Author Topic: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!  (Read 3588 times)

webguy

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Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« on: August 11, 2020, 12:38:19 PM »
I am currently sitting in a house in Florida that we are having inspected right now by a home inspector. We really love the house, however, we are noticing an orange “organic growth” in various places throughout the home (see images). We will be having a mold test done to check (both in the air and at the air handler) but I wanted to see if any mustachians has any experience with this at all.

There are no leak/water issues in the house (I suspect it’s more likely related to high humidity levels as the home has been vacant for a few months) and the inspector did find some (what looks like) mold in the air handler unit.

My main question is whether this is something we can remediate if we fix the mold in the air handler and then do a deep clean to clean everything up and then be good, or whether this is one of those things that’s a big red flag and we should walk away.

I flew all the way down here from up north to see this house in person and between the trip and the inspection have a couple thousand dollars into this, so would love to make it work but obviously don’t want to have a big headache or potential health problems from this.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

webguy

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2020, 12:41:18 PM »
More pictures...

LifeHappens

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2020, 12:58:06 PM »
Floridian here. Was the HVAC off while the house was vacant? It's been 80% humidity or more here since May, so lack of AC could be the cause. If the AC has been on, was it set for 80F or less? Leaving the AC on but at a higher temp could cause the unit to run so infrequently mold could form.

If I were you, I would call a mold specialist to have a look. I'm kind of scared just looking at those pictures. At the very least I expect you'll need a price concession to cover the cost of cleanup.

terran

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2020, 02:25:04 PM »
I flew all the way down here from up north to see this house in person and between the trip and the inspection have a couple thousand dollars into this, so would love to make it work but obviously don’t want to have a big headache or potential health problems from this.

I don't know about the mold (although what you're showing in those pictures would certainly make me cautious), but I wanted to point out that this is sunk cost fallacy talking. This is done, so it doesn't matter. You need to make a rational decision based on current information, not based on how much you've already spent.

webguy

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2020, 03:23:54 PM »
Floridian here. Was the HVAC off while the house was vacant? It's been 80% humidity or more here since May, so lack of AC could be the cause. If the AC has been on, was it set for 80F or less? Leaving the AC on but at a higher temp could cause the unit to run so infrequently mold could form.

If I were you, I would call a mold specialist to have a look. I'm kind of scared just looking at those pictures. At the very least I expect you'll need a price concession to cover the cost of cleanup.
Thanks for the reply. It's definitely humid down here!  They have had the AC on but it's been set higher than normal (80 degrees-ish).  I would have expected that to have kept the humidity down sufficiently though.  If it is mold then is it pretty much just a cleanup/remediation and then we're good? I know they would do a test after remediation to check it's gone, I just didn't know if anyone had gone through this and had any issues reoccur down the road.

SunnyDays

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2020, 03:45:33 PM »
If you can see mold anywhere, there’s likely more hidden mold, like inside the walls, the HVAC system, the attic etc.  If you’re at all serious about this house, get an inspection by a mold remediation specialist.  It’s nothing to fool around with.  I had some mold growth in the ceiling of an apartment for 2 years, and it made me so sensitive I could no longer eat cheese, yogurt or mushrooms without feeling sick.  It took many years to get over that.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2020, 09:12:24 PM by SunnyDays »

Metalcat

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2020, 04:31:48 PM »
That is really everywhere.

I agree with above, how much you've spent so far doesn't matter. It's doesn't change a damn thing, and definitely doesn't make that rampant growth any less of an issue.

I know nothing about Florida homes, so perhaps that isn't as terrifying as it looks, but holy hell that looks terrifying to me, especially the growth on the flower, because that means its very actively growing on literally everything and quickly.

LifeHappens

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2020, 04:45:35 PM »
If it is mold then is it pretty much just a cleanup/remediation and then we're good?
I wish it were that easy, but there are many different types of mold. You really need a specialist to look at it. As a purchaser you have the right to do any type of inspection you see fit. Take advantage of this.

AccidentialMustache

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2020, 09:32:48 PM »
I would, in general, rate mold as unlikely to grow on the power outlet. The plastic is too hard/inhospitable for it. If it wasn't, it'd grown on the faceplate too and there's no evidence of that.

Was a previous owner of the house a smoker by any chance? The coating on the outlet reminds me of tobacco deposits on long in the tooth PCs of smokers.

This doesn't excuse the mold or whatever on the woodwork or carpet. That looks biological and scary.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2020, 04:12:55 AM »
It looks like mold, because of the distribution and the fact it's near the ground. But it's unusual to find it on flowers and electrical outlets. Could it be rail dust? Fine metallic dust that rusts and causes spots. It would be slightly weird to find it in a house like that.

webguy

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2020, 07:00:24 AM »
Thanks for all the responses. We’ll hopefully have the mold test results back tomorrow or Friday so we’ll know more info, but one theory the home inspector had was that the home was fumigated a year and a half ago and if they didn’t clean up the residue after the fumigation then perhaps humidity caused mold to grow on it over time, due to mold spores being blown through the air from the air handler and settling onto the residue. Does this seem plausible? It still doesn’t make me feel very good about the situation but would at least explain why it’s so prevalent throughout the house and could be remediated fairly non-intrusively.

Righty

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2020, 08:36:19 AM »
I'd also just try to confirm it's all the same stuff on every object.

We get something similar on the ceiling of our bathroom - turns out its a chemical reaction from latex paint in high humidity (story for another day). So, could be they repainted a bunch of the trim etc. and you're getting that.

