Don’t ever ignore mold at a property you own
It is a moderate day of 55 degrees. Your name is Pablo Smith, and you are the owner of the White Lily Apartments. Today is the day you have chosen to tour your 20-unit apartment complex. You are relaxed and happy. The rent has been coming in on time. The tenants have been quiet. Your vacant units have filled fast. You feel like a true capitalist. It is a great day, that is, until you visit the first unit.
You knock on the door and seven-year-old Nicole lets you in. Her mother is on the couch watching TV. The unit looks clean. As required, you have posted notices on all the doors in advance to let the tenants know you were coming. On this trip you brought your maintenance man Jack with you to fix the minor problems and make note of the major ones so you can budget future repairs.
You can smell dinner cooking. It smells like chicken soup. As you walk out of the living room into the bathroom, you notice some mold on the walls. You quickly walk into the bedrooms and see even more mold, especially on the outside walls. Your look puzzles Jack. He says, “We have this problem in all of the units.” The blood drains from your face. You quickly complete the inspections of all the units and then walk out into the sunshine.
Your brain tells you that you must do something right away and that this cannot be healthy for the inhabitants of your apartments. Your maintenance man tells you that this is not an unusual problem, especially in the winter when it is colder outside and the humidity rate on the inside increases. He recommends installing a fan in the bathroom and making sure that the fans in the kitchens work. You are shaken to the core. You chose to buy this building because it was built out of concrete. You figured World War III could come and your building would survive. You never expected mold to invade first.
Jack recommends that you check the roof first, to make sure it is draining, and the downspouts, to make sure they are clear. Then he suggests checking if the humidity was caused by a broken water pipe. You doubt it because your water bill has been very stable. You decide to go home and do some research on the internet.
You log on and find helpful information: the State Health Officer in California, James Stratton M.D.,M.P.H., says in a bulletin, “There are hundreds of different kinds of mold and fungi that can grow indoors, and they come in different colors, including white, pink, orange, brown and black. Almost all molds are known to produce substances or chemicals that emit a characteristic odor that can cause allergies or make them worse. Molds can also irritate the eyes, nose or throat.”
You find out from the EPA that molds lack chlorophyll and must survive by digesting plants and other organic materials for food, and that without molds, our environment would be overwhelmed by large amounts of dead plant matter. Molds produce spores and these spores float by us in the air. They tend to land in damp areas, and tend to destroy the things they land on.
The key to mold control is moisture control
High humidity and condensation problems, as well as water leaks, maintenance problems, and HVAC system problems, can cause mold to grow. Humidity is the key. You keep digging and find some resources you can use to solve your problems. You think about your options:
You could call your insurance company if the cost is going to exceed your deductible. They could cover the costs, but have vendors they may want to use. Your policy may cover the problem and the clean up.
Wash down the walls with bleach (one cup of bleach for every gallon of water) and then seal the wall and paint over it. Allow the bleach to stay in contact with the walls for 15 minutes before you wash it off. Make sure the area dries off; otherwise, mold will grow on it again. You also need to clean the carpets and the drapes. Make sure Jack is wearing protective clothing (rubber gloves and a long-sleeved shirt) and a respirator. If the problem is located on an outside wall, Jack should look to see if the gutters are plugged or if rain or water is coming into the building. If that is the problem, the gutters and downspouts need to be cleared, and the walls still need to be washed, primed and painted.
Good airflow is critical to avoiding this problem. Jack may need to retrofit fans or blowers into the kitchen and bathroom. Communicate with the tenants in writing the steps they need to follow in order to reduce the humidity in their leased apartment.
Finally, you decide to write the tenants a letter to enlist their aid in cleaning up. You retrofit the windows so that they can be opened safely about two inches to let the air in, and you have all of the walls washed down and sealed, the drapes cleaned, and the carpets cleaned. After a month of work, you feel good. You have made progress, and the tenants are very happy, so happy that they all pool for a small gift of thanks.
The next step is to install air-fans in the bathrooms. This is not inexpensive, but since you have decided to make other upgrades in the property, you finance them all together. You wonder if all of your efforts were worth it…but in the end, you realize that your tenant turnover has reduced to nothing and that the tenants you have are with you to stay.
Clifford A. Hockley, CPM, CCIM, MBA
Cliff is a Certified Property Manager® (CPM) and a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). Cliff joined Bluestone and Hockley Real Estate Services 1986 and successfully merged that company with Criteria Properties in 2021.
He has extensive experience representing property owners in the sale and purchase of warehouse, office, and retail properties, as well as mobile home parks and residential properties. Cliff’s clients include financial institutions, government agencies, private investors and nonprofit organizations. He is a Senior Advisor for SVN | Bluestone.
Cliff holds an MBA from Willamette University and a BS in Political Science from Claremont McKenna College. He is a frequent contributor to industry newsletters and served as adjunct professor at Portland State University, where he taught real estate-related topics. Cliff is the author of two books, 21 Fables and Successful Real Estate Investing; Invest Wisely Avoid Costly Mistakes and Make Money, books that helps investors navigate the rough shoals of real estate ownership. He is the managing member of a real estate consulting practice, Cliff Hockley Consulting, LLC., designed to help investors and commercial brokerage owners successfully navigate their businesses. He can be reached at 503-267-1909 , Cliffhockley@gmail.com or Cliff.Hockley@SVN.com.
