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A total of 15 states had or have mold guidance require mold licensing or regulate mold businesses in some way. Of this list of 15, two have repealed the laws and one of them reintroduced a law requiring licensing in 2024. New Jersey is part of the 15, as they passed regulations for the Department of Community Affairs to establish regulations for mold businesses, DCA manages New Jersey's lead inspection laws which are some of the most stringent in the nation.

Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia & Washington D.C, either require licensing for aspects of mold inspection/remediation or set standards or guidance these parties must follow when involved with mold.

In the absence of Federal regulations on mold, including standards of practice, Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL), air quality standards, licensing, or procedures for testing, evaluation, and remediation, individual states have established their guidelines or have chosen to have none. There is a great disparity between the states that do have regulations when you compare them against each other.

Even OSHA, which is designed to ensure the safety of works, has no mold standards. OSHA’s “general duty” clause requires employers to provide a workplace that is free of identified hazards. For the general duty clause to be breached, a clearly defined hazard and subsequent exposure must be identified. Because of the inability to set exposure limits/standards, OSHA does not consider the presence of mold as an identified hazard. Wow, the World Health Organization and CDC all consider mold to be an indoor air pollutant, but since the Federal government has no reference standard for mold, OSH says mold is not a hazard.

Here is a quick summary of mold regulations in the various states:

Arkansas

On April 10, 2009, the Governor of the State of Arkansas signed into law Public Act No. 1467, to License Mold Investigators; To Establish Standards for Mold Investigations; To Establish Qualifications For Mold Investigators; and For Other Purposes. This act was repealed in 2011.

On    February 23,   2011, the Arkansas General Assembly enacted Act 341, An Act to Create the Mold
Investigation Advisory Board; To Study Laws and Rules Regarding Mold Inspections and Remediation; and  For Other Purposes.   As part of the mandate of this Act, the Mold Investigation Advisory Board has chosen to publish guidelines establishing mold abatement protocols that include acceptable methods for the performance of Mold Investigation and Remediation within the State of Arkansas. These guidelines are not regulations. The intent of the Arkansas Guidelines for Mold Abatement Contractors is to fulfill, in part, the legislative mandate set forth in Act 341.  Now an attorney will read that there are standards of proactive mold companies should follow, if they do not the words negligence, improper, substandard, and lawsuit can be expected to be heard.

California

As of January 1, 2016, mold is a condition that makes a home substandard in California. The owner of a rental property cited as substandard by a local (city or county) code inspector is required to repair the substandard condition. Below are the parts of the California Health & Safety Code that refer to dampness and mold. In ENGLISH California Adds visible mold growth to conditions defining substandard housing in the state’s Health and Safety Code. California laws include a written disclosure law for mold. Because of this, California landlords are required, by law, to provide tenants with written disclosures when a landlord is aware of present mold in the rental unit. Written disclosures are documents that are signed by both landlords and tenants.

Florida

Provides that Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) administers the mold-related services licensing program. DBPR chose the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC) to provide the license examinations required.

Illinois

In 2003, the Illinois General Assembly adopted House Joint Resolution 12, which established the Joint Task Force on Mold in Indoor Environments. This task force examined the mold issue in Illinois and made recommendations to the General Assembly about the regulation of mold in indoor environments in Illinois. In 2007, the Mold Remediation Registration Act was passed into law. This law requires that IDPH annually report to the General Assembly any federal research and regulations related to mold cleanup and standards for mold remediation training.

Kentucky

Kentucky Department of Law to establish minimum standards for mold remediation companies based on the general mold remediation principles set forth by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC).

Louisiana

The State Licensing Board for Contractors licenses a mold remediation specialist (specialist). The specialist has training in both mold assessment and mold remediation and receives instruction on Louisiana’s “Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law”.

Maine

Maine prohibits a person or company from providing both mold assessment and remediation services on a project unless the building owner has signed a disclosure statement regarding the potential conflict of interest.

