The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is emphasizing the importance of giving families in America the opportunity to live in a home that is both affordable and healthy in its “Healthy Homes” campaign. The HUD wants to ensure homeowners have safe, decent and sanitary housing as a means for preventing disease and injury as well as enhancing the homeowner’s quality of life and the overall well-being of the community.
REALTORS® recognize the path to a healthy home begins when the home is purchased. A purchaser wants a home that is free from environmental dangers and contaminants. Buyers don’t want to purchase homes with indoor air pollutants caused by oven cleaner, cigarette smoke or mold or other lurking dangers that cannot be seen or smelled like carbon monoxide or radon. Other possible health risks within a home may come from the paint on the walls. REALTORS® can help homebuyers investigate and alleviate many of these potential indoor environmental hazards.
Mold
Mold is everywhere and there is no practical way to keep it out of a home. Mold grows naturally, particularly in warm, damp, humid conditions where there is little air movement. Some mold can be very harmful and make allergies or asthma worse. Flooding or water leaks, spills from bathtubs or showers, condensation and other sources of moisture or humidity may make a home a more likely host for mold.
The first thing many people want to do when they learn of a potential mold problem is have the house tested and find out what kinds and quantities of mold are present. Generally, it is not necessary to identify the species of mold. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the EPA, State of Wisconsin Division of Public Health (DPH), and other experts across the country recommend against spending time and money for testing. One reason for this is that there are no Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards or other authoritative information regarding what constitutes an unsafe level of mold. Consequently, different “experts” and contractors may take samples using different testing methods, interpret data differently and recommend different measures to address the problem.
Most authorities recommend a thorough inspection to determine the cause of any mold growth rather than testing. The inspector should look for visible mold growth in a property, but should also look for evidence of water intrusion and musty or other odors suggesting the presence of mold colonies. Prompt elimination of the moisture source, removal of the mold and a thorough cleaning are more useful responses, regardless of mold species or concentration.
Homebuyer safeguards: When there is a flood or other indicators of possible water intrusion or mold, the prudent REALTOR® will:
- Provide buyers with information brochures published by authoritative sources that explain mold and its effects on consumers.
- Point out conditions that may indicate water problems and potential mold situations; make written disclosure of any known moisture and mold problems or conditions not disclosed by the seller in the RECR or otherwise disclosed to the parties.
- Ask for the seller’s CLUE report as a valuable resource for double checking past events, such as water intrusions.
- Use a sample mold testing contingency like the one in Legal Update 02.06 at www.wra.org/LU0206 if a buyer wants to have mold testing performed. Testing for mold does not fall within the standard home inspection contingency in the residential offer to purchase.
- If the parties clean areas where mold is found on their own, provide them with mold cleaning instructions so they may clean the mold safely, such as at www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/mold/clean.htm
Mold resources
Lead
Lead in the home may be found in house paint and water pipes. Most problems with lead come from old lead-based paint (LBP) or lead dust that can easily poison children if they get it into their mouths or breathe it in from the air. When children swallow lead dust it can cause illness and lifelong learning disabilities and behavioral problems. If a pregnant woman gets lead in her body, it can harm her unborn baby. Many homes built before 1978 have lead paint or varnish on the walls, woodwork, windows and floors. In homes built before 1950 there is a greater chance the paint contains lead.
No offers on residential housing built prior to 1978 can be accepted without a LBP disclosure giving the buyer the opportunity to conduct a LBP inspection or a risk assessment for LBP hazards. A LBP inspection tells the lead content of painted surfaces, while a risk assessment identifies any LBP hazards and provides hazard reduction suggestions. A buyer is not required to have a LBP inspection, but must be given the opportunity. A seller in general, cannot counter out a LBP inspection contingency or reject an offer solely because it includes a LBP inspection contingency.
Homebuyer safeguards: Include a WRA Addendum S or another LBP addendum in all offers on housing built before 1978. Make sure that the seller:
- Gives the buyer an EPA-approved information pamphlet regarding the identification and control of LBP hazards (“Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” pamphlet).
- Discloses any known information concerning LBP or LBP hazards, the location of LBP and/or LBP hazards, and the condition of the painted surfaces. Peeling, chipping or cracking paint and lead dust from friction sources such as windows, doorframes and stairs are hazards if the paint is LBP.
- Provides any records and reports on LBP and/or LBP hazards which are available to the seller (includes records and reports concerning common areas).
- Provides the buyer with a 10-day period to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment for LBP or LBP hazards. Parties may mutually agree, in writing, to lengthen or shorten the time period for inspection.
LBP resources
Radon
Radon is found all over the United States and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Radon gas comes from the natural (radioactive) breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water, which gets into the air. According to EPA estimates, one in every 15 homes nationwide has a radon level at or above the recommended radon action level of 4 picoCuries (pCi/L) per liter of air.
Radon is found all over the United States and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Radon gas comes from the natural (radioactive) breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water, which gets into the air. According to EPA estimates, one in every 15 homes nationwide has a radon level at or above the recommended radon action level of 4 picoCuries (pCi/L) per liter of air.
Testing is the only way to know if someone is at risk from radon. The EPA and the Surgeon General recommend testing all homes below the third floor for radon. The EPA website at www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/hmbyguid.html#3.b states: “Make sure that the test is done in the lowest level of the home that could be used regularly. This means the lowest level that you are going to use as living space whether it is finished or unfinished. A state or local radon official or qualified radon tester can help you make some of these decisions.”
Homebuyer safeguards: REALTORS® will protect the homebuyer from radon concerns by:
- Giving buyers a copy of the EPA’s “Home Buyer’s and Seller’s Guide to Radon” (www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/hmbyguid.html).
- Fora new home, asking if radon-resistant construction features were used and if the home has been tested.
- If not, including a separate radon-testing contingency in the offer to purchase. Radon testing cannot be conducted under the home inspection contingency in the residential offer to purchase.
- Provide in the contingency the seller will install radon reduction or mitigation measures if the radon level is 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) or higher.
Radon resources
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a deadly gas that can come from appliances that burn gas, oil, coal, or wood and are not working as they should. If appliances that burn fuel are maintained and used properly, the amount of CO produced is usually not dangerous. However, if appliances are not working properly, are poorly vented or are used incorrectly, dangerous levels of CO can result. Hundreds of people die accidentally every year from CO poisoning caused by malfunctioning or improperly used furnaces, water heaters, gas stoves and other fuel-burning appliances.
The new Wis. Stat. § 101.647 requires virtually all homes to have CO detectors beginning on February 1, 2011. All home inspectors will check for CO alarms.
Homebuyer safeguards: Make sure the home inspector confirms on his or her report that all required CO detectors are on the premises.
Carbon monoxide resources
These are only some of the possible environmental factors that may need to be addressed when a consumer purchases a home. As always, a REALTOR® should disclose any potential environmental concerns to the parties and assist the buyer in drafting appropriate contingencies whereby the proper credentialed experts can inspect and conduct testing to identify those hazards that need to be remediated before the house will be a safe and healthy home for the buyer.
HUD Healthy Homes Resources: portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/healthy_homes/hhi.
Debbi Conrad is Senior Attorney and Director of Legal Affairs for the WRA.