This week one of my buyers had the house she is buying in Lake Zurich tested for radon levels. As I previously wrote in, “Radon Testing Guidelines & Disclosure for Illinois Home Buyers“, last year the State of Illinois started encouraging home buyers to have homes they were considering for purchase tested for radon levels.
My buyer used Radon Detection Specialists here in the Chicago area. They currently charge $195 to test a home for radon. Shown left is one of their testing devices.
If you test for radon during your inspection contingency period and the home shows higher than recommended levels of radon, you can ask the seller to remediate the problem as my buyer did after the test results showed elevated levels of radon. If you wait until after you buy the home to test for radon and the testing shows higher than recommended levels of radon, you’ll have to pay for the remediation which costs around $1,200.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fran Bailey shows, previews and tracks downtown Chicago homes for sale giving her the insights needed to help her clients negotiate the best price and terms. Fran has been quoted in numerous Chicago and national publications. To schedule showings of listings regardless of broker or to contact Fran email her at fran.bailey@bairdwarner.com or call 773.793.4516. Learn More
Fran Bailey, Realtor
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Bringing the issue of radon to the attention of your buyers is great business. Your clients may have been unaware of radon gas in Illinois homes without your advice. There are many misconceptions in regards to radon. Some agents fear that radon may wreck a deal. If radon is detected, mitigation is effective and affordable. Informing your clients of radon will help build a strong agent/client relationship as well as preventing possible exposure to this silent danger. Thanks Fran
Interesting picture of the set up. This type of monitor must take minute by minute readings… probably for a 48-hour test? My guys use canisters to collect the gas and then calculate the sample collected. In my part of Virginia, in the Washington DC suburbs, the cost of remediation has dropped to $850 which really isn’t enough to cause a deal to blow-up.