Maryland

Maryland passed the Mold Remediation Services Act in 2008. The Maryland Mold Remediation Services Act was a law that required companies and contractors to be licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission to perform mold remediation work on residential properties.

Due to budget constraints, the law implementation was postponed indefinitely. The law was terminated on July 1, 2019.

 New Hampshire

Requires American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC) certification for mold assessors.

New Jersey

Established standards for the licensing of consultants who conduct Indoor Environmental Health Assessments (IEHAs) in childcare centers and educational facilities. Legislative session 2022 – 2023 requires DCA (Department of Community Affairs) to establish procedures for inspection and abatement of mold hazards in residential buildings and school facilities, and certification programs for mold inspectors and mold hazard abatement workers.   So, regulations in NJ are on the horizon.

New York

A leader in mold regulations, which started in 1993, and updated in 2008, with their Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments. This guideline has been referenced extensively and was the initial standard. Current regulations require licensing for mold inspectors and remediators. . Eligibility for the state license includes completion of a U.S. Department of Labor approved coursework.

Oklahoma

Any person or entity inspecting houses for mold shall not also render services for removing the mold unless the total cost of the inspection and removal is $200 or less. It appears unusual, but makes sense if you trying to ensure consumers do not overpay or hire firms with a conflict of interest for mold services.

Texas

Prohibits a person from engaging in mold assessment or remediation, unless that person holds a license from the state. The law prohibits license holders from performing both mold assessment and mold remediation on the same project. It establishes certain minimum work practices and recordkeeping requirements for licensed mold assessors and remediators. Excluding licensing for labs that test mold samples, there are 7 separate licenses for companies and individuals dealing with mold.

Virginia

Mold licensing law was passed in April 2012, but repealed in July 2012. A new law went into effect in July 2024 requires contractors who do mold remediation on homes in Virginia to have certification from the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification. Although, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) does not assess the credentials of, or make recommendations regarding, specific mold specialists

Washington D.C.

Requires you to obtain a license from the DC Department of the Environment. In addition to education and experience requirements, applicants must pass an approved examination administered by the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC).

Rental property mold regulations

More States have regulations regarding mold in rental properties or requiring mold disclosures when selling real estate as opposed to laws that regulate testing and remediation of mold.

Although not explicitly stated in Maryland or federal law, landlords are required to provide mold-free environments for their residents.

2012 Regular Session: Proposed Senate Bill 70 Environment –Mold Inspections–Standards, Reporting, and Penalties for rental properties.

Sellers of real estate Under Maryland law, you’re required to disclose any known mold issues, including past water damage, on the Residential Property Disclosure and Disclaimer Statement. Md. Code § 10-702

1. You must disclose known defects, including mold issues, that materially affect the property’s value or desirability under Md. Code § 10-702.
2. You’ll need to document all known mold issues and remediation efforts to foster trust with potential buyers and protect yourself from future liability.
3. Selling ‘as-is’ with a disclaimer doesn’t relieve you of the obligation to inform buyers of known latent defects, including mold issues.

States that require mold disclosure:

Nationwide, we see regulations in place to protect renters of residential real estate. For example this unnamed state has the following: A residential property owner who receives written or electronic notice from a tenant that indoor mold or suspected indoor mold exists in the dwelling unit or in a common area of the property shall inspect the property within 7 days and remediate the condition in accordance with subsections (b) and (c) of this section within 30 days of the inspection unless a shorter timeframe is ordered by a court or the Mayor.

Disclosure of prior mold, remediation, or water damage is fast becoming a de facto standard in residential sales contracts. In short States that have Disclosure Statements and particularly the ones that require that a disclosure be completed, mold is topic that is required to be disclosed.

New Jersey, for example, has N.J.S.A. 56:8-19.1 requires that if a filled-in property condition disclosure statement indicates the seller’s awareness of water leakage, accumulation or dampness, the presence of mold or other similar natural substance, or repairs or other attempts to control any water or dampness problem on the real property, the involved real estate broker, broker-salesperson, or salesperson is required to provide the buyer with a physical copy of the Department of Health’s "Mold Guidelines for New Jersey Residents" pamphlet. 

