View Full Version : Mold in attic?
We are under contract on a house and got the house inspection last night. The inspector said there is mold in the attic on the sheathing and the rafters.
He was very low key about it and recommended inspection by structural engineer (to see if wood had been damaged) and air quality person, and said it could be remediated and "people panic about mold" and we should not panic.
The problem is I am highly allergic to mold and a severe asthmatic.
What would you do if you were us?
mschrisgo2
6-21-18, 10:53am
Run, away.
If you were not severely allergic, could be a different story, but this sounds like life or death.
goldensmom
6-21-18, 1:15pm
I hope your contract had a clause pending the inspection. Allergic nor not, mold in the attic, especially on the rafters, could an expense, an experience and headache that you do not want. It's is something I would not want to deal with.
Teacher Terry
6-21-18, 1:17pm
I have the same health issues as you do and I would not consider living there. Too big a risk.
Oh, no. No advice, just so sorry to hear this. One more disappointment in a long family saga for you, Tybee.
Thanks, everyone. DH did not want to terminate contract, wanted to remediate. I said no, cannot risk it. Am frankly hurt and upset he is not more supportive, since he has seen me through many hospitalizations from asthma, including intensive care and ventilator.
Still, he did notify the realtor we need to terminate.
I hate this, and I am frankly really pissed.
So effing tired of looking at houses in order to accomodate needs of family members. Already being asked to risk my financial survival in all this. Really hurts.
iris lilies
6-21-18, 4:41pm
Why are you accomodating needs of family members? Are you no longer moving to the east coast by children? Dont tell me you are taking in your parents. And someone else.
Sigh,
I hope not.
Why are you accomodating needs of family members? Are you no longer moving to the east coast by children? Dont tell me you are taking in your parents. And someone else.
Sigh,
I hope not.
Thanks, everyone. IL, we have been trying to move east by children. It is a seller's market there and prices have gone way up. Here we have no mortgage, and now there we would have a mortgage again. I am not working full time anymore so would have to go back to work another part time job to pay the mortgage. So would husband, get another job. He is 63.
Son wants us to live within an hour of them and babysit a lot, but it is too expensive near there. To get affordable would have to go about two hours away, and to get no mortgage, maybe 3-4 hours away. My brother and I have been trying to get my parents to move up to a nursing home near brother and son. But then I would have to drive 2 hours to get down there, since I can't afford where they live.
Other brother who has dad's poa is now opposed to moving them there, even though it was the plan we all agree on. He does not speak to first brother. He says parents cannot go there until I am settled. Father desperately wants to move to be near first brother, who is very loving to him and will come visit and help him make medical decisions. Parents need family around to help with medical system--they are stressed and confused about medical situation. So I have father, brother, and son all asking when we are making the move, along with other brother, who is pressuring me.
We are raiding retirement savings to get a downpayment on this new place, and dismantling savings and finances to try to make this work. We are 62 and 63 and will not get much in social security and do not have pensions. My job went away and I have not had luck getting full time work in my field.
We are the poor relations--eveyrone in the picture except son have more money than we do, but we are supposed to clear out retirement savings to move there so we can all be together.
And now the house has mold.
Maybe the mold is a sign to just say NO to all the demands, stay where you are, let the others figure out how to make it work.
It does sound as though everyone is seeking for help from you but offering nothing much in return with the higher costs borne by you. i agree, stop and really think about this. Is this area where you really want to be in 10 years? Why? Who will be there then? The older adults will have passed on, won't they?
All these people telling you what to do. They need to stop and you need to not listen to them.
Teacher Terry
6-22-18, 12:37am
Wow, stop and think about your own future. I would stay where I am and help as you can.
ToomuchStuff
6-22-18, 1:38am
So what kind of reaction do you have if bread starts molding in the bag on the kitchen counter?
There are different types of mold, as well as the possibility of signs of mold from a time when it was being reroofed. (tarp blows up or wasn't down first, etc) I also wonder if the attic is somehow not an attic, but an open to the rest of the house space?
