Mold
Need advice...
Found a motivated seller (he is going to prison for growing marijuana).
The house is in a very nice area. However, almost every square inch of the entire interior is carpeted in mold.
1. Is this possibly a result of the marijuana he was growing + poor ventilation?
2. Is there potential health risk to future buyers for the marijuana (as there would be in a meth lab situation?)
3. I know that mold can be remediated due to reading all of the postings about it, but because this is so extreme should I be thinking twice or jumping at the chance?
(I would probably net at least $50K on this one)
The only way to make a mold infested home safe for future occupants is to physically remove it from the property. If it is everywhere (as you say) then everything needs to be removed.
The only way to know if it is harmful mold, is to have it tested. I suggest you do so, though the tests aren't cheap, they could save you money in the long run.
Best of luck.
Without seeing the hose it is hard to advise....
but it sounds as though you need to strip everything out of the home down to the studs and subfloor. You can run some ionizers in there, which will help out a ton.
Typically mold is caused by something. You won't get rid of the mold if you can't get rid of the problem. In my experience is that a high percentage of mold problems are caused by a roof problem.
I would say you have found the cause of the mold. But unfortunately also now have many other problems to go with it.
Did they make structural changes to the property ? IE, walls removed? Did they hack the water, electric or furnace? Has the mold gotten to the rafters? studs?
Without seeing the place it's very had to give an opinion, but based on what you have described and that it was a grow house, I would guess best case is it needs to be taken down to the studs, worst case it just plain needs to be taken down.
You guys want to come on out to Oregon & take a look?
It's so hard to tell the source of moisture because the place is so overgrown with mold. I think I'll just have to gut the place & see if I can find any clues. I think I will also ask the seller when he started to notice the mold.
Well, thanks for your opinions - I'll keep you posted.
LOL, he started to notice it soon after he set up the marijuana growing operation I'm sure. I have very little doubt that is the cause.
Get someone in there to look at it who knows what they are looking for, the place could easily be beyond hope. If the mold hasn't destroyed the place have the electric, water and heat systems checked. Since you have contact with the owner, ask him what he did to those, he probably has rigged the electric at least.
Odds are pretty good there is a termite infestation as well, get it checked for damage and infestation. I would treat even if they don't find anything active.