OfflineActually, I happen to like moldy houses now. They tend to sell really low and banks want no part of them. Now, I am no mold expert by any means but I just happened to have a situation where this applied.
A couple came to me wanting to short sale their house with tons of mold in it. Black mold in every room, it was insane. I had no idea what to do so I went to a mold remediation expert and he said that it would cost around 20-30k to get rid of.
I then went through the process with him step by step and come to find out the majority of the cost is labor associated with the removal of debris, drywall, etc. Come to find out that the bleach compound is really the only thing that actually kills the mold.
After that, I looked up other companies that do mold remediation and found some that use ozone and are much less expensive (less than half). They actually create a vacuum in the house and pump in ozone to kill all the mold. What's left is an inert dust (dead mold not harmful) that can be swept up and cleaned.
The couple has decided to try and get a loan to fix the house but if they can't I will be doing this short sale.
Now this is a very simplified version but I just wanted to throw that out there. Always be careful when dealing with mold and do your due diligence.
Don't forget to play hard after you work hard!!!
Why team building is important, "You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience, there is simply no way to acquire all the wisdom you need to make your business thrive." DONALD TRUMP
I am looking at a place that's a REO and has the black mold issue. Bank is asking 69K for the place and MLS states its for land only (due to black mold). I am going to try for 40K offer and then if accepted level the builing and clean up the site and put it back on the market as raw land (current structure is dilapitated and beyond repair). Would you happen to know if there are any issues with demo on a building with the black mold? Can it just be hauled away?
It would be an issue. They would require me to first have the mold remediation anyway and then I could demo. This is due to the fact that taking it down first causes the mold spores to go airborne which I could get in big trouble for when the inspector comes out. I wouldn't even get the permission to demo from the city until the QA guy cleared it.
Also, the parts of the house that contain mold have to be put in hazmat bags and the workers have to wear hepa masks and can only work in the environment for 20-30 min at a time, etc., etc., etc.
So, if it were me, I would probably either do it the ozone way which still gives you a certification and would be fairly cheap or just pass on the deal altogether and look for a better one.
Since I am not familiar enough with demolishing structures and dealing in raw land, I would choose the latter. Hope this helps.
Lonnie...
Don't forget to play hard after you work hard!!!
Why team building is important, "You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience, there is simply no way to acquire all the wisdom you need to make your business thrive." DONALD TRUMP
I would at least place a call to a mold remediation place before passing on the deal. I know the laws are strict as regards mold here in CA, but since you're talking demo, you might have more leeway. There are probably certain procedures to be followed regarding demo and then there will be specifications concerning dumping the materials. I was looking at a house full of black mold and the remediation companies had estimates to clean it up and dump the materials ranging from $8,000 to $35,000. Since no one will be living in the place, there would probably be no harm in going with the lowest bid you receive. If you can get it for $40,000, citing the need for the mold clean-up as a reason for the low offer, I'd say go for it if the clean up costs aren't exorbitant.
Cindy
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…
It’s about learning to dance in the rain.
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward. - Amelia Earhart
"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one." - Elbert Hubbard
Just a word of causal, I have dealt with mold before.I personal would not touch a house with it if you gave it to me if I had to do the work myself. It can come back to bite you in the a_ _. It is almost like cancer, You think you have got of all it but you don't. The reason it is so high to get it removed is the cost of insurance. the process which you was talking about was a neg air machine with hepa filters. I have seen houses tested and black mold was found 1 month later. this job was done by a professional and they had to eat it the second time. And i would like to add one more thing, Bleach is more of a discoloring than anything, You think its gone but its not. good luck if you choose to go forward with it
Randy
www.adeptpropertiesllc.com
If it were me I would tear out all the drywall and spray it then redrywall it! Because MOLD is nothing to play with! Very harmful! You do not want to go cheap in this area!! Good luck! But all of my house I get I redo all wiring , plumbing, and drywall. Its like a new construction site! Its alot easier to redo all of it. That way no fixing anything!!I'm a do it yourself kind of guy. And If I can't do it my friends can!!
Thanks Cindy I will look into it!