New Jersey consumer fraud law bans the "concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with the intent that others rely upon such concealment, suppression or omission, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any … real estate." N.J.S.A. 56:8-2.  If the property has paperwork relating to mold inspection of remediation it is to be disclosed to buyers.

Marijuana and Mold

Since legal cannabis is happening in more and more states, the individual states has set mold standards on mold. Yes, there is a weed mold standard. Most states set the limit on yeast and mold content in cannabis at 10,000 “colony forming units” of yeast and mold per gram, a measure of cells that could form harmful growths. They test either DNA or culture to see if mold will grow.

The Future of Mold Regulations - 

Expect states to have standards of habitability for rental properties regarding mold.

States will require mold disclosure, and prior water damage when selling a home.

To protect consumers, states will pass regulations or guidance for standards of work practices regarding mold testing and remediation.

We recently had a property that was being sold By Owner and in an Estate.    The sellers inspection observed suspect mold, well the seller said it was dirt.

The buyer, being prudent, wanted the area tested and 100% mold was present. The buyer upon finding mold, needed a professional assessment of the mold to find the cause and develop the cost for remediation. The seller did not want to do anything regarding the mold and the deal fell through.

New Jersey has new mold disclosure requirements that place the responsibility of the owner (seller) to disclose if mold is present and to reference it on the required home disclosure statement.  The law unfortunately requires the owner to be ethical and diligent in knowing if mold is present.   Finding mold typically occurs when a buyer does their due diligence and finds mold.   In a usual real estate transaction, finding mold becomes somewhat of public knowledge, as the parties in the transaction, owner, buyer, their realtors, their attorneys, and their inspectors will all know about the mold. This doesn’t even take into account other real estate professionals in the respective real estate office who will inquiring regarding how the transaction is going.   Mold can be a deal killer, from the viewpoint of either side (buyer or seller). The deal killer aspect is concern that the home is uninhabitable (99.99% of the time the mold is 100% fixable making this concern mute).   The seller not wanting to address the mold, well which can be a deal killer but also triggers the responsibility of the seller to update their disclosure statement to future buyers.    The rub is many sellers do not want to disclose that mold is present, and the most common parties are properties that are For Sale by Owner and homes that are in an Estate.   These transaction have the seller believing they do not have to comply with disclosure requires or unaware of successful lawsuits against sellers for not disclosing conditions that can make the home uninhabitable such as mold.

What is the takeaway from mold in real estate transactions?  

Include a professional mold inspection as part of your due diligence. Let the seller side know you are performing a mold inspection. If the seller refuses to allow the inspection, the home is likely not for you.

This is a common request we get from tenants. We have worked for tenants, landlords, and Homeowner Associations (HOAs).  In all cases, the following advice is the best course to address suspect or known mold issues.

First, if you suspect a mold issue in a property you do not own, it is best to contact the owner/landlord, as it is their responsibility to evaluate complaints. Since mold is water-related, unaddressed mold issues that are ignored will continue to cause damage to the property. Stopping the water source that drives mold growth is something any property owner would want to address.

If you rent a property with an HOA, contacting the HOA is prudent. Uniform buildings such as developments with an HOA will have buildings of similar age and construction. Since everything ages and has a life expectancy, it is possible that if your unit has a mold issue, the other units have the same issue.   If you have a water leak from the roof, rest assured other roofs in the complex have the same leak. 

Now there are absentee landlords, that may ignore your complaints.   In these cases, you go to step 2.

Your second approach would be contacting the local board of health and/or the municipality as landlords have to keep properties habitable. It is possible these agencies can evaluate your concern and have the landlord address it.

