Mold!
| OK, you're looking to purchase a home in the desert where the climate is dry |
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…why be concerned about mold? Well it has become a very big topic in Las Vegas. Why? In part, it has to do with problems in new construction. One of our developers hired a sub contractor to install bathrooms, only to discover after closing several homes that the shower pans were installed improperly. This resulted in leaks that caused mold. Homeowners were forced to vacate the properties for weeks while mold remediation firms came in to resolve the issues! Problems can also occur with leaks that go undetected in resales for months on end. As a seller, you suddenly notice a soft spot on the ceiling below one of the upstairs bath. What's going on? Soon you discover a slow leak has occurred in the upstairs toilet due to a faulty seal or a slow draining pipe. The result: mold!
The key to finding mold and fighting mold is to discover the presence of it and to identify the type of mold. When performing home inspections, we highly recommend an air sample test be performed if the inspector suspects any signs of water damage or if there was former knowledge of a water leak (see CLUE report section). The air samples are taken and sent to a lab in San Diego for results. These tests range from about $325 on up and if you want results quicker than 3-5 days an additional charge for 24 hour rush will result.
What if you discover harmful mold? There are a number of remediation firms and consulting firms in Las Vegas that deal with this. Just because there is mold, doesn't mean that the property should not be purchased. However, proper identification of mold type is crucial as is the correct remediation. For more on this topic we suggest contacting
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