Water Damage on Ceilings....Please Help!

[Jamie Wooley]

I am looking at my first possible flip purchase.  I can account for all cost except this.  The roof needs to be replaced hence the water damage in most of the rooms on the ceilings.  The homeowner says it has been there for a while, whatever that means.  I am meeting my GC on Monday to give me an estimate for rehab cost (which I have a really good idea already) but they are not really on the up and up when it comes to mold.  I did not see any signs of mold anywhere in the house but I know this does not mean there is not mold there.  Should I get an inspection and find out or should I go forward with the deal.  My thoughts from a little google education is if I find mold I can have my contractor treat it as long as it's not black mold and I should be okay. Again this is my first flip so I really can't afford to walk into some huge cost that is unexpected here.  I am afraid if I get an inspector out they will tack me for all kinds of little stuff, this is a lower end neighborhood $50,000-$85,000 so these homes have a lot going on in them.  I want to do it right but we are not dealing with a high end home here.  Any thoughts?

[Owen Dashner]

I have had quite a few projects involving mold.  Aside from the obvious things you will likely need to replace (drywall, insulation), you will also want to have the plywood sheeting checked out for mold from inside the attic.  It is very possible that there is quite a bit of mold on the sheeting, which would likely mean that the roof will need torn off so that you can have the sheeting replaced as well (treating the sheeting is possible depending on the size of the affected area, but likely will be almost as expensive as replacing the roof itself).

As Mindy mentioned above, do NOT use bleach on mold - all it does it change the color of the mold - it does not kill it and can cause more spores to be released into the affected area if the mold area is disturbed. 

There are mold inspection companies, and mold remediation companies.  If you have an inspection company come out, they will do a tape test on multiple areas of the house, and will send the tape samples off to a lab for testing to determine the amount and type(s) of mold present.  Then they will develop a remediation scope of work, which you can then provide to the remediation specialist for a bid. 

The remediation company will typically put up a plastic sheeting barrier to contain the affected area and will use a HEPA air scrubber to remove any spores in the air.  They will also remove any affected materials that cannot be treated with detergent/water solution.

Once the remediation work is completed, have the mold inspection company come back out for a re-test.  Assuming the re-test passes inspection, they will give you a report indicating that the property has been tested and has passed inspection (which you can then provide as part of your disclosures when selling the property). 

Keep in mind, just because a mold area is not black, it does not mean it is not toxic.  There are hundreds of strains of mold, and several strains are considered toxic, and not always easily visible to the eye.

These types of projects can be tedious and costly due to having to replace a lot of building materials and the remediation work involved.  It doesn't sound like you will have much room for profit margin in the area the house is located in, so I would really make sure you have your costs nailed down before proceeding with this project.  You might consider passing on this one and looking for a less risky project.

*No legal advice given.

Owen