Your final option is to hire a professional to perform a Mold Inspection with testing.   I saved this option for last because you are spending money on professional evaluation. Budget $300 to $500 to $900 to have your mold problem professionally evaluated with testing.   Why such a wide range of costs?   Because mold problems are unique contingent on the mold issue and concern will dictate what is technique used for evaluation and how much testing should be performed.   There are some considerations before taking this step, will confirmation of mold by a professional be enough to get the owner to address your concern?   Do not spend money if you do not think you will get the result you desire. It is always safe to let the owner know you are hiring a professional as that may cause to owner to address your concern.

Lastly, be prepared that you may not have a mold problem.   Curren has completed thousands of mold inspections, and a good portion of mold inspections entail people thinking there is a mold situation affecting their health and this includes renters, owners, and workers in commercial buildings, and there is no mold issue.   If you are having health problems and mold is not a problem, you have other health issues that require professional medical evaluation.

What should you not do if you think you have a mold problem?

One, do not do any testing yourself, you are not qualified and will not understand what the test results mean.  It is a waste of money.

Two, do not declare you have black mold, as it is a fictitious mold, it does not exist, and no mold is named black mold.

Lastly do not claim to be a medical or mold expert, you are someone who may have a mold problem that you want evaluated and if present addressed.  It is our experience the vast majority of landlords want tenant issues addressed, so be calm and understanding.

Mold is a byproduct of water or moisture.  Fixing the source is step one in remediating mold.  

Mold Remediation is a multi-step process that includes the removal of the mold from impacted surfaces (Hepa Vac), the application of a post-cleaning fungicide, and lastly application of a fungistatic coating on organic surfaces.  

The fungistatic coating is typically white or clear and applied to organic wood surfaces to allow the treated surface to resist mold growth.  The coating can also stop the wood from absorbing moisture, which is what allows mold to start to grow.

This is all performed in a manner to try and contain the mold spores, so they are not spread to other rooms in the building.  You must also be diligent in looking for additional sources of water/moisture that fueled the mold growth.   Commonly, there are more than one cause of the mold growth.

Since only 11 states have mold regulations, the work performed in all other states is questionable as you have no specified quality of service.   Meaning what should be performed to remediate mold is not always completed.  If the white coating is not a mold-resistant coating i.e., paint, mold would be expected to grow as paint contains organic material that can foster mold growth. Mold-resistant coating (fungistatic) costs significantly more than paint, and many people will use paint to save money.  

Mold Remediation Failures

If the company performing mold remediation is unlicensed, which most are and they do not follow industry protocols, expect corners to be cut and your mold remediation to be a failure.   Mold remediation failures come from a lack of clear objectives and protocols that the company should utilize to remediate the mold.

The photo below shows areas that were missed when applying a mold-resistant coating which allowed mold to grow.

 While a remediated space does not necessarily have to appear like a freshly painted room, the area should visually indicate that treated surfaces are coated or covered. As the name implies “fungistatic coating” must coat all organic surfaces to be effective. The better coatings come with a 10-year warranty to prevent mold growth.

Expert Mold Advice

888-301-1050

How often do I hear ......"You have the black mold"!

Mold is a four-letter word you don't want to utter or hear.   Mold is alleged to be the cause of so many health issues and typically by people self-diagnosing themselves.

If there was black mold, you would also hear about brown, grey and white mold.  Black mold was invented by the media and is only the color of a mold, just like brown and grey, and white colored mold. 

Most all molds have names that are very difficult to pronounce and many types of mold are black in color when you see a black-colored mold you could be seeing over a hundred possible types of mold. 

The list below is a snip of a fungal library, you can see molds under A, B, F S, what you can't see under the B list is a Black Mold or any molds in the list that are named for a color. Naming a mold for color is not performed.

Pro Tip

If you have mold you have a water problem which caused the mold.  Bottom line you don't have mold unless you have excess water. If someone says you have black mold, you are being scammed.

