Relocating to Mooresville Lake Norman: What you should know BEFORE buying real estate: Part 4

When buying real estate in the Lake Norman area for the first time it is very important that you are educated about not just the sales process but what to look for during the inspection process. Coming from California, despite 15 years in real estate, my husband and I knew nothing about moisture issues, siding, radon gas, well water, septic tanks and other physical aspects of homes here in Lake Norman and unfortunately, our Realtor who was a native of Lake Norman, had no idea we didn’t know and therefore did not explain anything at all to us. Hence this series of articles!

In Section 16 “PROPERTY INSPECTION/ INVESTIGATION of the official North Carolina Offer to Purchase and Contract form for residential real estate, there is a section just about Radon which states that the buyer has the option (at buyers expense) to test for Radon during their home inspection period. It goes on to state that if the test result comes in with radon levels of 4.0 pico curies per liter of air or more the seller has the option to remediate or not but if they elect not to remediate (at their expense) or fail to bring the levels below 4.0 the buyer shall have the option of either accepting the property as is or terminating the real estate contract with the full refund of all earnest money. (Please refer to your contract for the exact verbiage in this clause!)

A radon screening test is done with an electronic detector which does a continous monitoring of radon levels for a period of not less than 48 hours. They usually put the device in the lowest livable level of the home and doors and windows must remain closed.

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources has a great section on the NC Radon Program with a Q and A, copies of the Radon Information Brochure for NC Citizens, and a list of certified testers and mitigators you can use when buying or selling real estate in our Lake Norman area.

The US Enviornmental Protection Agency also provide detailed information about Radon and also offers “A Citizens Guide to Radon” and links to their North Carollina resources.

Radon levels in Lake Norman homes vary greatly but it in almost all of my real estate sales the levels were very low and presented no problems. However, if you are considering buying real estate in the greater Mooresville, Lake Norman and Charlotte area I would highly recommend that you include a radon test in your home inspection process.

RELATED ARTICLES

Relocating to Mooresville Lake Norman: What you should consider before buying real estate Part 1

Relocating to Mooresville Lake Norman: What you should know before buying real estate Part 2

Relocating to Mooresville Lake Norman: What you should know before buying real estate: Part 3