All Forum Posts by: Steven Barr

LOL, You're welcome and I'm happy to assist. I kind of fell into this industry while I was flipping homes back 10 years ago. In Florida you need to be licensed and insured to test and remove mold. Insurance companies were paying good$$ so I figured what the heck and added it to my GC license.  you can see some of our horror stories on FB and IG by searching CVP Mitigation

 Depending where it is. Anything porous like carpets, drywall, insulation, wood laminate flooring, etc should be tossed and replaced. Cabinets should be tossed as well but we sometimes clean and encapsulate them if they are custom. Use Hepa vacuums on all the surfaces and wipe everything with a antimicrobial. AC ducts and units should be cleaned by a reputable company. The most important thing is to have a clear lab test from a licensed company. That is what will offer you the most protection. Mold is everywhere and airborne but your inside levels should never be greater than the outside which indicates a problem.

I am a contractor in Florida that specializes in Mold assessments and removal. Over 9 years I have seen many cases where either the owner or handyman covered up mold with kilz or paint to get a property rented or sold. The latest one was a $2,500 monthly rental that looked absolutely stunning and fully remodeled. After a month of being in the unit the tenant developed respiratory issues and ended up in the hospital after experiencing bloody nose and asthma attacks. In this particular case the tenant hired a company to test the house and found toxic levels of mold. The homeowners handyman allegedly covered up the mold in the walls caused by an AC condensation leak. This could have been resolved during the remodel for probably $500. Now the owner owes this tenant moving expenses, lawyer fees, all new furniture(negotiated during settlement), medical bills, dry cleaning and washing of all clothes, sanitizing of all her personal effect, and refund of every cent paid. Plus he had to hire my company to remediate the house so he can have a layer of protection when he rents it out again. Simple solution is have a licensed and insured company run an air test( +/-$500) prior to renting/buying and take care of it. It will cost much more after.  And No- bleach, vinegar, kilz, foggers, will properly remove mold from a building, it needs to be removed. Whenever any of my tenants mention mold, I resolve it quickly 

In my market (Massachusetts) when adding additional space we need to pull a permit.  This is usually good enough for the appraiser to take into account.  There is a caveat with this as certain things wont be taken into account at 100% value.  For example a finished basement is not worth as much per square foot as the main living area.  When I list I usually take this at 50% value of the main floor price per square foot.  Appraisers don't use this exactly but, as explained to me by an appraiser, its a bit of a sliding scale and depends how much is above or below grade.  The easy way is to measure it yourself tell the appraiser how much square feet you added