True Story

A guy built his own house, that had a crawlspace.  He installed vents in the crawlspace, as was required by code.  He also opened the vents in warm weather and closed them in the cold weather, as he was told to do.  Fast forward 10 years, he is selling the home, and the buyer's inspection process finds mold in the Black MOLD crawlspace.     He became our client and we had to explain to all parties that black mold doesn't exist and that there was indeed mold in the crawlspace, from moisture in the air caused by the opening and closing of the vents.  Had he sealed the vents and operated a dehumidifier in the space, he would have removed moisture because moisture is the fuel that drives mold growth, but that is not what the construction codes say.

You see at Curren Environmental, we are environmental professionals, we provide advice regarding a variety of Environmental topics, mold being just one of them.  No hype, no trying to scare you, science-based assessments of problems and their associated solution.

Want Expert Mold Advice?

888-301-1050

Buyer Beware when it Comes to Mold & Oil Tank

If you are buying a home, it may be your first or may be your third.  Either way the internet has no doubt made you a sharper consumer. You can assess the property online by evaluating photos, sometimes 3D tours of the home, school districts, past sale prices for the property and the neighborhood, property taxes, the list goes on.  No doubt you know how to google information. So you find the home, make an offer, it goes under contract and now your due diligence happens.  A home inspection, etc.  You are a savvy buyer so you look into other inspections you can do, Roof?, Mold? Oil Tank Sweep?  Yep, you do them all but guess what the seller has access to the internet as well, they may even be buying another home so they have concerns with inspections of their own.  But since they are selling they are also concerned with what you might find and the cost.

Be fair, if you had a buried tank at a home you were selling and you googled oil tank leak and the following photo popped up, how forthcoming would you be about the tank?  

True statements:

Sellers don't want to have to spend money to sell their homes.

Buyers, don't want to spend money on unexpected repairs, mold and oil tanks are top of the list. 

Both items are not covered by a home inspection, so while a home inspector may flag that the hot water heater needs to be replaced, they are not going to point out a $4,000.00 mold remediation.

The best advice we can provide is to be aware of what inspections are prudent during the home buying process.  

Regarding tank sweeps, they can be a lifesaver.  Tank Sweeps

Tank Nightmare aka property listed again with no mention of the oil tank

The contract of sale falls apart due to the oil tank.

The story goes that the owner selling their home finds that their old unused oil tank is not a selling feature so they decide not to mention it on the listing information.  Home goes under contract and out of guilt, sellers admit to an oil tank when asked.   Curren quotes the removal and the seller wants to know what happens if the tank leaks.    The seller decides not to remove the oil tank, this killed the deal.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the property is relisted, again with no discussion of an oil tank.    So now a seller is flat out forgetting a tank was known to exist (I don't say lie) and we get a call from a new buyer for the home and they want us to do a tank sweep.

Really, must we be the only straight-talking people?  Hey, this situation is easy to resolve, we remove the tank.

But how about the person who buys the house with a tank that was not disclosed (we found it for another buyer) and they get transferred with their job in a year and have to sell the home?

The anger, the lawsuits, heck the only happy people are the attorneys.   Happens again and again. Realtors if you are reading and if you know the listing has a tank and the buyers are not disclosing, you better disclose, I have a few realtors getting sued for this.  Email can be forever, people talk, buyers share bad news (ever hear of social media?), I am not going to say how each attorney researches facts,  to trace how someone knew something and didn’t disclose it or blankly fabricated an untruth, but it's much easier than you think.

Now to be fair we have been around for over 20 years, we touch thousands of sites a year and every so often we get a boomerang.  What is a boomerang?  A project we were involved with stopped dead in its tracks, Curren finds a tank, finds mold, finds contamination, the deal falls through, owner cancels the contract for tank removal/mold.  Ok it happens, we aren’t pushy, if the owner changes their mind they have our number.

Why talk about this, because buyer beware, I would rather consult for a buyer to interest BEFORE they buy a problem.

Why are we happy when we find a tank, find mold, or contamination for a buyer?   Because our client doesn't own the property yet, we did our job we found a problem and now this problem can be presented to the seller for correction.  Surely the seller doesn’t want to sell you an environmental problem costing thousands of dollars?    Sadly there is a % of people that will, many step up, but some sellers do not, hence you need for proper due diligence.  

