VA Foreclosure Appraisal & MOLD

[Damon Pedersen]

Did an inspection today on a VA foreclosure. Typical assignment with a non-working contact number. This was my third attempt at the house and finally somebody was home. She reluctantly agreed to let me through the house. Once inside, I begin looking around and it is pretty much trashed. Homeowner is a bad housekeeper she claims and then she says, there is some mold in the basement. Ok, so I do the main floor and head to the basement. Should have went and bought a mask, but I was afraid if I left, she wouldn't let me back in to finish. The whole basement has mold 2-3 feet up on the walls. House is full of cats and cat feces of course. But, the cats must claw at the mold so some of the walls have holes where the cats are clawing at the mold. Maybe they eat it, I don't know.

My question is that this is a house built in 2000 so it is relatively new, but with this much devastation, how would you put a cost to cure on a basement like this? Are there any guides for mold remidiation? Per lineal foot of wall space or by the square foot. I can figure new sheetrock, but the foundation itself and the studs would have to be cleaned by the appropriate professionals. Any help would be appreciated. I just want to cover myself so if they do have to do the mold remediation, my estimated cost is close.

See attached photos of the mold.

Sad thing is this lady is raising grandkids in the house. That brings up another issue, should this be reported to the Heath Dept?

 

[Jan Roseberry]

Recommend a home inspection including an environmental assessment. If the house is only 7 years old, there may be a foundation problem requiring a structural inspection. VA does not like inspections but in this case it may be your only alternative.

 

[Couch Potato]

It sure looks like flood damage to me.

 

[Don Clark]

Damon,

Try www.moldinspectors.com

VA will not allow for an inspection. The appraiser has to do it all. I would estimate not less than $5,000. based on what you have said and the photos.

 

[Jeff Deuitch]

Did an inspection today on a VA foreclosure. Typical assignment with a non-working contact number. This was my third attempt at the house and finally somebody was home. She reluctantly agreed to let me through the house. Once inside, I begin looking around and it is pretty much trashed. Homeowner is a bad housekeeper she claims and then she says, there is some mold in the basement. Ok, so I do the main floor and head to the basement. Should have went and bought a mask, but I was afraid if I left, she wouldn't let me back in to finish. The whole basement has mold 2-3 feet up on the walls. House is full of cats and cat feces of course. But, the cats must claw at the mold so some of the walls have holes where the cats are clawing at the mold. Maybe they eat it, I don't know.

My question is that this is a house built in 2000 so it is relatively new, but with this much devastation, how would you put a cost to cure on a basement like this? Are there any guides for mold remidiation? Per lineal foot of wall space or by the square foot. I can figure new sheetrock, but the foundation itself and the studs would have to be cleaned by the appropriate professionals. Any help would be appreciated. I just want to cover myself so if they do have to do the mold remediation, my estimated cost is close.

See attached photos of the mold.

Sad thing is this lady is raising grandkids in the house. That brings up another issue, should this be reported to the Heath Dept?

The pattern which you observed likely came from a flood event with liquid water seepage in all the areas where the mold was growing uniformly up the wall. The reason for the uniform height is that the water has a certain distance that capillary/absorbent action can take it. The long length reflects that there was standing water over a great distance. When wall board gets wet it also get soft and become very easy to damage or rupture.

DO NOT try and estimate cost to cure for remediation. Remediation fees are not consistent and huge variations exist. I do mold assessment and remediation specifications for remediators to follow. One past spec I wrote for a client resulted in remediation estimates from different companies ranging from $4,000 to over $20,000.

Remediation can involve setting up containment barriers, structure wide air purification, vacuuming all salvageable surfaces with specialized vacuum cleaners, and many other procedures. Remediation estimate will likely be far different from what you would expect.

As an appraiser and microbiologist involved with mold assessment, my advice to you is to disclose that you do not have the expertise to estimate mold remediation costs, and throw this back to the lender. If you bow to some lender pressure and pull a number out of a hat, say $5,000 then real estimates of $20K come in, you may be doing some heavy explaining.