Outlet just looks like dirt to me

Carpet could just be a stain

God know what grows on flowers (i have a black thumb).

Still, concerning it is everywhere - so certainly worth a look.

Another Reader

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2020, 08:51:35 AM »
Thanks for all the responses. We’ll hopefully have the mold test results back tomorrow or Friday so we’ll know more info, but one theory the home inspector had was that the home was fumigated a year and a half ago and if they didn’t clean up the residue after the fumigation then perhaps humidity caused mold to grow on it over time, due to mold spores being blown through the air from the air handler and settling onto the residue. Does this seem plausible? It still doesn’t make me feel very good about the situation but would at least explain why it’s so prevalent throughout the house and could be remediated fairly non-intrusively.

As a long time real estate investor and former appraiser, I can tell you what I would do.  No way would I get any deeper into this mess.  Cut your losses and run.  Sunk costs are much less than the clean up, if it can be remediated, and you will have to disclose the mold and the remediation to future buyers.  The value is permanently impaired.  Houses are like buses, if you miss one, another will be along soon.

Tester

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #13 on: August 12, 2020, 10:36:11 AM »
Thanks for all the responses. We’ll hopefully have the mold test results back tomorrow or Friday so we’ll know more info, but one theory the home inspector had was that the home was fumigated a year and a half ago and if they didn’t clean up the residue after the fumigation then perhaps humidity caused mold to grow on it over time, due to mold spores being blown through the air from the air handler and settling onto the residue. Does this seem plausible? It still doesn’t make me feel very good about the situation but would at least explain why it’s so prevalent throughout the house and could be remediated fairly non-intrusively.

As a long time real estate investor and former appraiser, I can tell you what I would do.  No way would I get any deeper into this mess.  Cut your losses and run.  Sunk costs are much less than the clean up, if it can be remediated, and you will have to disclose the mold and the remediation to future buyers.  The value is permanently impaired.  Houses are like buses, if you miss one, another will be along soon.


This. This is exactly what our realtor told us: don't force buying a house, it likely means that house is not for you.
I am allergic to mold but even without the allergy I would not touch a house with mold.

Sibley

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #14 on: August 12, 2020, 11:04:26 AM »
I wouldn't touch it personally. Houses in general suffer from being vacant, so while you've got whatever this is going on, there could be other issues that aren't as immediately visible. The fact that the house has been checked on/maintained so little to me is a red flag. Seriously, who shows a house that has orange stuff all over everything?

GreenSheep

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #15 on: August 12, 2020, 05:07:58 PM »
I could be totally wrong, but meth comes to mind. It's hard to tell from the photos, and I'm certainly no expert, but it's something I'd want to rule out (or at least know what I'm getting into) if I were buying a house.

kina

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #16 on: August 14, 2020, 10:16:35 AM »
I thought that rose was a silk flower...

As to the house, I would run.

Metalcat

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #17 on: August 14, 2020, 12:05:33 PM »
I thought that rose was a silk flower...

As to the house, I would run.

Oh yeah, seeing it on my computer, I see that. As a little thumbnail on my phone I couldn't tell.

Alternatepriorities

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #18 on: August 14, 2020, 12:40:35 PM »
Sorry, I read the title and thought it was reference to the president and the market growth of the last few months... I figured it was a question about cashing out equities to buy a house. Unfortunately I have no useful knowledge on mold.

MilesTeg

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #19 on: August 14, 2020, 04:27:26 PM »
I am currently sitting in a house in Florida that we are having inspected right now by a home inspector. We really love the house, however, we are noticing an orange “organic growth” in various places throughout the home (see images). We will be having a mold test done to check (both in the air and at the air handler) but I wanted to see if any mustachians has any experience with this at all.

There are no leak/water issues in the house (I suspect it’s more likely related to high humidity levels as the home has been vacant for a few months) and the inspector did find some (what looks like) mold in the air handler unit.

My main question is whether this is something we can remediate if we fix the mold in the air handler and then do a deep clean to clean everything up and then be good, or whether this is one of those things that’s a big red flag and we should walk away.

I flew all the way down here from up north to see this house in person and between the trip and the inspection have a couple thousand dollars into this, so would love to make it work but obviously don’t want to have a big headache or potential health problems from this.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

Cut your losses and run. A mild infestation will cost a lot more money and possibly your health.

Dee18

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #20 on: August 14, 2020, 06:38:25 PM »
Take a pass.  Mold can really make you ill.  I dealt with a very small amount of mold in a basement and ended up having to replace all of the duct work for the whole house. 

webguy

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #21 on: August 15, 2020, 08:16:56 PM »
Thanks for all the input everyone. The mold air tests came back positive (there’s a surprise!) and when we sent the report to the selling agent she shrugged it off and said she’d seen worse mold reports. After this response we took a hard pass and thankfully found another place in the same neighborhood. They accepted our offer already and we close in a month!

Dicey

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Re: Buying a house. Orange “organic growth” everywhere. HELP!
« Reply #22 on: August 17, 2020, 07:37:30 AM »
Thanks for all the input everyone. The mold air tests came back positive (there’s a surprise!) and when we sent the report to the selling agent she shrugged it off and said she’d seen worse mold reports. After this response we took a hard pass and thankfully found another place in the same neighborhood. They accepted our offer already and we close in a month!
Good decision. Be sure to do your due diligence on this one too. Fingers crossed that it passes with flying colors.