When buying a home a home do your due diligence.

Tank sweeps?  Click here  Tank Sweeps

Mold Inspection Click here  Mold Inspections

Expert advice you can rely upon, that Curren Environmental.

How to read mold testing results.

A Mold Survey involves mold sampling for the presence or type of mold. Mold sampling is completed in two ways, mold surface sampling and mold air sampling. Mold surface sampling is completed on a surface that is suspected to contain a mold-like substance, this type of sampling can be completed by performing acquiring a mold tape lift sample or a mold swab sample. Both methods involve acquiring a sample of the mold-like substance and having the sample analyzed by a laboratory. Your results should determine the type and quantity of mold. The interpretation of sample results pertaining to mold concentration has to be evaluated objectively when the analysis finds mold as you are sampling an area that has a mold-like substance, which can typically represent the suspected highest concentration (worst area), otherwise, why would you sample that particular area. The other type of mold sampling is mold air sampling. Mold air sampling is accomplished by running air through a laboratory containing that that captures microscopic airborne particles (fungi). The sample container is then analyzed by a laboratory for mold type and mold quantity. The analysis can be studied for both viable molds, meaning the sample is studied to see if the mold spores grow or by non-viable meaning, it what is the overall type and quantity of mold found. Mold non-viable air sampling is more common as it has been established that mold spores alive or dead can be an irritant.

Once you have the laboratory analysis completed, you now have to discuss the results and what they mean. Unlike soil and groundwater samples where all states have specific government-established standards, with mold there are No Federal or State Agency established concentration standards (Maximum Exposure Limits- MEL) or threshold level values for airborne indoor mold or for surface sample analysis of mold. Therefore, if you suspect there is a mold problem and have air testing or surface sampling performed, there is no regulatory standard to compare your results against. Without government standards, there is no common industry standards standard. The reason that there are no standards is that setting exposure limits or MELs would be difficult for a variety of technical reasons, which include limitations in both mold surface sampling and mold air sampling techniques, individual variability in sensitivity to microbial exposure among the human population, the occurrence of different types of biological and chemical pollutants in the indoor environment and limited data on the exposure-response relationship in humans. In essence, it is difficult to say who will be affected by mold spores and at what concentrations it would take to affect different people.

Due to the lack of set government standards, the environmental consulting industry follows general principles when evaluating mold test results. On a basic level when evaluating mold air sampling data, the mold levels should be higher outside than inside. The idea behind this approach is that there are always more molds outside in the soil, mulch, plants, decomposition of organic matter, etc. outside. Aside from an indoor and outdoor comparative evaluation, you evaluate the test results for specific types of mold. This evaluation includes looking for common outdoor molds as well as molds that are more commonly found on moist building materials. Evaluation of these molds goes a step deeper by looking for so-called opportunistic molds (marker fungi), which are frequently found on long-term water damaged building materials. The presence of these molds can point to a long-term moisture issue. These opportunistic fungi include Aspergillus and Penicillium species, Acremonium spp., Sporobolomyces spp., Stachybotrys, chartarum, Memnoniella echinata, Tritirachium oryzae, Ulocladium botrytis, U. chartarum, Cladosporium spp., and Chaetomium spp. These are molds that are not typically recovered in the outside air, so when they are found outside, they are in generally low levels. Conversely, when they are found indoors these molds typically point to an indoor water issue. The higher the indoor concentration of these fungi the more likely a long-term water issue is present.

In summary mold testing and the interpretation of the analytical results involves the evaluation of individual types of mold you find and determining why they are present.

Finding the type of mold, while interesting it does not explain why it is present. Therefore, every mold survey and mold inspection should not just confirm the presence of mold but also why the mold present is, and what created the environment for the mold to grow. The backend of the mold testing and mold sampling project includes an inspection for the physical presence of mold as well as for water damage.