Gardenarian
6-22-18, 3:28am
I would have a contractor take a look at it. It sounds like there might be a problem with the roof, or maybe the ventilation is not quite right.
I am also allergic to molds, but this would not be a deal breaker for me - not if it could be remediated at a reasonable cost and/or the sellers are paying for the work.
Maybe it's a sign. Maybe it is fixable. Maybe we should move. Maybe not. I guess my problem is that all this is not clear to me, and we are being pushed into decisions and honestly don't know the right thing to do.
I have always operated by the idea that if you are doing the right thing for you, you will be less stressed and you will feel at peace.
I can't seem to find much peace since these family problems have emerged, and I can't figure out how to accommodate them.
I am very worried about the money, and my ability to generate more in the future; we had set up a life where we could cope financially, and this is a big stretch.
We are definitely both underearners, no question. We haven't saved enough for retirement to live comfortably, and we are in our 60's,. so it is coming, the time when we can't work.
I miss my family and wish I lived near them. I love my parents and kids and would like them in my life.
Not really sure how much of an impact our houses have had in the past on my health. Looking at houses to purchase over the past year, there have been some with mold visible and not visible and I have had to grab my inhaler walking through, so the effect has been pretty immediate. To do certain things, I would have to load up on prednisone beforehand so I would not react. I don't think mold spores on bread in a bag is quite the same thing as mold spores in a house, but if you gave me penicillin or amoxicillin, which I think are made from bread mold, right, I would go into anaphylaxis. Ditto if I eat shrimp. But I am not saying penicillin should be outlawed or its bad or people who take it are better than me or worse--just differently made. And I love shrimp; if I ever have one of those prison last meals, I am going for fried shrimp. So I am not saying nobody should buy the house, or it is not a fixable problem for some, and maybe it's a fixable problem for us.
I do feel at peace when with my family in the East, so have thought we were doing the right thing. But getting a mortgage on a house and worrying about how to pay for it, and now worrying about issues like air quality, resale--like I said, even my husband is having panic attacks, and he never has panic attacks. There are two adults on our end who have to make this work and be at peace, not just one. I do not want to risk my marriage over this. But we both do want to move East, we just can't seem to figure out the right way to do it, and getting a mortgage again is bothering us both-- we both went through Dave Ramsey and do agree with the whole borrower is slave to the lender thing.
It has been nice with the three foreclosure houses we have bought, not having a mortgage. We did get into financial difficulty with one of the mortgaged houses, we got out in 2008 but lost all of money we put down and all the money we put into the house, and sold at a loss in 2008.
Gardenarian
6-22-18, 7:35am
Sounds like you should wait for a more affordable house to come along.
But getting a mortgage on a house and worrying about how to pay for it, and now worrying about issues like air quality, resale--like I said, even my husband is having panic attacks, and he never has panic attacks. There are two adults on our end who have to make this work and be at peace, not just one. I do not want to risk my marriage over this. But we both do want to move East, we just can't seem to figure out the right way to do it, and getting a mortgage again is bothering us both-- we both went through Dave Ramsey and do agree with the whole borrower is slave to the lender thing.
It seems you answer your own questions here. Yes you would be happy to move. No, debt is not an option that will let us sleep at night. It seems all those who have decided you should come help, will need to pitch in so there is no mortgage or you stay put.
I know, easy for me to say sitting out here in cyberspace.
Wait until you both have peace about the move. The grandchildren that need babysitters will outgrow that need very quickly. One's parents will make the choices that suit them, not you. If you visit 4 times a year, consider the cost vs the cost of the move.
I have found that emotionally-based choices are almost always wrong vs slow careful rational choices.
You have the wisdom to decide rightly. Just a thought - if you move and your kids/grandkids need to move for a job, what happens?
iris lilies
6-22-18, 8:33am
If I remember right, you OP look for real estate that have some acreage (?) and outbuildings. .? I mean, you arent looking for simple two bedroom condos, so that wish list causes your real estate expenses to rise. This kind nd of life style is expensive to maintain on Coastal prices.
