Mold Inspections - PRO LAB along with your Home Inspection?

[Justin Watts]

Hey guys,
Got a call from a PRO-LAB associate he was trying to sell me on doing air quality tests / mold tests along with my Home Inspections... The average fee is $125, and then pay $22.50 to PRO LAB to analyze the sample with a report.

Sounds like a good gig, however I have concerns about liability especially even with the "MOLD" terminology... My Home Inspection Agreeement states that I do not testing of mold, moisture intrusion, air sampling, environmental evaluations etc. etc. etc.

How do you seperate this....for your business. CAN YOU????? and is anyone out there purchased the $499 pogram, certification, equipment, etc. etc. from PROLAB.

Please let me know, sounds lucrative but I want to cover my bases...
Thanks
Justin
www.americandreamhomeinspection.net

[Dale Duffy]

Personally I think anyone claiming to be a certified mold inspector and in fact is not a hygienist is ripping off the public.

Basically stealing money from uninformed people.

I get phone calls regularly regarding if I inspect for mold. What I tell them is if you see mold you have mold, we can find where the moisture is coming from and you can get prices to fix it, simple as that, nobody is ripping off anybody.

Makes people very happy when it's explained logically they are wasting their money and brings many referrals in accordingly.

[sboyd2]

[quote=dduffy]Personally I think anyone claiming to be a certified mold inspector and in fact is not a hygienist is ripping off the public.

Basically stealing money from uninformed people.


quote]

I'll have to disagree with you Dale. I do air samples and mold inspections a lot. Here is the service:

A person calls, has musty odors and allergies. I do the inspection, find the source, take air samples, submit a bill for $400-$500. They then have a contractor/remediator fix the problem. About another $500. Total= $1000

A hygienist will not show up to your door for less than $1500. I saved my clien a lot of money and provided a professional service.

Another case. Client had mold growth in about a 100 sq. ft. area. Had area cleaned but not sure if the mold is really gone. I do an inspection, take 3 air samples charge $425 and give the results. Again, a hygienist will not show up for less than $1500.

As for taking samples during a home inspection. Make it a separate contract with a hold harmless clause. Pro-Lab has that contract and so does ESA. Also, read the fine print when you buy a home. The EPA and the government RECOMMEND air quality tests be performed on each home before occupancy. Maybe that is just a CYA, I dunno. Take that as you will.

I, however to agree Dale that if I see mold, I usually do not test for it. I will ask my client over the phone what is going on w/ the home before I go. I tell them to call a remediation company and then call me for the post cleaning inspection.

No problems with that method so far

[Michael J. Wright]

One more thing to consider in mold inspections is not just the samples you took, but in the manner you took them. If your samples ever ended up in court, I'm betting that would be one of the first things they examine. I do mold inspections and am VERY VERY cautious on how the samples are taken. Be careful if you do them.

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by sboyd2

I'll have to disagree with you Dale. I do air samples and mold inspections a lot. Here is the service:

A person calls, has musty odors and allergies. I do the inspection, find the source, take air samples, submit a bill for $400-$500. They then have a contractor/remediator fix the problem. About another $500. Total= $1000

How do you find the source by taking an air sample? I believe that is nonsense if you cannot see the source. Then a remediator rips them off again if you cannot see the source. But if you see the source the test isn't needed in the first place.

Personally I believe if your not testing to the specifications Caoimhin Connell has addressed here numerous times the chances of being in court someday far out weigh the money in the testing.

Personally I hope people who are out there with these "Air Samples" do see their day in court. Everyones homeowners insurance would drop when the insurance companies are not ripped off as often.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by dduffy

Personally I hope people who are out there with these "Air Samples" do see their day in court. Everyones homeowners insurance would drop when the insurance companies are not ripped off as often.

Insurance fraud is rampant and not only because of mold. Insurance companies need to be more aggressive in fighting the fraud of inflated insurance claims.

Of interest is the compartitive air sample between indoor and outdoor concentrations. Mold inspection can be offered to home buyers as a peace of mind service. Since peoples tolerance level to mold spores varies widely it is not for us to determine if the measured sample will affect them. We should certainly educate our clients on the limitations of mold sampling and provide the EPA information that is readily available.IMHO

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by mlarson

Insurance fraud is rampant and not only because of mold. Insurance companies need to be more aggressive in fighting the fraud of inflated insurance claims.

Fraud is definitely rampant with these one day "Certification Courses" also....

[jburk2]

Originally Posted by dduffy

Fraud is definitely rampant with these one day "Certification Courses" also....

I attended one of those one day certification courses about eight months ago. I walked away a little bit scared to perform mold inspections to be honest. The course, IMHO, just didn't fully prepare me to be a certified mold inspector. If I was to start doing mold inspections, I would want alot more training.

just my .02

[James Eubank]

I, too, would be cautious about jumping into mold sampling. There's just not much agreement about how it should be done, or how meaningful it is, or how accurate it is, or what the client should do with the final results. I've done a few mold samples in the past, but now I do not provide that service at all. Some people say the mold concern is overblown, and others say that it's way too important to ignore. In either case, the quick classes and cheap package deals don't seem to be reliable enough for me to stake my professional reputation on. I'm glad I've decided to pass on that one!

[dplummer]

Dale, while I understand why you might feel the way you do about SOME mould inspectors/testing, don't paint all of us with the same brush. One day training is absolutely not sufficient. However, air and/or swab testing in the hands of a qualified person & not just a Hygienist can be a VALUABLE tool. Persons with the experience & know how can interpet results to find area's of hidden mould & remediators can judge the successfulness of their job by such testing. Not ALL of us are rip offs just as not all HI'S are. Cheers! Doug

[Joseph Hagarty]

Shane,

Depends upon your market area....

A recent Inspection contained a Disclosure that Mold was found by an Inspector on a 12" by 24" area of Floor joist on a previous Inspection that resulted in a potential buyer not making a purchase.

Testing, at time of Inspection, revealed the need for Mold remediation at a cost of $5700.

Clearance testing showed that the Mold Remediation was Satisfactorily performed.

Any Guesses as to How many Companys were involved in this chain of Discovery, Remediation and Clearance testing?

Hmmmmm?

[Dale Duffy]

12"x24"

That's my idea of being ripped off.....big time, but it happens everyday, shame just a shame.