More common mold questions and answers can be found at: /Mold-Frequently-Asked-Questions

New Jersey allows sellers of real estate properties to complete a Property Condition Disclosure Statement.  The property disclosure statement relative to mold references he following. 

NJ Seller’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement
(N.J.S.A. 56:8-19.1) A. 2685 

◦Yes    No         
[ ]      [ ]               9)        Are you aware of any water leakage, accumulation or 
                                       dampness within the basement or crawl spaces or any 
                                       other areas within any of the structures on the property? 

◦[ ]      [ ]               9a)      Are you aware of the presence of any mold or similar 
                                         natural substance within the basement or crawl spaces 
                                         or any other areas within any of the structures on the 
                                          property? 

As revised, N.J.S.A. 56:8-19.1 newly requires that if a filled-in property condition disclosure statement indicates the seller’s awareness of water leakage, accumulation or dampness, the presence of mold or other similar natural substance, or repairs or other attempts to control any water or dampness problem on the real property, the involved real estate broker, broker-salesperson, or salesperson is required to provide the buyer with a physical copy of the Department of Health’s "Mold Guidelines for New Jersey Residents" pamphlet. 

Mold Disclosure & Consumer Fraud

New Jersey consumer fraud law bans the "concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with intent that others rely upon such concealment, suppression or omission, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any … real estate." N.J.S.A. 56:8-2. 

The administrative rules of the Real Estate Commission provide that real estate licensees must disclose all information “material to the physical condition of any property which they know or which a reasonable effort to ascertain such information would have revealed to their client or principal and when appropriate to any other party to a transaction.” N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.4.  The concern raised by this requirement is that a real estate broker or agent might be called on to answer to a defrauded buyer for passing along bad information originating with the seller. 

1. Mold disclosure in a typical real estate transaction
2. Seller answers no regarding water or mold
3. Home goes under contract
4. Buyer does due diligence including a mold inspection.
5. Mold is found and a repair request presented to the seller
6. Maybe because of mold, maybe another issue but the transaction falls apart and the property is an active listing.

The seller now has to disclose the mold even if it was not disclosed previously. If it is disclosed, the Realtor would need to provide the buyer with the mold guidelines.

Mold growth is due to a water issue, mold will grow back if the water issue is not fixed. After disclosure of mold growth by seller, ask how the water issue was fixed and for some paperwork. Regarding the mold remediation, ask the seller for paperwork from the mold remediation company. The company should provide information on the remediation was performed and warranties on the products used during remediation.

Disclosure of mold by the Seller should not make your run from the property, if you have the proper paperwork backing up that it was remediated and the water issue was fixed, it shouldn't be an issue in the future.

It is not uncommon for mold to be found at a residence. Mold will grow silently over years in areas of your home that you may not even go in. 

During the home inspection or a mold inspection, mold  will show up during a real estate transaction. The rub with mold is that someone may see staining and call it mold or during a  home inspection, the inspector may test a surface for mold and confirm mold and then you are left with the knowledge that mold is present. What you won't know is why it grew, how to prevent it in the future and to what extent the mold is present.

The mold dilemma is there are only 11 states that have mold regulations so the industry lacks real mold professionals. If you are in NJ, PA or DE there is no mold licensing so in theory you can't find a mold professional or you can't find a state licensed professional.

The lack of mold regulations create no barrier of entry for someone wanting  to do mold work.  If you don't need a license  that saves you a lot of time and brain power.

Companies try and drum up work by offering "Free Mold inspections".   Are mold inspections truly free?    The time to give professional advice is not free,  as there has to be a cost involved to evaluate a property and provide professional advice. Free mold inspections, should read, "You are going to pay me to remediate mold if you need it or not". In the photo below, an inspector said that was mold and recommended remediation. 

Professional mold inspections can average around $500, plus or minus depending on size of property and if surface or airborne sampling is performed.  (It was not mold)

Let's be clear we have given thousands of 2nd opinions over the years and there is always three common threads we find with mold advice.

