In recent years there have been an increasing number of home buyers who allege that they have discovered mold in their homes shortly after purchasing them. Sometimes the discovery of mold can lead to health concerns for the new buyers, and in other instances, it may cause them to engage in mold remediation or property repairs. The discovery of mold can be a frustrating thing for new homebuyers that leaves them wanting to explore their legal options.
Generally, Georgia real estate contracts provide that purchases are made “as-is” following the customary inspection and due-diligence period. For this reason, as a home-buyer, it is very important to use this inspection and due-diligence period to thoroughly inspect the house, including potentially hiring a company to conduct a simple mold air-test if the presence of mold is a concern.
What many people don’t realize is that there is some level of mold in all homes and normal indoor spaces. Mold only becomes a concern if it is a particular type or is at a very elevated level compared to normal.
Nevertheless, homebuyers are now more frequently filing lawsuits against home sellers related to mold issues. Home sellers are often surprised to be sued and frequently feel that they have been unfairly accused. As a general matter, home sellers may have strong defenses to these sorts of lawsuits as long as the home sellers genuinely did not know that there was any mold problem with the house. Most often this is the case, as home sellers would not have usually lived in or visited the house had they known it had a mold problem, or home sellers would have done the right thing and performed simple mold remediation work prior to selling. In fact, there are many mold remediation companies in Georgia who can treat and eliminate mold problems for reasonable prices, usually only several thousand dollars, and when compared to the expenses incurred in a lawsuit this is a rather small amount.
If you are a home seller who has been threatened or sued by the purchaser of your home for mold-related issues, you should promptly contact an attorney. You likely have strong legal defenses available to you, but it’s important to act quickly to preserve those. Tyler Dillard has represented many home sellers in real estate mold-related claims throughout Georgia. He is familiar with the issues involved in mold-related claims and has obtained favorable outcomes for innocent home sellers. Tyler can be contacted at 678-518-6850 or at tdillard@atclawfirm.com.