Green Substance Or Mold

[Travis McGee]

In the past 7 years I have not experienced the problem that I continue to experience lately with green mold looking substance on exterior siding and one basement area had the same looking substance on the wood paneling. One of my clients is starting to think that I am killing his appraisals with my reporting the green mold looking stuff. I do not know much about mold and I was wondering what is the cure , how dangerous is this stuff and how can I be sure if it is mold? I t just seems really odd that my last 5 inspections from the same lender has this problem. I condition the appraisal based on a home inspection and boy oh boy are they geeting ticked off. One home they actually spent about 4-5 thousand dollars to replace the siding in the basement and installed a sump pump. How do you cure this problem? Anyone have experience in this area? When I state possible mold it just causes everyone to hit the roof and I will probaly loose this client but my main objective is to gather some knowledge so that I can intelligently converse with my client.

 

[Mountain Man]

Well, rather than doing it "subject to", take a photo of it, report it, and do it with an extraordinary assumption that it ain't nuttin..... BUT, if it is, you get to re-think your appraisal.

Here's another interesting thread with an interesting problem.
http://appraisersforum.com/forum/index.php...=ST&f=2&t=11404

 

[Carnivore]

Greg never place anything like this in an addendum. If you must at least clearly reference it somewhere in the main body of the report. I never trust anybody on this kind of stuff. Addendums fall out on the floor on occasion and get stepped on, lost, smudged. Some have even been found in copy machines with white out all over them. Its a mystery how this happens.

 

[Steve Owen]

The main thing here, IMHO, is not to take responsibility that is not rightly yours. With vinyl siding, I see green stuff on any north wall, especially if there are oak trees nearby. With vinyl siding, it is so common that I rarely even mention it unless it is unusually thick. It is mold, moss, mildew, or something else - I don't know. I am not an environmental expert.

I would simply report what I saw, photograph it if necessary, and include an environmental disclaimer that the appraisal is made under the assumption that it is not a value influencing problem. You might also call for inspection by a qualified home inspector. Let someone else decide what it is and whether it is a problem.

 

[Richard Carlsen]

It's a form mold. We've had it for hundreds of years. It usually occurs where you have water that does not dry on the siding or no sunlight on the siding, normally on the north side of the house. I have it on my house. It washes off with soap and water or a very mild solution of bleach and water.

Check the statement from last year of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). They recently issued a statement on the "Adverse Human Health Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment". Their findings basically said that scientific evidence did not support the theory that indoor mold has harmed human health.

http://www.acoem.org/position/statements.asp?CATA_ID=52

I believe that EPA has also come out with some statements on mold. (Links unknown.)

Given that the "green stuff" is on the outside of the house and that there are over 100,000 species of mold worldwide with over 1000 species in the U.S., I would not make an issue out of the green stuff. IMNSHO it shows more deferred maintenance than a health issue. Mention it if you must or put an Extraordinary Assumption in the report that the green stuff is not harmful to neither man nor beast (children included) but I personally would not condition my report on it being checked out professionally. Let the LO, UW and the homeowner (buyer) make that decision.

 

[Mike Simpson]

You wanna see mold? Come to the Pacific Northwest!

I've got the nasty black stuff in the house on the walls of a lower level bedroom. Getting rid of it is a matter of taking away the source of it's existence--moisture, and bruddah--that can be expensive!!! It's costing me out the gazzo--outsmarting mold isn't cheap!!!

-Mike

 

[CANative]

When I find mold/fungus/mildew I report it under the conditoins of improvement and add the word "possible" in the infestation cell. Also under the environmental hazards comments I say: The presence of mold, fungus or mildew may present a health issue to some." Unless it is apparent that the mod is out of control I ususally don't condition for it.

 

[Pat Butler]

I wouldn't worry about mold on the exterior of the house unless it was excessive.

 

[Travis McGee]

Thanks!! What would I do without the expertise of this forum!! THANKS AGAIN

 

[xm39hnu]

All the warnings about mold/mildew/fungus in the commend addendum are just what I do.

Now, here's some info you don't want to put in the report, unless you're a bona fide expert: The green stuff on the outside of a house is probably algae. Molds generally do not practice photosynthesis and don't posess clorophyll. Neither does mildew (a form of mold) or fungus (best eaten with steak.) Kill the algae with a bleach water solution (about 1 cup per gallon). See any snail tracks through the green stuff? If so, it's probably algae.