1. Many owners of properties that are told they need mold remediation, do not actually need mold remediation.  Or the remediation they need is not the ENTIRE basement or attic.
2. Mold often grows back when the mold was inadequately addressed. Read, consultant never stopped the actual cause of the mold. (Leak, moisture intrusion, humidity, etc).  In short there was never a professional evaluation for mold.
3. The mold testing person doesn't understand the results of the mold testing, the cause of the mold growth or the actual extent.  Case in point inspector sampled a crawl space and a basement that were connected. We were asked to provide a cost to remediate the crawlspace, when in fact the basement had the bigger mold issue and people used the basement to exercise, so the mold exposure was greatest in the basement, but that is not what the consultant recommended.    The problem with non-mold professionals is they like to take a samples because they will get a really long, slick looking report of lab data, which is all pretty boilerplate, but it looks nice.  Because the lab gives such a nice package the actual mold consultants feel they do not have to provide an opinion in writing, it happens all the time.    So they find mold but they can't say it doesn't have to be remediated, why it would need remediation, what would be the difference or really most important what is the cause, causes or even likely causes for the mold.  

Regarding the "report".  A mold inspection report isn't the lab data from the lab, it should be a written report detailing the inspection, what was found, what wasn't found, and most importantly is why was there mold in the first place.  The report should also go over, in detail, what the lab data means, along with photos.

The bottom line is many mold companies work in their best interest not that of the owner or client.  This is particularly true if you are being offered free advice.  Conversely Home Inspections are not mold inspections, so while an inspector may say mold was noted in the basement in attic, it does not define the extent or the cause.  Both of which you need to properly remediate the mold.

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The recession of 2008 can still be felt today in the form of foreclosed properties that have been flipped.    These flipped homes look nothing like the home when it was bank owned.   Flipped homes certainly hold appeal for homeowners who want move in conditions homes.  The photo below shows a house that went through renovations.

This is a photo of the same home same area pre renovation.   Note the mold on the wood furniture on the left hand side of the photo.

Bank owned houses due to no occupancy, have wildly ranging temperatures and humidity fluctuations.  In short, the house gets hot and humid in warmer months, which allows mold to grow.  We have done homes where we come across mold on walls, trim, furniture, attics, basements and crawl spaces due to the house not being heated and cooled.  These homes also may be like this for years.  This certainly makes for homes that are in desperate need of rehabilitation, the question you have to ask is was the mold addressed?

Almost certainly mold in attics and crawl spaces are typically not addressed as these are not areas where the flipper will get bang for their buck or even look for repairs.

Basements typically get partially redone because it creates a living space that was not present before.  The problem is mold that has grown during the foreclosure process gets covered over by clean sheetrock, concealing the mold.  We have seen cracks in foundation walls covered by fresh sheetrock.

Basements in bank owned homes typically will have some levels of mold growth.  Again, when these homes are not occupied, there is a high possibility of mold growth.  

Why Mold Test a Flipped Home?

Many house flippers tend to look over the mold growth in basements, one because they are not aware it is mold growth and two, they are unaware of any water issues.  It is Curren's recommendation to always do  Mold Testing in basements of those homes that are being flipped, especially if they were once not occupied and a Foreclosure, sheriff sale, tax sale or bank sale property. There are times when basements are finished or re-finished and the mold growth is covered up, but not specifically remediated.  Meaning, mold will continue to grow and fester in these areas and will not just disappear.  

Attics are yet another area that are not in the realm of a house flipper.  When an house is not occupied for a period of time, humidity and moisture builds up, especially in an area that has no air flow.  Non-occupied homes do  not always have electricity and whole house attic fans, attic fans and humidistat attic fans will not turn on when necessary.  These situations lead to mold growth in attics.

Curren Environmental suggests Mold Inspections and testing in homes that have not been occupied for a period of time.  Mold growth will occur within 72 hours in the right environment.  Its not to say that home flippers are hiding the mold, they may just be missing that what they see is mold growth.  They are not mold experts.

Questions?

or email at info@currenenvironmental.com