

Drop me an email next time you're heading down Indy way, and we can have a beer together and talk about Michigan. Some day I'll move back there. And I'll stay there til I die.