Buying property with mould?

themightyboosh

Hi,

Looking to buy a property and many places I view have evidence of mould.
Even newly-painted places have dark patches around the ceiling and bubbling evident.
I've been treating it as a deal breaker up until now, but should I be just pricing it in?
Any tips on the price range of fixing mould in multiple rooms?
I've heard it can involve major work on chimneys, plasterwork etc., to resolve.
It'll vary from case to case, of course, but has anyone any experience of this?

Thanks,

K.Flyer

Mould can be a scourge and often difficult to completely get rid of.
Poor ventilation is a common cause which may be possible to easily rectify. Sometimes it might be something as simple as people always drying clothes on radiators.
Newer buildings, particularly apartments, seem to be plagued by it, where the cause is poor workmanship and bad finishing allowing for dampness to ingress from outside. Some management companies deal with these problems very well, others are useless until threatened with legal action.
Sometimes its caused by difficult to find leaks from other apartments, sometimes not even the direct neighbour, but a floor or two above.
Personally If I was you I would be patient and treat it as a potential money pit and avoid any property that shows signs of mould, particularly if it has been badly covered up.

themightyboosh wrote: »

[...]
should I be just pricing it in?

How can you price it in when you do not know the cause?

themightyboosh wrote: »

Any tips on the price range of fixing mould in multiple rooms?

Cost can range from a few hundred to several thousands.
Multiple Rooms! Avoid, sounds like big trouble.

themightyboosh wrote: »

I've heard it can involve major work on chimneys, plasterwork etc., to resolve.
It'll vary from case to case, of course, but has anyone any experience of this?

Could also be caused by leaking roofs, gutters, drainage, plumbing or heating systems. Or worse rising damp from insufficient damp proofing.
Hope that helps.

themightyboosh

Thanks very much, yes it seems like there's no limit to the cost.
Rising damp would probably be the most expensive issue, very hard to fix.
It's just so common in every property, now that I know where to look can find it everywhere!
On the other hand if I just needed to open up some vents, seems a shame to rule out an otherwise good house.
Really appreciate your advice K. Flyer, lots of food for thought!

Cuddlesworth

If it's just damp from moisture laden air, then it's pretty easy to get rid of. Remove the excess moisture from the air by identifying the reason(lack of vents, drying clothes internally without opening windows, buy a desiccant dehumidifier) and bleach the areas affected. It won't come back if you do.

But if it's damp for another reason(bubbling paint would imply that the moisture is coming from the other side), then you need to have a pretty good idea of the reason and the cost to fix. It's generally not that hard in most cases. Rising damp is the worst as the fixes for it are pretty hit and miss, water ingress that originates from the neighbours property are pretty bad too(faulty roof, raised flower bed against external wall, etc) because sometimes they don't care to fix it.

Jen44

we bought a house with damp on one wall. We cleaned the mould away with special mould spray and the painter re plastered damaged plaster and re painted the wall. Low and behold all my lovely paint has bubbled up and flaked off. Our problem is the wall is a chimney breast. We had to buy a rain cowl for the chimney €85, we have to get the damp plaster completely removed to the brick the brick treated with water proof barrier the wall replastered and insulation boards up costing €1500. We noticed this wall had a damp issued when we viewed the house as the wall paper was peeling off. However we decided to go ahead as the house was in too good a location for us to let it go so i suppose you just have to factor up if you are willing to spend the amounts it can cost to fix a damp issue. It may well be that the people in the house before you never opened windows in the morning or blocked vents etc. Stuff that is easier to fix. But as regards pricing in for the issue, you generally buy a house warts and all, although the solicitor has a more technically name for it!

Bob24

Do not buy if you don't have a clear understanding of where the mould comes from. It can range from very easy (the previous resident was careless and it just needs cleaning) to very difficult to fix (structural damage to the building causing water infiltration).

If aside from this you like the property, do not automatically discard it because of the mould though. Just have a surveyor look at it and tell you what they think (having someone inspect the property before you buy it is something that would be recommended anyway).

themightyboosh

Some great advice here, thanks.
I like the idea of cautiously going ahead but getting a good surveyor to really investigate the cause of the issue.
Then again you mightn't get to the bottom of an issue with a visual inspection.
Hadn't even considered what to do if it was coming from a neighbour who wasn't interested in fixing. That would be a disaster!
Seems like going for a property with mould is simply a big risk. Not a decision to be taken lightly.

Bob24

themightyboosh wrote: »

I like the idea of cautiously going ahead but getting a good surveyor to really investigate the cause of the issue.

Just a quick comment on this: a decent surveyor should not only identify the cause but also suggest a remedial plan (which should give you a rough idea of the cost and potential other parties involved before you make a decision).

Good luck with this!