If I remember right, you OP look for real estate that have some acreage (?) and outbuildings. .? I mean, you arent looking for simple two bedroom condos, so that wish list causes your real estate expenses to rise. This kind nd of life style is expensive to maintain on Coastal prices.
IL. We left coastal behind 5 years ago when moved North to be closer to family. Then one kid decided to move to New England. 4 months after we arrived.
So yes to this who ask what about when the kids move for jobs and
The parents pass
Teacher Terry
6-22-18, 10:09am
I would let everyone know that you can only afford to move if you can pay cash. I am the same age as you and you cannot count on working at this age due to many reasons. You guys really need to look out for your own financial future. Nothing worse than being old and poor :|(
I cannot remember if this point has been mentioned. Being 4 hours away is like a day away. I live 2 hours away and 7.5 hours away and it does take serious planning amidst all the other commitments everyone has to get together from all parties, including me.
A friend commented that she would never move to be with her kids. Close and everyone assumes that visits will happen more easily but there are as many distractions and commitments to interfere with that as being far away. She said when she plans a visit, everyone makes an effort to schedule and share that time which is concentrated on the family visit. She then goes home content and the kids, of whatever age, carry on with their lives until the next gathering wherever that may be.
Terry, I like your idea about letting everyone know we can only afford to move if we can pay cash. I think I will do that. You are so right about not being able to count on getting work, and it has been part of my game plan to craft a life that is affordable with what we can bring in from social security at full retirement age.
Razz, I hear you, and your friend may be right, I just don't know. We have wanted to be more involved as grandparents than what we are now--currently we probably see them only twice a year, and it hurts. But I hear what your friend is saying.
Teacher Terry
6-22-18, 11:08pm
Tybee, we don’t have as much $ as some on the forums and I think it is important for people to never be a financial burden to their kids. I think you guys are making a wise decision. Kids jobs are taking them all over the country now so I think it’s hard to follow them. I totally understand wanting to be by your grandchildren. Lots of hard choices. Plus throughout life when we make choices we never know how things will turn out. We all just do the best we can at the time.
Re the grandkids... now we have grandchildren in two states. My VT son/wife had a baby a month ago today. My NJ son has two boys, 4 and 1. I am so happy to be close to my VT grandson, yet I miss my NJ grandsons. I don't want to be a Skype grandparent. My DGSs in NJ are adorable and wonderful and I don't want to become distant to them--one of the reasons I want to keep a foot in NJ. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, and I can't follow them around like sheep, but I'd love to know how long-distance grandparents manage to keep a good long-distance relationship going.
Re the grandkids... now we have grandchildren in two states. My VT son/wife had a baby a month ago today. My NJ son has two boys, 4 and 1. I am so happy to be close to my VT grandson, yet I miss my NJ grandsons. I don't want to be a Skype grandparent. My DGSs in NJ are adorable and wonderful and I don't want to become distant to them--one of the reasons I want to keep a foot in NJ. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, and I can't follow them around like sheep, but I'd love to know how long-distance grandparents manage to keep a good long-distance relationship going.
It's really hard, isn't it? One thing I am trying to get support for is having a family reunion each summer where all the grandchildren get together--at least you now have the perfect place for it!
My exercise instructor has kids in 3 states. They have a good relationship and both sides travel. She goes from IN to Maryland and the family comes to visit her. They both work to keep the relationships alive. It does not take daily contact to maintain relationships. I remember my grandparents although we seldom saw them due to vast distances and expense of travel for both sides. What I remember was what they taught me and what they shared about their lives.
Another couple we know has a family in IL, IN and VA. They go back and forth to see the kids and make a point of bringing the grandkids to them. They have a BBQ every year (for 35 years) that the whole family comes to. Other holidays are alternated as far as possible due to in laws and such. They are all within driving distance.
Both families stress maintaining the relationships regardless of distance or pure # of times they get together.
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