About to buy first house and questions about mold issue..help!

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Timmywilson58

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Hey me and my fiancé are looking at a house that is a great price, great location, only one issue. The house is being sold as is, and overall just looks like it needs some minor cosmetic issues fixed. The one issue that is really concerning us is the mold behind the attic door. We know the roof has had some leaking issues in one spot and needs to be replaced soon. We are wondering if the leak in the roof could be causing the mold issues in the attic. We are needing advice to know if we should put a bid on the house..the bidding ends in 2 days! Please check out this picture, ask any questions if you have any and help us decide what to do!!

image.jpg
 
Some people react to mold in house, and some molds kill people.
Worst case, all the insulation removed, some of the ceiling drywall removed by expert.
If the lumber up there is still good, will have to be cleaned.
Even worse, if it was allowed to go unchecked long enough you may have big repairs to the structure..
 
Thank you so much for your response. We spoke with a real estate agent when we looked at the house and he made it seem as if the mold wasn't a big deal..like we could just clean it with bleach. We are making a big jump looking at buying a new house and love this one because of what a great price it is at about 80,000..do you think this would be a big gamble or how reasonable do you think it would be to fix the mold issue?
 
That looks like a lot of mold. Can you get a mold specialist in for an inspection before you buy?
 
Before you bite the bullet on the house, spend a few bucks for a mold inspection analysis. They will cheaply and quickly identify if it is the bad mold.
 
As is should not mean you can't inspect it for condition. It just means they aren't going to fix anything you find.
If it does mean you can't inspect it, then bid based on the worst case scenario, or walk away.
 
We're over looking one vital issue, why is there mold? Could be simple such as a non ventilated bathroom exhaust fan or a bigger issue, leaking roof or some type of flashing on the roof structure above. Mold will not grow with out two things, moisture and food source. Simply cleaning the mold is not solving the problem of why it's there. You need to dig a little deeper. Just cause it's sold as is, doesn't mean you can't get inspections. If the seller won't let inspections, move on to the next property and fall in love with it.
 
You are in a unique situation and I know the driving question is mold here and you have been given some sound advice so far about that issue. You are getting married soon and buying a distressed property in the “as is” category as a fixer upper can really impact your lives for the next 30 years. I have been thru this a few times and it is not for the weak of heart for sure but if carefully planned can be the smartest thing you ever did or if not the dumbest thing.

We don’t know your DIY abilities and you need to know your limitations also. You should know the comp prices in that neighborhood first and how long the house has been on the market. In your community if it’s a healthy economic community why hasn’t a realtor or a house flipper or a landlord bought it up already.

You have to be knowledgeable of the numbers and do the math. You mentioned it needed a roof. If the comp price was 100k and you can get it for 80k and the roof job might cost 10k and you easily have another 10k of repairs, then all of a sudden it’s not such a good deal. If you could then offer 50k now you might be talking. I don’t have the facts about that house I’m just showing those numbers as an example. For you it will be tough to factor it all in things like if you had to sell it are places selling real fast in that area or when driving around and looking at listings are there a lot of houses sitting (buyers’ market). A house flipper would eye it all up in a few minutes and not risk a loss throw out a low number and figure if I get it I get it if not there will be another up for sale tomorrow.

What you don’t understand is what will get you in trouble. If you don’t know about mold say you need to get someone in that does or educate yourself, same with structure and roofs etc. You don’t have to do all the work yourself but it’s best to know what needs to be done.

The mold could be simple and most likely will be if the house has sat for a long time without heat and a wet roof. But you can’t assume it will be easy. Most of the time you get the roof replaced if it doesn’t need structure and get proper ventilation going on and a little clean up and you will be good.

The way I buy a house like this is go in expecting not to get it. take a starting comp price as if the house was perfect then subtract the things you have a good idea of the costs to fix. Then the unknowns error on the worst side. Then give yourself a buffer based around you don’t want to go thru all this work for nothing. Get your number in your head and stick to it.

We bought a house we now live in 3 year ago and it started out at 90k and sat for a couple years and when we looked at it 60k was the number. The bank owned it at this point and we offered them 25K and they came back saying they couldn’t do it for that. I bumped the bid up 500 bucks and told them that’s it they can let it sit 2 more years if they want. We got it and put maybe another 15k and 2 years of sweat equity in it and we could sell it for the 90 I’m sure now. There is a lot to be said for not paying interest over 30 years on a home.

If you get this house or the next one I hope you stick around here and learn what you need to and get good advice. Think of the house as the big picture. Also keep in mind the realtor is working for the seller and not the buyer and their profit comes as part of the sale.
 

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