Mold Ain't The Half Of It....
I went back to a mold ridden foreclosure, and this time I had a look in the attic. The joists were actually burned...like charcoal...still stout, but burned all the same. Can a bank/agent sell a house like this legally? Either this agent didn't know about this or he chose not to tell me about it. Is there any way I can steal this place?
I am in the middle of this myself in Idaho. Spoke to my lawyer and here is what I learned.
A seller legally must disclose any known problems.
A seller can sell a house in any condition. The catch being that a buyer will not be able to get insurance if the insurance company happens to find out about the mold. Also, most lenders will not lend if they know of this kind of problem exists.
A Foreclosure or an auction sale is not required to disclose anything to you (being that they most likely wouldn't know of any issues anyway).
This is according to Idaho law so you may want to conuslt an attorney in your area.
I basically took this the info of no one will get financing or insurance and used it as leverage for the seller to burden the tremendous cost of replacing the roof.
By the way, from what I have learned there is no real treatment for mold, especially as bad as you describe. And treatment in my area usually runs almost as much as cost to replace everything.
Hope this helps.
Kurto
Mold is considered to be an extreme health hazard and is treated that way. In New York, mold remediation is extremely expensive! It consists of guys dressed in what looks like space suits, they tear everything down and apart, working in an area sealed off by plastic. They dispose of any and all parts that have any sign of mold in a plastice bag as toxic waste. On top of that, the sellers of the property have a legal obligation to tell the prospective buyer about the mold problem. So, if you are considering taking on a project like this, it better be a steal! Check your local laws regarding mold.