Radon and Home Inspections: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know
All home buyers and sellers should make a radon test part of their home inspection. Radon gas has been found in houses across the country, so no homeowner should assume they can skip a radon test just because of their location. Radon can also fluctuate from year to year and even season to season, so it’s important to test radon levels when a home is for sale even if another test was conducted a few years ago, or if it has a mitigation system.
Radon Testing for Home Sellers
As a home seller, you should know that a prospective buyer has the right to hire a home inspector. It’s not a bad idea to hire your own home inspector when you put your house on the market so that you can uncover potential issues—including high radon levels—and avoid any unpleasant surprises when your buyer conducts their home inspection.
If you choose not to conduct your own home inspection and radon test when listing your house, be prepared for a potential buyer to ask for one.
DuPage Radon Contractors has a trouble-free process for helping home sellers mitigate radon and keep the sales process moving so as to not jeopardize a closing date. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if your radon test results are less than satisfactory.
Radon Testing for Home Buyers
Before buying a home, you should always have the radon tested by an independent professional tester. Don’t accept tests performed by the seller, or skip it because the home already has a radon mitigation system. The amount of radon produced under any building can change dramatically over time. An older radon system might not be keeping the radon at safe levels anymore.
The EPA recommends taking steps to lower radon gas when levels are at or above 4.0 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L), so if the results of the home seller’s test are high, you should negotiate the installation of a radon mitigation system.
Radon Testing and Your Home Inspection: What to Expect
There are two types of radon tests: short-term, which take 48 hours, and long-term, which take 90 days. Most home buyers and sellers use short-term tests to avoid delaying the sale. As part of the home inspection, a professional, licensed radon tester will conduct a short-term radon test placed in the lowest livable area of the house, where it will collect the average radon level over two days.
As a home buyer, you may feel relieved if your home inspection reveals that radon levels are below 4.0 pCi/L. However, any level of radon can be harmful when you’re exposed to it for a long time. The good news is that a modern radon mitigation system can often bring indoor radon levels below 2.0 pCi/L. Even if current radon levels are somewhere between 2.0 and 4.0 in the home you plan to buy, it may be worth installing a system. DuPage Radon Contractors can give you a price for a system to get your level below 4.0pCi/L and beyond. Get in touch with us to get a radon mitigation system installed in your home (or future home) today.
