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Laundry Room and Washing Machine Mould Problems
[Nov. 4, 2003]
Q. (I am
considering selling my home.) 2½ years ago we had a
washing machine leak, which resulted in water damage
to over half of our home. (1000sq ft). The initial
restoration company did not do all they should have to
dry out our home; they only pulled up carpet padding
and carpet. No baseboards were pulled, no drywall
drilled to air out the walls. They brought in fans,
but no de-humidifiers. That month in 2001 we had
terrible humidity. A week later when the insurance
company sent out their own people, the floors and
walls were still wet...that is how we got the mould.
We had a mould restoration specialty company come in
and over $60,000 and six months later we were mould
free. Now we are considering moving to a bigger
house. What are the
laws and/or limitations on mould disclosure. As far as
insurance companies go, would a decent rate be easier
to obtain if the water claim was due to a washing
machine and not plumbing?
A. Your questions are primarily of a legal
nature that you need to ask of a local real estate
attorney or environmental attorney. In general, real
estate sellers in many states have an obligation to
reveal such items as prior mould problems. Be sure to
order the CLUE report through your insurance agent that
reveals what the insurance industry as a group in its
CLUE data base knows about your home's flood/mould
claims. There is a good chance that the house is either
uninsurable or only insurable at very high premiums. It
is the CLUE report that often trips up sellers who fail
to disclose prior mould problems when the new buyer finds
out that he cannot buy homeowner's insurance at an
affordable cost. I hope you have had your home very
thoroughly mould inspected and mould tested recently [by
an independent mould testing company with no connection
to the mould removal company you utilized] to make sure
that the mould remediation job was successful in getting
rid of the mould problem. That would help you sell the
house. Please note that many mould remediation jobs are
poorly done.
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