How Water Damage and Mold Can Blow Up Your Home Purchase
Congratulations! You have been pre-approved for a mortgage and you’re ready to start your home search, but not so fast! Just because you’re eligible to purchase a home doesn’t mean the home itself will be eligible for financing.
A majority of the time when you see an unusually inexpensive home there is a reason, it’s not eligible for financing and the seller isn’t going to rehabilitate it to make it eligible. Then there are cases when the home becomes ineligible.
So how can this happen? In some instances, it’s because of water and mold.
Water Damage & Mold Happens for Various Reasons:
- Bad construction
- Damage from previous owner or occupant
- The elements of weather
- Sometimes it’s accidental
The effects of water damage and mold could be from deferred maintenance, recent, or can occur in the middle of a transaction.
Besides the mold itself, mold growth on walls in your home is an indication of a more serious issue. Also, inadequate waterproofing is the source of mold in your shower’s waterproofing.
Another example of deferred maintenance is a leaky roof, which can be caused by the elements such as rain, but ultimately it’s due to deferred maintenance. Obtaining a loan or homeowners insurance with a leaky roof will be next to impossible.
Then sometimes accidents happen, like plumbing backing up causing the house to flood, which can lead to mold. This too can cause loan and homeowner insurance issues.
A good home inspector will have a moisture meter on hand and should be able to tell if there is water damage or mold in the area. Water damage and mold can be costly to remediate, so you need to weigh your options and if your financing blows up due to water damage or mold, you may still have options, like an FHA 203K rehab loan.
This is one of the many reasons why it’s important to do a walk-through on your way to closing, not the day before or the week before.
Michelle Gibson of the Hansen Real Estate Group Inc is a full-time REALTOR who has been specializing in Wellington Florida real estate since 2001. This veteran of the real estate industry has expertise in technology, marketing, and social media.