Foreclosures Experts

Experts: Foreclosures create conditions for mold

HARTFORD, Conn. – Aug. 16, 2011 – Boarded up foreclosures – particularly during the hot summer months – can create ripe conditions for mold to surface. And some experts even estimate that half the foreclosed homes in the country likely have mold or mildew problems.

With its costly cleanup, mold can often be a deal breaker in a real estate deal.

Banks often shut off electricity and heat during the warm weather months when it forecloses on a home. But by doing so, “you’ve created a greenhouse” and all that is needed for mold to flourish is a little moisture from a pipe, rainwater or humid air seeping between the cracks, says David Goldstein, vice president of Mystic Air Quality, a company that tests buildings for mold.

“When buildings get closed up tight, those buildings rot,” Goldstein says.

Mold spores can survive for 20 years and lie dormant until the right conditions are met.

“This is really a buyer-beware situation,” Richard E. Maloney, director of trade practices with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, says. “So if you’re going to buy a foreclosed home, you’d better know what you’re doing.”

Source: “More Foreclosures=More Closed Up Houses = Lots More Mold: What Banks and Realtors Don’t Want to Talk About,” Hartford Advocate (Aug. 12, 2011)

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