Mold inspection for new home was clear. We now find obvious mold in the house

[akjose]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? West Virginia

Don't know where else to put this thread but:

We had a mold inspection performed prior to our purchase of a new home. The mold inspection stated "there are no signs of the various stages of mild infestation in the home".
Inspector supposedly did an air sample test but I never saw a repot and he failed to forward it to me after I asked him the extent if his inspection, whether it was visual, air sample, or a combination.

After move in (now at 1.5 months) I found black mold on the garage drywall one foot up from the floor and all the way across 20 feet of the garage wall through some of the trim around a door as well.

We would not have bought the house unless the mold was removed properly had we known about it. Possibly not bought it at all.

What are my options as far as taking the inspector to claims court?

 

[akjose]

No dice? Maybe I put this in the wrong section.

 

[Isis1]

No dice? Maybe I put this in the wrong section.

please keep in mind how late it is and this is a holiday week....we do have some great volunteers here...so please be patient.

 

[NC Aggie]

Unless the inspector offered any specific gurantees, I'm afraid the most you would likely be entitled to is the cost of the inspection and that's only if you can prove in a court of law he/she did not fulfill their obligation in what they were hired to do.

Did you hire this inspector or were they hired by your mortgage company?

 

[akjose]

I hired them. Mold insp. was not required by the Mortgage company. The mold should've been visibly obvious to someone who knows what to look for. The section of mold is about a 15' x 1' section across the bottom of the wall.
If he did an air sample test, then it should have been caught. If he just did a visible test then he could have not looked where it is.

He never confirmed which inspection was performed but we had to wait on the results to come back so we assumed it was an air sample. But we were never told what the results were other than "no various stages of mold present". Which is not the case.

 

[CLJM]

I hired them. Mold insp. was not required by the Mortgage company. The mold should've been visibly obvious to someone who knows what to look for. The section of mold is about a 15' x 1' section across the bottom of the wall.
If he did an air sample test, then it should have been caught. If he just did a visible test then he could have not looked where it is.

He never confirmed which inspection was performed but we had to wait on the results to come back so we assumed it was an air sample. But we were never told what the results were other than "no various stages of mold present". Which is not the case.

akjose,

If you hired the inspector, you should have layed out the requirements of that hiring; what you expected of his performance. It is also your responsibility to follow through--- did you attend the inspection and point out what your focal point issues were? It appears you also did not require that the inspector provide you his written report of all findings, choosing instead to accept being told, "no various stages of mold present" (whatever the heck that means!), and finding out only after move in there was a problem.
If he failed to provide you with what you hired him to do, you should have have questioned him---at the time of the inspection. If you were not satisfied with his inspection, you should have hired another inspector---within the timeframe allowed by the purchase contract.

As a Realtor, what I see happens time and time again, that once the buyer hires the inspector, they just leave it up to him to inspect.

 

[FarmerJ]

If it was a brand new home , fair odds are that there could be a leak somewhere that requires opened walls to determine the source as in say rain that got in due to builder defect. Even one small area of say flashing that was installed badly that on the outside looks okay may have been enough to cause this. I suggest you send certified letter about it to the builder.

 

[CLJM]

If it was a brand new home , fair odds are that there could be a leak somewhere that requires opened walls to determine the source as in say rain that got in due to builder defect. Even one small area of say flashing that was installed badly that on the outside looks okay may have been enough to cause this. I suggest you send certified letter about it to the builder.

Even with a "new home", I always have an inspection---amazing what can be found.

 

[thaijony]

A mold inspection will identify any conditions around your property which will support mold growth as well as pinpointing problem areas for example water damage, odours and obvious signs of fungal growth etc. The mold inspector should take the inspection outside and check the exterior of the dwelling again for obvious signs of water damage, leaks and their sources such as broken pipes, broken gutters, cracked brick work and so on.

 

[HomeGuru]

I hired them. Mold insp. was not required by the Mortgage company. The mold should've been visibly obvious to someone who knows what to look for. The section of mold is about a 15' x 1' section across the bottom of the wall.
If he did an air sample test, then it should have been caught. If he just did a visible test then he could have not looked where it is.

He never confirmed which inspection was performed but we had to wait on the results to come back so we assumed it was an air sample. But we were never told what the results were other than "no various stages of mold present". Which is not the case.

**A: it has not been established as to the scope of work required by this mold inspector. You have given us conflicting information. Find out the facts. Visual, air sample, bulk sample....

 

[ecmst12]

And, this post is 3 months old.