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by Mimi Norris 8-3-2002
Three some years ago, mold was a non-issue. It was so much of a non-issue that during an interior property inspection, I personally spent over an hour detailing the layout of a severely mold infested property with little thought other than to record the condition on the final report. The client called wanting to know what the problem was and why I had stated "possible health threat" on the report. I had to explain that, here in Cleveland, Ohio a substance being referred to as "black mold" was on the news and was being blamed for the deaths of several infants. I further explained that this property was worse than any that had been shown on the news as far as the total area covered. The news had shown bits of mold on the walls and some more mold on the underlying studs. This property, that I spent over an hour in, unprotected, had mold everywhere - up the walls, across the floors, on the ceiling - it was a veritable piece of mold in and of itself. This had to be a health threat and I thought I should alert the lender.
Today, mold is the hottest issue around, not only for the field servicing industry but for society in general. Not only is mold a hot issue, it is an extremely litigious issue with multi-million dollar lawsuits flashing the news headlines with more frequency than defendants care for it to be. We see mold seminars frequently being announced not only for mere educational purposes but also for preservation mechanics to learn how to abate or remediate the mold from vacant properties. There is a veritable band-wagon going by with every other preservation mechanic jumping on it. HUD, one of the largest loan guarantors, generally will not accept properties with mold in them. Likewise, Fannie Mae has stated each property will be assessed on a case-by-case scenario to determine if the property should be abated or sold as is. This leaves lenders and servicing companies jumping to have the properties abated within a reasonable cost so that the properties under their ownership or care can be converted to the guarantor and the loan guarantee paid off.
How serious is the mold problem for vacant properties? Several servicers have stated that their inventory records show an increase from as low as 3% to as high as 70% this year over last year of properties with mold in them. This means that last year, as few as 3 out of 100 properties were reported as having mold. This year as many as 70 properties out of 100 are reported as having mold. Could it be that awareness of the issue has revealed more properties having a problem or is it a monetary issue? One seminar ad circulating states that millions will be spent on mold abatement this year! No doubt, a preservation mechanic that offers remediation services may see more mold than a preservation mechanic that does not offer remediation services. As an inspector, I find very few properties having mold. However, now that I am aware that mold is an issue, I do look more carefully for it when inside a property. I also take more health precautions for my own safety and I would no longer enter a severely mold infested property without some form of protection.
Mold is natural in our environment. It exists in the air around us and is a living organism. Mold is not a problem in most homes that have proper ventilation and adequate protection from water/ moisture. Mold does not just grow out of control all by itself. There is usually some event that triggers abnormal growth. That event could be a leak in the structure (such as a roof leak) or a water entry point (such as a broken plumbing line) or a lack of care (such as a sump pump not working because the electric service has been disconnected). Given the moist and unventilated environment mold needs to grow, in a vacant property mold can rapidly grow out of control. Once mold is discovered, it must be appropriately addressed.
Addressing mold must be done in stages with the first stage being to address the conditions which allowed the mold to grow in the first place. In the instance of vacant properties, this would be repairing the roof leak, repairing the plumbing lines, or restoring the electric service and ensuring the sump pump is operational. Without the cause of the moisture being addressed, mold will re-grow and any steps taken to abate or remediate will be pointless.
Once the causing factor is remedied, the second stage to addressing mold would be to dry out the property. Remove the excess moisture from the area and the structure itself. This could be as simple as running a dehumidifier for a day and mopping up the water on the floor if the event is immediately attended to (within a day of occurrence). In severe instances and with most vacant properties where the event has occurred weeks and sometimes months prior to being addressed, running several industrial dehumidifiers for weeks may be needed to thoroughly dry the structure which has absorbed water/moisture over a prolonged period of time. Without the excess moisture being removed, mold will only re-grow regardless of any other steps taken to remediate or abate it.
Only after the causing factor and the subsequent moisture are addressed can you begin to abate and remediate the mold problem. At this point, it is necessary to have a knowledgeable contractor remove any damaged construction from the property. A tear-out of porous construction material (drywall, wallpaper, particle board, pressed wood, damaged paneling) is required because mold grows into the material with roots, just like a plant. You can think of mold like a dandelion flower. Those notorious little yellow flowers that plague most lawns! The dandelion roots go down into your lawn and requires a special tool to cut the root out to ward off the re-growth. Mold is similar to this. You have to remove the roots! As mold roots are microscopic, the only way to remove most of the root is to dig down into the construction material, by means of a tear-out, to accomplish the removal. A knowledgeable contractor will know how extensive the tear-out needs to be.
Once the tear-out is accomplished, the remaining areas need to be brush cleaned with a special anti-microbial cleanser to effectively kill and remove surface mold from the studs or framing of the property. This needs to now dry. Once dry, a special encasement sealer needs to be applied - not just ordinary paint! The sealer used has anti-microbial treatment in it and will assist in the determent of mold re-growth. As a lender, you can decide whether re-building is needed to make your property market ready or convey condition. In a basement area, it may be wiser to leave an unfinished basement. In a living area, it is probably best to restore the construction to a readily usable living area.
The last stage in mold remediation is to maintain a proper conditioned atmosphere so mold will not re-grow. This means that you need to keep the electric service on if due to sump pump damage. Keep the water off in situations where a broken plumbing line was the cause. Ensure that the roof will not leak again by repairing fully the damaged area: replace the roof if it is completely bad. Tarps are only temporary measures and will not hold up for the extensive time frames that most properties remain vacant.
While all the above information may be helpful to you, it does not tell you why you want to take all the appropriate steps. The following photographic documentation will assist in the "why" of it. Which also leads us to the "what" of it. What are you receiving for your money? In this instance, this property required electric restoration to operate a sump pump in a high water table area. The sump pump was not operating and water backed up into the lower level of the property. The carpet was saturated and mold growth/ mushrooms were evident upon securing. Details of the situation were reported to the lender and mold remediation services were hired prior to the water problem being corrected. The end result was that the property remained mold infested regardless of any abatement services that were performed.
Error # 1 - Electric was not restored prior to remediation.
Error #2 - The property was not dried out at all or at least not sufficiently.
Error #3 - The wet carpet was not removed prior to remediation.
Error #4 - A detailed plan of remediation was not given or performed (a reliable and recognized contractor was not hired for the job).
Result - The lender believed the property was ready for conveyance when in fact the property was not conveyable.
The following photography is dated and actual record of the progressive changes at the property.
Clicking each
photo will enlarge it in a new window.
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