Re: Home buyers must check for mold

[Guest guest]

Amen to that!!!!!

[] Home buyers must check for mold

> Home buyers must check for mold

>

> Inspecting a house before purchasing helps avoid an increasingly

> common

>

> nightmare.

>

> http://www.detnews.com/2005/realestate/0505/03/E06-164492.htm

>

> By M. Grieco

>

> Comment on this story

> Send this story to a friend

> Get Home Delivery

>

>

> Shortly after moving into your dream home, you discover a serious

> water

>

> leakage problem and visible mold, conditions that were not disclosed

> prior

>

> to the sale and that an inspection didn't reveal.

>

> A mold-testing company determines the house is heavily contaminated

> with

>

> allergic molds and it will cost more than $60,000 to fix the water

> problem

>

> and remediate the mold. It is recommended your family, which is

> having

>

> allergic reactions, move out until the problem is resolved. Your

> real estate

>

> agent and the seller are unwilling to help. What do you do?

>

> This scenario is becoming more common across the country. Many

>

> homebuyers, who believed they took all the right precautionary

> steps, are

>

> still shocked when mold is discovered in their dream home and they

> have

>

> little legal recourse.

>

> In Michigan, the law of " caveat emptor " applies to a used home

> purchased

>

> " as is, " meaning the seller is not liable for any harm due to

> defects at the

>

> time of the sale, unless the seller made fraudulent

> misrepresentations before

>

> the contract was signed. Even so, fraud claims are not covered by

> the

>

> seller's homeowners insurance, so purchasers may be limited in how

> much

>

> money they can actually collect to compensate for out-of-pocket

>

> expenses.

>

> Home inspectors may or may not be liable for failure to point out

> the

>

> potential for a mold problem because they are limited in what they

> can

>

> inspect. They cannot do any destructive testing, such as lifting

> carpeting or

>

> removing paneling, and they typically do not move furniture or other

> items

>

> that can conceal hidden conditions such as water damage or mold.

> Home

>

> inspection contracts typically limit the inspector's liability to

> the price of

>

> the home inspection.

>

> To avoid this nightmare, the following steps are recommended:

>

> . Negotiate a longer inspection period in the purchase agreement to

> have

>

> more than one inspection. The more inspections the better.

>

> . Ask about the inspector's experience investigating for moisture

> and mold

>

> problems. Ask that a moisture meter be used to check for water

> behind

>

> walls in basements, bathrooms or wherever there is evidence of a

> leak.

>

> . Consider testing by a certified mold inspector if there is even a

> hint of a

>

> prior moisture problem. This could be money well spent if it saves

> you

>

> from buying a nightmare.

>

> . Do not rely upon the seller's disclosure statement. Ask the seller

> specific

>

> questions in the presence of your real estate agent about water

> intrusion,

>

> moisture and mold.

>

> . Do not sign an arbitration clause in the purchase agreement, which

> is

>

> never for the benefit of the purchaser. It costs more to file for

> arbitration

>

> than it does to sue, and arbitration costs are usually not

> recoverable. Once

>

> you sign the closing documents, disputes are limited to failure to

> disclose

>

> existing conditions.

>

> . Take photographs of the house during the walk-through visit for

>

> comparison to any later evidence of water or mold contamination if

> you

>

> need to prove fraud.

>

> . Ask neighbors what they know about the sellers, the neighborhood

> and if

>

> they know of any water or other problems with the house. Neighbors

> may

>

> have seen wet carpeting on the curb before trash day.

>

> M. Grieco is a lawyer and shareholder at Sommers Schwartz,

> a

>

> Southfield law firm.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> FAIR USE NOTICE:

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Indeed you are sooooooo right, that is if they don't want their life to become a

nightmare.

Peace

Elvira

[] Home buyers must check for mold

> Home buyers must check for mold

>

> Inspecting a house before purchasing helps avoid an increasingly

> common

>

> nightmare.

>

> http://www.detnews.com/2005/realestate/0505/03/E06-164492.htm

>

> By M. Grieco

>

> Comment on this story

> Send this story to a friend

> Get Home Delivery

>

>

> Shortly after moving into your dream home, you discover a serious

> water

>

> leakage problem and visible mold, conditions that were not disclosed

> prior

>

> to the sale and that an inspection didn't reveal.

>

> A mold-testing company determines the house is heavily contaminated

> with

>

> allergic molds and it will cost more than $60,000 to fix the water

> problem

>

> and remediate the mold. It is recommended your family, which is

> having

>

> allergic reactions, move out until the problem is resolved. Your

> real estate

>

> agent and the seller are unwilling to help. What do you do?

>

> This scenario is becoming more common across the country. Many

>

> homebuyers, who believed they took all the right precautionary

> steps, are

>

> still shocked when mold is discovered in their dream home and they

> have

>

> little legal recourse.

>

> In Michigan, the law of " caveat emptor " applies to a used home

> purchased

>

> " as is, " meaning the seller is not liable for any harm due to

> defects at the

>

> time of the sale, unless the seller made fraudulent

> misrepresentations before

>

> the contract was signed. Even so, fraud claims are not covered by

> the

>

> seller's homeowners insurance, so purchasers may be limited in how

> much

>

> money they can actually collect to compensate for out-of-pocket

>

> expenses.

>

> Home inspectors may or may not be liable for failure to point out

> the

>

> potential for a mold problem because they are limited in what they

> can

>

> inspect. They cannot do any destructive testing, such as lifting

> carpeting or

>

> removing paneling, and they typically do not move furniture or other

> items

>

> that can conceal hidden conditions such as water damage or mold.

> Home

>

> inspection contracts typically limit the inspector's liability to

> the price of

>

> the home inspection.

>

> To avoid this nightmare, the following steps are recommended:

>

> . Negotiate a longer inspection period in the purchase agreement to

> have

>

> more than one inspection. The more inspections the better.

>

> . Ask about the inspector's experience investigating for moisture

> and mold

>

> problems. Ask that a moisture meter be used to check for water

> behind

>

> walls in basements, bathrooms or wherever there is evidence of a

> leak.

>

> . Consider testing by a certified mold inspector if there is even a

> hint of a

>

> prior moisture problem. This could be money well spent if it saves

> you

>

> from buying a nightmare.

>

> . Do not rely upon the seller's disclosure statement. Ask the seller

> specific

>

> questions in the presence of your real estate agent about water

> intrusion,

>

> moisture and mold.

>

> . Do not sign an arbitration clause in the purchase agreement, which

> is

>

> never for the benefit of the purchaser. It costs more to file for

> arbitration

>

> than it does to sue, and arbitration costs are usually not

> recoverable. Once

>

> you sign the closing documents, disputes are limited to failure to

> disclose

>

> existing conditions.

>

> . Take photographs of the house during the walk-through visit for

>

> comparison to any later evidence of water or mold contamination if

> you

>

> need to prove fraud.

>

> . Ask neighbors what they know about the sellers, the neighborhood

> and if

>

> they know of any water or other problems with the house. Neighbors

> may

>

> have seen wet carpeting on the curb before trash day.

>

> M. Grieco is a lawyer and shareholder at Sommers Schwartz,

> a

>

> Southfield law firm.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> FAIR USE NOTICE:

>

>

>