To give you an idea of about a $30,000 remediation project, check out the following link to see the mold inspection video in a heavily contaminated condo unit: http://iaqforum.net/showthread.php?t=92

The link and explanation of what happened is contained in the bottom post.

Hope this helps.

 

[JSmith43]

Damon,

Try www.moldinspectors.com

VA will not allow for an inspection. The appraiser has to do it all. I would estimate not less than $5,000. based on what you have said and the photos.

Don, there's some interesting information on that site, but I don't think it is exactly cutting edge. Example from site: "Ozone kills bacteria by rupturing the cell wall of the offending organism. This action kills the bacteria leaving only harmless waste." I believe that is factually challenged, for example. Jeff would know for sure, IMO.

 

[Jeff Deuitch]

Don, there's some interesting information on that site, but I don't think it is exactly cutting edge. Example from site: "Ozone kills bacteria by rupturing the cell wall of the offending organism. This action kills the bacteria leaving only harmless waste." I believe that is factually challenged, for example. Jeff would know for sure, IMO.

Ozone does have useful disinfectant properties. It depends upon the concentration and the duration of exposure. The problem with ozone is that it is very damaging to lung tissue. TWA (time weighted average) exposure standards over an 8 hr period is 100 parts per billion. Some experts believe that this is too HIGH!. Human exposure to ozone is definitely NOT recommended. I once had to cut off a remediator who planned to use ozone in a mold contaminated condo unit. While the unit was slated to be evacuated, neither the contractor or the building management actually considered the possibility that the gas could infiltrate neighboring units. Could you imagine if a newborn baby was in a bedroom on the other side of the wall from where large concentrations of ozone were being used! STUPID STUPID!

As for bacteria, I do not really see the point in buildings. Drying of wetted areas, which obviously needs to be done, will also kill most bacteria.

I really don't' understand the enthusiasm for ozone. I think that ozone treatments for buildings is being marketed in a deceptive and dishonest way. None the less, there are useful industrial applications for this compound and that is where it should stay!

Regards.

J

 

[JSmith43]

Jeff (& Don), I didn't read the part I highlighted closely enough. I had it in my head that they were using Ozone to kill mold spores At any rate, my thinking was, how would that assure anyone harmless materials are not left in place? So, partial retraction on my part. Although, I bet I could go back to that site and find a half dozen iffy illustrations.

 

[Jeff Deuitch]

Jeff (& Don), I didn't read the part I highlighted closely enough. I had it in my head that they were using Ozone to kill mold spores At any rate, my thinking was, how would that assure anyone harmless materials are not left in place? So, partial retraction on my part. Although, I bet I could go back to that site and find a half dozen iffy illustrations.

Killing mold spores is pointless. I have serious reservations about achieving anywhere near 100% kill anyway. Even if possible, what is the point. Spores need to be removed from the premises. Dead spores will elicit allergic reactions just as readily as viable spores. Additionally, even if killing spores meant something, it is useless, because all surfaces will have normal background levels of spores. Furthermore, even if you could sterilize (100% spore kill) surfaces, viable spores will replenish quickly from infiltration of exterior air, from human contact, and from bringing in items from outside sources.


For a microbiologist, it is not hard to spot a fraud when one exists pertaining to microbiological issues.

Regards.

 

[Jeff Deuitch]

Jeff (& Don), I didn't read the part I highlighted closely enough. I had it in my head that they were using Ozone to kill mold spores At any rate, my thinking was, how would that assure anyone harmless materials are not left in place? So, partial retraction on my part. Although, I bet I could go back to that site and find a half dozen iffy illustrations.

By the way, I wonder where Connell has been lately. I have not seen him on the boards lately. I am sure he would have some choice comments on the ozone issue.:Eyecrazy:

Be good.