I am looking to purchase a property and right now I am in my "inspection period" meaning I have a certain number of days to bail on this if I choose to.
A little background. This is a bank owned property in Miami, Florida, I entered into contract with them back in January 2012, but come closing day they had a title defect so they took the property off the market and several weeks ago they cleared the title defect so we are back in contract again. Back in January I did a full professional inspection including termites and things passed with flying colors.
Six months later I got back into contract with them and the first thing I did was to take the old inspection report as well as the numerous pictures I took previously and reinspect the property. Two things I found:
(1) Termite droppings and wings that were NOT there before. This is new, this is evidence of live termite activities and I already have an estimate for the treatment, so I am OK there.
(2) Water penetration - on an outside wall where there is a security light, that light was busted and hanging loose on the wall, exposing the electrical box behind it. We had the dry season back in January, and that light was fine, since then we had a lot of rain, water got into that light, travelled down along the conduit to another box on the inside, and go behind the walls. The exterior wall is an 8" concrete block wall, with 1/2" wood furring on the inside, then the sheet rock cover. As you can see the water stain from the electrical box and below, the sheet rock actually warped and caved, creating a 3/4" gap between it and the countertop that wasn't there before (Yes, I cross checked previous pictures).
I am not too concerned about repairing the sheet rock, however I am concerned about what might be growing inside that wall. You see, since the contract went into hibernation, the bank had the power turned off to the property. Until last week, when I said I need to reinspect the property they didn't turn the power back on. There was no air conditioning helping with the moisture during the last few months when this happened.
I then ordered a mold test, they collected a sample within a foot of this wall, and one outside the house. Results came back today. Here are the results although I can't make much sense out of it other than something is "ELEVATED". Can someone help?
Is there reasons to be alarmed?
No big deal, just rip the sheet rock out and spray bleach and take care of it, or OH MY GOD THIS IS GOING TO REQUIRE LEVEL 5 BIO HAZARD CONTAINMENT CONTACT?
To the experts, if this is a house you are looking to buy, will you:
(1) RUN, DON'T WALK, NO WAY I AM BUYING THIS.
(2) It's a health hazard, it could cause issues, buy at your own risks, you need expert mold containment services and it's going to cost.
(3) It's an issue, but not a big deal, but I would escalate this as a bigger deal to try and get a credit for repair from the bank.
(4) It's a minor issue that can be handled by a DIY. Small areas less than 10 square feet probably not something I would be overly concerned about.
Thanks for any comments. I need to let them know by Thursday 7/5 if I am going to walk away.
A little background. This is a bank owned property in Miami, Florida, I entered into contract with them back in January 2012, but come closing day they had a title defect so they took the property off the market and several weeks ago they cleared the title defect so we are back in contract again. Back in January I did a full professional inspection including termites and things passed with flying colors.
Six months later I got back into contract with them and the first thing I did was to take the old inspection report as well as the numerous pictures I took previously and reinspect the property. Two things I found:
(1) Termite droppings and wings that were NOT there before. This is new, this is evidence of live termite activities and I already have an estimate for the treatment, so I am OK there.
(2) Water penetration - on an outside wall where there is a security light, that light was busted and hanging loose on the wall, exposing the electrical box behind it. We had the dry season back in January, and that light was fine, since then we had a lot of rain, water got into that light, travelled down along the conduit to another box on the inside, and go behind the walls. The exterior wall is an 8" concrete block wall, with 1/2" wood furring on the inside, then the sheet rock cover. As you can see the water stain from the electrical box and below, the sheet rock actually warped and caved, creating a 3/4" gap between it and the countertop that wasn't there before (Yes, I cross checked previous pictures).
I am not too concerned about repairing the sheet rock, however I am concerned about what might be growing inside that wall. You see, since the contract went into hibernation, the bank had the power turned off to the property. Until last week, when I said I need to reinspect the property they didn't turn the power back on. There was no air conditioning helping with the moisture during the last few months when this happened.
I then ordered a mold test, they collected a sample within a foot of this wall, and one outside the house. Results came back today. Here are the results although I can't make much sense out of it other than something is "ELEVATED". Can someone help?
Is there reasons to be alarmed?
No big deal, just rip the sheet rock out and spray bleach and take care of it, or OH MY GOD THIS IS GOING TO REQUIRE LEVEL 5 BIO HAZARD CONTAINMENT CONTACT?
To the experts, if this is a house you are looking to buy, will you:
(1) RUN, DON'T WALK, NO WAY I AM BUYING THIS.
(2) It's a health hazard, it could cause issues, buy at your own risks, you need expert mold containment services and it's going to cost.
(3) It's an issue, but not a big deal, but I would escalate this as a bigger deal to try and get a credit for repair from the bank.
(4) It's a minor issue that can be handled by a DIY. Small areas less than 10 square feet probably not something I would be overly concerned about.
Thanks for any comments. I need to let them know by Thursday 7/5 if I am going to walk away.