Seller Did Not Disclose Mold Damage Repairs

[Katiehj726]

I live in Florida and I am aware of a flip house that is listed for sale without disclosing that it has had repairs from serious mold damage. I know this because I personally considered purchasing the property as my own flip but determined that, even after the house was completely gutted, the mold damage was so extensive that it should probably just be demolished. I assumed someone would purchase it for the value of the land. I was shocked to see it renovated and listed for sale just a few months later. I requested the disclosures from the listing agent only to find that they are not disclosing the mold abatement and associated repairs, which I find sickening. This house was previously not even safe to enter without hazmat gear. Is there anything I can do to blow the whistle on sellers like this?

[pg1067]

I am aware of a flip house that is listed for sale without disclosing that it has had repairs from serious mold damage.

Are you of the belief that such a disclosure is required to be made in a real estate listing? Generally, disclosures of this sort are not required until after an offer has been made and accepted.

Is there anything I can do to blow the whistle on sellers like this?

"Sellers like this"? Or this particular seller?

It's not clear what your interest in this situation is or really what you want to accomplish. It's also not clear that you have any personal knowledge of the current conditions of the house. Rather, it seems that you have knowledge of the conditions at some unstated time in the past ("a few months" or more) and have no knowledge that those conditions haven't changed significantly. At a minimum, until you verify that the conditions remain unchanged, anything that you might "do to blow the whistle" would be extremely ill-advised.

[jk]

If you aren’t injured, you have no standing to take any legal action.

Being a real estate agent yourself (are you also a Realtor?) you should know if the agent bears any obligation to address a known false sellers disclosure. That is likely the only person where you can take action so they are held accountable for their actions.

Im curious: are you an expert in mold issues, structural engineering, construction, or any other concern that would allow you to say with certainty the mold issue was such that the home could not be repaired?

[Katiehj726]

First off, I'm not a real estate agent. I'm a licensed GC and own a small home renovation company that dabbles in real estate investment. I was under the impression that, under Florida law, repairs done related to things like mold, sinkholes, methamphetamine contamination, lead-based paint, etc. had to be disclosed by the seller whether or not they had been successfully remediated. I'm not saying that I think they didn't repair it or repair it properly - obviously, I have no idea. I'm saying that I know that repairs were necessary, and I have a disclosure from that specifically states that there was no damage, clean-up or repairs performed relating to mold (what it actually says, not my own inference). They are deliberately lying about it for whatever reason, which is presenting a personal ethical dilemma for me. I don't want to think they they slapped new drywall over black mold and will sell it to some unsuspecting family (again, I'm not saying that this is the case, but it is a clear possibility, right?). Since I am not a victim of anything, I didn't know if there was somewhere to report this...?

[jk]

There is no obligation to disclose anything to you. Until a person is offering to purchase the home does the seller have to disclose any issues. Since you were not offering to purchase the home, you may not have been provided the full disclosure.

I understand your concern but it’s impossible to know what they are disclosing to an actual buyer until you’re in that position.

the only statute I could find regarding specific issues

689.25 Failure to disclose homicide, suicide, deaths, or diagnosis of HIV or AIDS infection in an occupant of real property.—

other than that, the Florida Supreme Court said this:

“where the seller of a home knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, the seller is under duty to disclose them to the buyer.”


if the issue was properly remedied, arguably it would not fulfill the requirements of that statement.

[budwad]

First off, I'm not a real estate agent. I'm a licensed GC and own a small home renovation company that dabbles in real estate investment. I was under the impression that, under Florida law, repairs done related to things like mold, sinkholes, methamphetamine contamination, lead-based paint, etc. had to be disclosed by the seller whether or not they had been successfully remediated. I'm not saying that I think they didn't repair it or repair it properly - obviously, I have no idea. I'm saying that I know that repairs were necessary, and I have a disclosure from that specifically states that there was no damage, clean-up or repairs performed relating to mold (what it actually says, not my own inference). They are deliberately lying about it for whatever reason, which is presenting a personal ethical dilemma for me. I don't want to think they they slapped new drywall over black mold and will sell it to some unsuspecting family (again, I'm not saying that this is the case, but it is a clear possibility, right?). Since I am not a victim of anything, I didn't know if there was somewhere to report this...?

Mold can be remediated before reconstruction. It's done all the time.

Until the home is offered for sale as a dwelling, no disclosure is necessary.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Once repairs are completed, absent an exception under state law, disclosure of the past, remedied problem is not ordinarily required.

If the mold was not properly abated, then the buyer has a potential cause of action against the seller -- and certainly a lot of 'flippers' commit fraud in relation to any number of issues, including mold.

If it was properly abated, then there is nothing to disclose.

[pg1067]

I was under the impression that, under Florida law, repairs done related to things like mold, sinkholes, methamphetamine contamination, lead-based paint, etc. had to be disclosed by the seller whether or not they had been successfully remediated.

Where/how did you acquire this impression? And when must this disclosure take place? In my prior response, I asked you if you were "of the belief that such a disclosure is required to be made in a real estate listing," and then noted that, "[g]enerally, disclosures of this sort are not required until after an offer has been made and accepted." Unfortunately, you ignored that question and comment.

I have a disclosure from that specifically states that there was no damage, clean-up or repairs performed relating to mold (what it actually says, not my own inference).

There's a big difference between failure to disclose and affirmative misrepresentation. If you really want to play crusader, I suppose you could pretend to be a potential buyer and, at some point, let the seller know that you know that the affirmative representation about no mode damage is false.