As I work with buyers I attempt to educate them on radon and why I think it is important for them to have a radon inspection at the time they have the house they purchase inspected. One, if the buyer is going to use the basement as living space, they need to know if radon is present. Two, when they go to resale the property the next buyer might test for radon and if radon is found then they might have to pay to have it mitigated.
Many Realtors do not discuss radon. I am not one of them. I talk about radon as it is more common in the Twin Cities then one would guess. If you put the state of Minnesota on a chart with all 50 states, you would find Minnesota ranks up there as a radon state. It has to do with our rocks. Don't laugh, but radon is found in the rock that the house sits on. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water and gets into the air we breathe it and it is the second leading cause of lung cancer.
Don't run scared. Radon is easily taken care at a price not as hefty as you might imagine. I have found that a typical house costs around $1200-1600 to put in a system that moves the air out of the house and thus removes the radon. It is done in a corner of the unfinished basement and one hardly notices it once the system is installed.
Radon is tested by a house inspector or a radon company. An electric machine monitors the air in the lowest part of the home for 48 hours and gives readings and averages. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that a reading should be below 4.0. Most sellers are surprised to learn they have radon higher than this and they usually will work with the buyer to mitigate prior to closing.
Radon is not something to be frightened by ,but it is not something to be treated lightly. I want to educate my buyers and then they can move forward from there.
Comments