mold in a rehab (long) - Posted by JR

Posted by Ken (Fl) on July 24, 2003 at 12:00:26:

I just finnished a rehab that had black mold in the garage turned playroom turned disaster. The mold covered from the floor to about 3 ft up the wall between the garage and the main house.
I snapped a line at the 4 ft. mark, took myskill saw set 1/2" and voila, no worries of mold. Slapped 3 sheets of rock on it all for $35. About twice the price of a can of Kilz but ten times as effective.
I also found the water source (leaking washer hose) and repaired that.

God Bless

mold in a rehab (long) - Posted by JR

Posted by JR on July 23, 2003 at 16:14:12:

Does anyone have any experience with mold in a rehab house? I’m looking at a potential rehab job that, other than the mold, doesn’t look too bad. I’m going to have it inspected, but the problems are pretty basic…some new carpet, paint, fix the ceiling where it looks like it got knocked down in a storm, get the roof fixed (storm), some minor plumbing (I’m getting that checked as well as the hvac and electrical systems), drywall and finish a bonus room and then maybe update the two bathrooms. The kitchen is good and the cabinets look newer.

The neighborhood is actually right around the corner from where I live. It’s out of the school district I went to in high school by about 2 blocks, but it’s still in a very desirable school district. It’s a 3/2 with a very large yard and a garage, which looks pretty old, but I didn’t look inside yet. The comps the realtor pulled had 3 recent completed sales. There was a 2/2 that sold for $46k, a 3/1 that sold for $66K and a 3/2 that sold for $80k. The one that sold for $66K I was actually looking at as distressed and I just got the name of the owner yesterday from the assessor because I thought it was vacant…looks like a fixer, so take it for what you want.

I’m pretty certain that the house could be sold when finished for around $75-80K and possibly more. There’s a 3/2 with a 4 car garage listed in the area for $129k, of course they probably won’t get that much. The asking price just got bumped to $36k and I know they’d take less. So, after this long-winded post, my question is how expensive is it to get the mold removed? It looks like it’s just a result of moisture from the storm damage and it’s in the master bath and a hallway. It doesn’t look bad to me, but I’ve never dealt with it before. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed and does it look like a profitable deal? If I have the mold removed professionally, how much would that run and could I get a warranty on the work for the future home owner?

Here are my numbers…just preliminary and doing some of the work myself, but probably not all of it. I’ll work with asking price.

ARV $75k
-profit $20k
-oops fund of 10% $7.5k
-higher estimate of repairs $15k (probably less)
Gives me a maximum price of about $32-33k

Asking is $36k, but would it be a deal if I could get it for $33, or less? I appreciate all of your help! Thanks.

JR

Re: mold in a rehab (long) - Posted by CPM

Posted by CPM on July 28, 2003 at 16:37:13:

I agree with other here that the whole mold issue is a boondoggle aka Lead paint and asbestos. However, you need to be careful about insurability. More and more insurance companies are putting the nix on insuring properties that have had water damage claims filed.

Just a comment… - Posted by BrokerScott (Mich)

Posted by BrokerScott (Mich) on July 24, 2003 at 10:24:16:

Mold worries are seriously overblown. Thank Erin Brokovich for that (yes THAT Erin Brokovich) She got mold in her house and sued everybody, so now thousands of people are trying to make themselves independantly wealthy. Mold used to be an “oh well” problem but now is running right up with secondhand smoke as “lawsuit B.S. of the century”. You’re probably 1000 times more likely to die in a car accident. The point of all this ranting is that while there is irrational fear at work, that is an opportunity for the level headed. As another poster mentioned, use bleach mix, find/fix the water leak that caused it and make yourself independantly wealthy, the honest way. Scott

Re: mold in a rehab (long) - Posted by Jeffery (La)

Posted by Jeffery (La) on July 23, 2003 at 22:21:26:

I’m a professional remodeler (as well as a security consultant and REI). I’ve been in remodeling and reconstruciton since 1993 or so. Just covering the mold doesn’t kill it. I’m a big fan of Kilz, but Kilz doesn’t kill the mold, the mold can still grow inside of the wood, or wherever else it’s growing. If you look at the can of Kilz, it even says that mold has to be removed. One thing that we do is mix bleach and distilled water (about 50/50 or so) and use a garden sprayer to spray everything that has mold on it. The bleach will kill the mold. In large remods/rehabs that we do, I’ll even put someone in the attic and spray around the edges of the roof. Most homes that are in need of repair, have had roof leaks so it’s a good idea to look for those signs and spray that area as well. On the interior, use a small sprayer for areas over carpet and use a drop cloth. if the mold is black and tarry, it may be stachybotrys mold, which is toxic. We’ve just got a project with this type of mold and are going to try the 50/50 bleach on it. If that doesn’t work, then I suppose we’ll have to invest in some stronger stuff.

Happy Mold hunting
Jeffery in La.

Just on the Mold Issue? - Posted by Randy

Posted by Randy on July 23, 2003 at 17:14:57:

I have used a product called KILZ available at most any paint store, it is a sealant that will seal the area and provide a suitable surface for repainting. You can also do a search on www.ask.com ?Remove Mold? and find commercial and do-it-yourself remedies.

Re: Just on the Mold Issue? - Posted by RichV(FL)

Posted by RichV(FL) on July 23, 2003 at 18:24:30:

Randy,

Kilz works great. I live in Florida the land of mold and water damamge.

Kilz is a great product, I just used it a few days ago on a water spot. Some patch, Kilz and paint and it looks good as new.

And its in all the big hardware stores. Home depot, Lowes, etc.

Regards,

RichV(FL)