When the economy is weak, you may not want to even think about selling your home. Even if you got a good price for it in a buyer’s market, the near-term future of the American economy is so uncertain that you may not be sure you can afford the mortgage payments on a new home. But it’s still important to maintain the integrity of your home’s structure, so that when it is time to sell, you’re not getting short-changed.
Mold remediation is one way to ensure the value of your home over time. If black mold catches hold, it can not only damage your health and your home’s structural integrity, it can create major headaches when it’s time to sell your home. The good news about mold remediation is that, even if you have a fairly strong black mold infestation, it’s entirely possible to eliminate mold — along with the damage it does —
from your home.
In the early 2000s, a mold scare tore through the real estate market. Homeowners worried about black mold eating their porous surfaces and damaging their foundations and frames. Home buyers were worried about buying homes full of mold. Unscrupulous mold remediation contractors made a mint, playing off the fears that plagued the real estate market.
But these days things have calmed down, and while mold remediation is important, any reputable contractor will tell you that having mold in your home’s history isn’t necessarily a bad thing — as long as you’ve had it completely removed.
It’s important to know, though, that mold remediation is more than just mopping up the mold. A certified mold remediation team will locate the source of your mold, cordon off the area to prevent infestation in other areas of your home, and remove the mold.
The down side to your mold remediation efforts: If the mold was bad enough, you may have to replace parts of your home’s structure. But from a real estate standpoint, that may be a blessing in disguise; a home with a new roof, for instance, or new basement walls, may be more valuable than a home that hasn’t been fixed up.
Ultimately, mold remediation is a good investment for your home. Failure to remove mold can deal a serious blow to your home’s value; and lest you think it can survive such a blow, remember that a moldy home will also stay on the market much longer, drawing out the process and potentially driving down your home’s value even more. In the end, mold remediation is more than worth the cost.
