This odorless, invisible gas that as far as I can tell can't be unequivocally linked to health issues has done another deal in.
I live and sell properties in the Granite State (New Hampshire)...Radon is everywhere.
If the Radon count has above 4.0 PCI based on an independent test...inside the home, its high on the front steps, sidewalk...road leading to your new home. What are you going to do about that?
Is this a Government plan to put radon mitigation specialist back to work?
Or is this a test to raise the home inspectors fee?
All three of these sales were done in by counts between 8 and 12 PCI...how bad is living with this?
In each case I asked the buyer what the count was at their current home...where they have lived 24/7 for years, none of them had any idea.
I know you are all itching to comment have a system put in...drill a hole in the basement slab...attach a PVC pipe and hook up a fan...no big deal...Right?
1) This questionable test has just scared the buyer...and you can't put Pandora back in the box. One canceled as not being convinced a zero could ever be achieved and children's room will be on the lower level.
2) The cost of this out of the blue concern is prohibitive. Deal two has half a finished basement and half is a dirt floor...the only way to fix this house pour a new slab, but the seller is upside down on the mortgage and can't do anything about the required repair.
3) Deal three, a five story condo with the high count on the ground floor. There are windows on all five stories and no way to get a vent system above the roof line without a major engineering under-taking...if at all possible.
I have had properties come in with radon counts over 30PCI and there - systems have made the difference. But the counts that are in the single digits, the change of barometric pressure, weather patterns, an open window or a re-test can change the results.
Once the cat is out of the bag…good luck coaxing him back in.
The damage is done, the buyer is scared and many times nothing can put this deal back together again.
If the seller pre-tested, would buyers accept there results...this tests are done through independent labs and the numbers are accepted to be "real"...but is there a real health concern?
What is the radon level at your house...at your office...at your children's school, or is the stress caused by this concern worse for you than the radon itself.
In new construction we are putting a vent in the floor and a pipe to the attic space before finishing the inside of the home...if a test rate the living space in a high range, a $200 fan will fix the PCI levels.
Here's the USGS radon map:
The best advice I could give is to educate your buyers by either sending them to the EPA web site or giving them the EPA publication Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon
This information is from: The United States Environmental Protection Ageny - Site.
Studies Find Direct Evidence Linking Radon in Homes to Lung Cancer - Two studies show definitive evidence of an association between residential radon exposure and lung cancer. Two studies, a North American study and a European study, both combined data from several previous residential studies. These two studies go a step beyond earlier findings. They confirm the radon health risks predicted by occupational studies of underground miner’s who breathed radon for a period of years. Early in the debate about radon-related risks, some researchers questioned whether occupational studies could be used to calculate risks from exposure to radon in the home environment. “These findings effectively end any doubts about the risks to Americans of having radon in their homes,” said Tom Kelly, Director of EPA’s Indoor Environments Division. “We know that radon is a carcinogen. This research confirms that breathing low levels of radon can lead to lung cancer.”
Read the University of Iowa press release about the North American study at www.uihealthcare.com/news/news/2005/03/21radon.html
Abstract of the pooling of North American Residential Radon studies (PDF) (2 pp, 22KB, About PDF).
Abstract of the pooling of the European Residential Radon studies (PDF) (1 page, 21KB, About PDF).
You decide if you should be testing homes for sale (I think you should).
Steve Loynd
Your-White Mountain New Hampshire Real Estate Expert
steve@alpinelakes.com toll free 800-926-5653 /cell 603-381-7898
MLS search and Realtor web site: www.alpinelakes.com
