As a licensed real estate broker my company has had experience with hundreds of mold remediation projects.  99 % of them have gone perfectly fine.  Our company policy is to find a certified mold or indoor air quality company, get a clear scope of work, make sure there is a warranty, make sure the company has the proper insurance for the project, make sure our clients understand what the contamination means and how it is repaired and then hire a company.  The only frustrating part about the process is finding competitive bids from truly qualified companies.  There are many companies that claim they are certified but only carry mold testing or mold awareness certificates.  Our research shows WRT, AMRT and Indoor Environmental training from The American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC) like the CIE makes for a well rounded company that can investigate an indoor air quality / mold problem, write a complete scope of work, provided industry standard remediation and assure a proper clearance of the entire dwelling.

There are not many companies that carry these certifications and companies that do not have this training cannot truly provide a remediation service that will guarantee the mold levels will remain at normal levels.  There is only one company that we have found that guarantees the air quality will remain normal post the remediation.  Most companies pass clearance and a month later if the mold returns then the client would be out of luck.

In northern VA, Mold Aid seems to be the most recognized, qualified and properly certified company that stands behind their work and they are very good and have reasonable prices but it would be nice to be able to find other certified companies to gain competitive bids.  Most companies that have proper certifications like WRT and AMRT are large restoration companies that normally provide services for the insurance industry and the prices from companies like this are unreasonable.  Service Master who also has very good locations and services and other restoration companies like this don’t provide testing, don’t provide a scope of work but do provide remediation services.  Hiring a company like this can be a nightmare in a “real estate transaction” because the process becomes so drawn out.  You have to hire one company to test and write a scope of work, then, you have to submit to the restoration company and coordinate a meeting with the two so the scope of work is understood.  After the remediation you have to coordinate a clearance inspection date that suits both companies to finalize the project. Obviously this style remediation is very expensive, almost twice the amount.  If the remediation fails clearance one company can’t just step in and complete the project, you have to go through the same long process once again.  The testing company has to come in determine why it failed, write a scope of work and then remediate a 2^nd time and then go through the clearance once again.  We had one project that failed three times and it the cost of the whole process was three times as much as using one qualified company that can perform all the required steps of the remediation in a reasonable amount of time.  

I noticed from the list of companies commenting on this process there are many training certificates and not many that hold industry standard certifications to provide services from start to finish.  These companies actually believe they are helping people.  You have to be very careful, most of the time because their training is not well rounded you get misinformation and this is an industry where the clients health is at risk if something is done improperly.  It is nice to see that Virginia is pushing for mold regulations.  Our hope as real estate professionals is that the regulations require companies to gain certifications that give them knowledge of industry standards.  I agree with many of the comments that state requiring multiple companies to work together is not feasible.  Mold is something that needs to be dealt with quickly when discovered. The price for remediation is already expensive and if the costs go up many will live in unhealthy homes or worse hide a mold problem on a real estate transaction.  At the moment the industry seems to run very smoothly and the key is selecting the correct company to provide services that have all the proper certifications and training.  If this regulation requires companies to be fully certified to provide industry standard services then people will have more options to choose from when a company is needed.   I saw in one of the comments a company was concerned about getting all the proper training and insurances because of price.  Let me repeat myself, this is an industry where the clients health is on the line.  Any company providing services should fully understand all aspects of the industry.  It may be expensive to have proper training but it should definitely be required.  I’ve only seen a few remediations go wrong and they went wrong because the company did not fully understand the science of the remediation.  They were not bad companies and they thought they were doing a good job but due to the lack of rounded training they caused serious problems. 

Industry standard certifications should be required

Proper insurance should be required

Making clients work with two companies on one project is impractical

Companies should understand all aspects of the industry from testing and inspection to remediation and potential for health risks

Real Estate disclosures should be looked at to protect consumers

Appraisers should not be allowed to over-look mold problems

Real Estate Professionals should be required to have basic mold training

Banks should be required to clear homes that they own

Banks should be required to post warnings on foreclosures that have mold to protect agents and clients from entering a poor environment unprotected

Successful indoor air quality companies that have “all” the proper certifications should be interviewed as part of the regulations process. 

April G.  / Professional Real Estate Broker