Long post, but all info is pertinent.. We just moved into our new home in TX this week after closing early May. Part of the sale was that the owner could stay there until her new home was built (mid-June). Well her home isn’t finished now until end of June. The house is on a large property, so we allowed her to store the Pods on the property for two weeks no charge.
The previous owner (let’s call her Tami) is a nice older woman whose husband “suddenly died” back in 11/2021. We have had a nice smooth escrow and everyone has been reasonable. However, as I was removing the air vents because they were old and discolored, I noticed that there was mold! The main issue was the area right above the master bed (where your head would be), master bath and one of the large vents in the living room.
A day or so ago the movers were over, and Tami came over to pick up a few things she had left. I mentioned to her that I found mold in the vents and asked if she had been sick a lot. She seemed surprised and said she DIDN’T know about any mold, but mentioned she had the ducts cleaned a year ago. She said she was mad now because she thought they were cleaned. Not knowing the severity of the issue and being swamped with a move in 100 degree weather and 90% humidity, I let her leave.
Yesterday, I had a duct cleaning company assess the extent of the mold. It is in both HVAC units (1 unit from 2006 and other 2012 Trane). He said for sure someone knew about the mold in 2014 because there were two UV lights up there not plugged in. One light was dated 2014. He showed us videos from inside supply and return areas. You can see mold all over. One of the units with the UV light was “treated” with a sprayed on paint substance to coat the mold but missed areas completely. The technician says he doesn’t spray because it is thin, so he rolls on a thick coating all over the place and it has a 10 year warranty. I asked do all of the ducts need to be replaced and he said “no” because mold cannot grow on the duct material. He would use a special vacuum that loosens debris and sucks it up. I still was hesitant this would solve the issue because it seemed too easy.
Now I was upset because she knowingly withheld this info from her seller disclosure statement during escrow. The technician said maybe she didn’t know because her deceased husband may have taken care of it. I said that is possible but I bet she had the invoice in the massive pile of manuals and folders she gave to me.
Upon rummaging though all do the docs she gave me, I found an invoice from a duct cleaning company from 8/2022 (over a year after husband died) for mold and bacteria treatment. There were numerous line items that said “mold” over and over. She spent about $3400 on the service. Along with the invoice was the advertisement and coupon from those mailed penny saver marketing pieces.
Meanwhile, my husband texted her to ask which company she used to clean the ducts. She responded with she didn’t know but the paperwork should be in the folders.
So Tami knew about the mold issue and omitted it from the disclosure and then lied to me. I had spoken to my agent and she said to send an email that isn’t threatening asking her to pay. She said Tami will most likely pay for the $3500 treatment and vents, but if not then she will get Tami’s agent involved and it should end there. Both agents are well respected in their profession.
I then talked with a mold testing technician and he said you need to fix where the issue is causing the mold because if one spore is left, then it will reinfect EVERYTHING over time and especially in this humid environment. He said, Tami has already treated these areas at least two times over the years and it hasn’t fixed it.
So now I am concerned and mad that she put my families’ health at risk. After finding out Tami knew about the issue for 9 years, I was going to have her pay the $3500 duct treating service and a few hundred for new vents. But after this info and given the age of the units, I will only sleep comfortably if both units are replaced along with duct work.
Given she knew about the issue for years and didn’t disclose, treated it a few ways and the age of the units, is it reasonable to request for new HVACs, ducts, vents and filters? I know it will be a lot of money, and no one wants to spend it like this, but I believe she has the funds and would want to avoid any legal issues.
Thank you in advance for your feedback!
Other info: -Bought home via FT because we are out of state. When we saw the house in person it was hot (A/C was set high) and smelled like dog. After she moved out, musty smell improved. -Nothing showed up on inspection report because unit wasn’t disassembled. -We had roofers repair metal roof after COE and insulation blown in last week, and no one said anything about seeing mold anywhere else in attic, so it must be only in units. -Tami had the units serviced 4/2023 and all were working order. -Multiple offers on home, so we couldn’t ask for many seller concessions like a new unit to replace 2006 unit. Other was a newer Trane so I was ok with that.
[link] [comments]
source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/14gw2d0/bought_homefound_mold/
Comments
Post a Comment