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The week I toured 8 houses and every single one had mold in the basement | First Time Buyers - Chatter Central

The week I toured 8 houses and every single one had mold in the basement

Last month I spent five days looking at starter homes in the suburbs, and I swear every basement had either mildew or full on black mold. One place on Maple Street had a sump pump that clearly hadnt worked since 2019. Why do sellers think its fine to just paint over water stains and not fix the leak? Im starting to wonder if I should just look at condos instead. Has anyone else had this problem or did I just get unlucky with my agent?

3 comments

3 Comments

carter.laura4mo ago

That Maple Street house with the broken sump pump sounds rough, but honestly a lot of basement mold is just surface level and fixable with a dehumidifier and some bleach. I've seen people panic over a little mildew that was really just from a humid summer and not a leaky foundation. Your mileage may vary, but I'd take a cheap house with a damp basement over a condo with HOA fees any day.

charles4424mo ago

Honestly, you're totally right about that, @carter.laura. I had a similar situation with my own place a few years ago. The basement got a little musty after a wet spring and I panicked, thought I had a major problem. But I just ran a dehumidifier for a week and scrubbed the spots with some bleach and it was fine. That's the thing with sump pump issues, nine times out of ten it's just surface stuff if you catch it fast. And I'm with you, I'll take a house with some basement character over an HOA any day. Those fees just eat your money and you never get a say.

wadem893mo ago

225 Maple Street isn't some random fixer upper, that's a ticking time bomb. You don't paint over water stains unless you're hiding a long term leak, and a sump pump that's been dead for years means the foundation has been soaking up groundwater every rainy season. Dehumidifiers and bleach are a bandaid, not a cure. Once mold gets into drywall or the framing behind a finished wall, you're looking at ripping everything out and maybe even dealing with rot. Condos have HOA fees, sure, but at least the roof and the foundation are someone else's problem and you don't wake up with a cough from breathing in spores. I'd rather pay a monthly fee than gamble 10 grand on mold remediation.