What You Can Do If You Find Mold In A House You Just Bought

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What You Can Do If You Find Mold In A House You Just Bought

25 July 2019
 Categories: Law, Blog


If you recently purchased a house and took all the appropriate measures to ensure that the house was in great condition, you might be very surprised, angry, and upset if you discover black mold in the house shortly after you moved in. If this is the case, you might be able to seek recourse from the person who sold you the house, as he or she probably knew the mold was there. If you are in this situation, here are some steps you may want to take to solve the problem you are facing.

Hire a real estate attorney

Before you do anything else, you should hire a real estate attorney. A real estate attorney offers legal advice and help for any type of situation related to real estate. When you end up with a house that has problems that you were not aware of, you might be able to sue the seller of the house for lying or hiding this information. A lawyer can help you know what your rights are and what steps you should take to proceed from this point on.

Review the disclosure forms and the inspection reports

The lawyer is likely to ask to see the documents from the sale of the house, and he or she will primarily want to read over the disclosure forms and inspection reports. If any of these documents state that there is mold in the house, there will be nothing you can do about it, as you should have known it was there. If they do not state that the house has mold in it, you will probably have a strong case.

Investigate the source of the mold

The other step your lawyer might recommend is getting another inspection to determine the source of the mold. Mold often forms when there are plumbing leaks in the house. If you can find the source of the mold, you might have an easier time providing that the seller of the house knew it was there.

If you can prove that the seller knew that the mold was there when he or she sold you the house, you can seek compensation for this problem. It is illegal to sell a house and fail to disclose issues like this, and the seller might end up responsible to pay for the costs of mold remediation if you can prove this. A real estate attorney can help you solve a problem like this, and you can schedule an appointment with one by contacting a law firm in your city.