Buying a House? Test for Radon!

Continuous radon monitor test in-progress.

Over the past few years, particularly since a section was added to our Seller's Property Disclosure Statement, radon has been a hot button issue in real estate.  To quickly recap, radon is an odorless, invisible gas that is caused by the half-life breakdown of uranium in soil.  It's in every house and is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Radon levels are measured in picocuries per liter (pCi/L), and the EPA states that any level above 4.0 pCi/L is deemed to be "unsafe".

Radon testing is involved in nearly EVERY home transaction these days.  Testing occurs during the buyer's home inspection contingency period, and typically costs about $150.  Testing is typically done using a continuous monitoring system and is performed in the lowest level space that will be lived in (my home inspection usually performs them in a lower level bedroom).  The minimum amount of time for testing is 48 hours and the results are ordinarily available immediately.

I strongly encourage buyers to test for radon during their inspection contingency period.  If the results come back below 4.0 pCi/L, excellent!  You can rest assured that your home has a safe level of radon without installing a radon mitigation system.  If it comes back above 4.0 pCi/L, it's usually an item that it easily negotiated with the sellers.  The most common solution is for the seller(s) to hire a professional contractor to install a radon mitigation system.  Radon mitigation systems vary in price depending on the home size and setup, but a typicaly system costs somewhere in the $1,200 - $1,800 range.  Below is a very basic graphic example of how a radon mitigation system looks.

Example of a radon mitigation system.

If the seller is unwilling to install a system prior to closing, the alternative solution is usually for the seller to offer a price reduction or closing cost credit to cover the cost of the system.  Sellers have a strong incentive to resolve a high-radon issue, because they would then be required to disclose that (1) a test was performed and it came back high, and (2) that a radon mitigation system has not been installed.

Radon is a complicated issue that effects nearly every single transaction these days, so if you have additional questions on radon or radon mitigation systems, contact me!  I'd be happy to help.

Make Sure Your REALTOR Understands the Paperwork!

(PREFACE:  Now that the busy season is drawing to an end, expect more blog posts this fall and winter!  I realize it's been several months since I last posted here.)

I almost feel stupid writing this blog post because of how obvious this topic should be, but all too often (and particularly as of late) I've seen my fellow REALTORs show a complete lack of understanding about the paperwork we use in transactions.  At the end of the day, these REALTORs are ultimately doing a strong disservice to their clients, who rely and trust on them to navigate through the paperwork.  No buyer or seller should be expected to know more about the paperwork than their REALTOR.

I think part of why this is popping up (and subsequently why I felt compelled to write this) is that the Minnesota Association of REALTORs recently made changes to many of our forms.  This is pretty standard - about once a year, the Association with make minor tweaks to the forms.  Usually they are minimal - a couple word changes here, and small new section there.

However, this year the Association made some rather sweeping changes - in particular, they made very significant changes to the Inspection Addendum, which is a form used in almost every single transaction.  More specifically, the way that the number of days are calculated for completing inspections and negotiating any repairs or price reductions changed.  These timelines have significant importance to the transaction, and making a mistake could end up costing the buyer the house, or causing the buyer to assume a bunch of sub-par items on the home inspection.

At the end of the day, real estate isn't rocket science.  But there are huge amounts of money on the line for buyers AND sellers, and even the smallest mistakes can have significant repercussions.  REALTORs should know the paperwork inside and out, be diligent and detailed, and if they can't explain the paperwork or how specific aspects of the transactions work it should be an immediate red-flag.