Read This Before Buying a Foreclosure….It Could Make You Sick
June 26th, 2008 | categories: Buying Real Estate in Coconut Grove
Imagine this…..you have just purchased and moved into a home that was in foreclosure. Within days of living there, you start to have breathing problems, skin rashes, memory loss, abdominal pain or fatigue (just to name a few).
The possible culprit? MOLD!
Why would a foreclosed home or condo be more likely to have mold?
Because many times the properties have been vacant for a long period of time with no air conditioning and the windows and doors have all been sealed up. Combine this with the fact that we have high humidity in South Florida, and you have the perfect breeding ground for mold to grow.
How can you protect yourself? Do your due diligence during the inspection period. Have a respected mold company come out and test the home for mold. Sellers (including banks) release themselves from any liability if there is mold found in the home after the contract is signed. Therefore, it is your responsibility to find out if there is mold in the house. If the test comes back positive, you can usually renegotiate the terms of the contract to include mold remediation.
CBS 4 did a story on this if you’d like to read more about mold in foreclosure properties, click here.
You may also be interested in these articles:
A Coconut Grove Foreclosure Story
Too Good To Be True When It Comes To Free Foreclosure Websites