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Janet and Ed Hagan

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Information for Home Buyers
•The ABC’s of Buying a Home
•The 10 Biggest Mistakes Home Buyers Make
•How to Buy an Environmentally Safe Home
•Free School Profile Reports
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The Real Estate Commissions in the states of Maine and New Hampshire have added language to their standard Purchase and Sale contract to encourage the home buyer to seek information, “from professionals regarding any specific issue or concern.”How does one begin to choose the tests that should be performed? The Buyer’s Voice in Real Estate wants to help you make the best choices for the particular home you want; however, we want you to learn from experts about the different environmental issues.

• NOTE: We recently represented a homebuyer in New Hampshire. We recommended testing for radon in the drinking water supply; our client agreed. The home was relatively new (about 6 years old) and extremely well maintained. The owners had not tested for radon in their water supply. The test results came back at almost 25 times greater than the EPA recommended limit! The homeowners were horrified that they had been living with this problem and had not known about it. They agreed to install a treatment system at their expense. This saved our client approximately 5,000 dollars.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides an excellent web-based resource for investigating many potential problem areas. Their home page is www.epa.gov and it contains an easy to follow menu for investigating various issues.

The web sites of Maine, www.me.gov and New Hampshire www.nh.gov contain links to their respective state agencies responsible for environmental protection and issues.

We think that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services website is a little more user-friendly, and it contains a useful search engine. Try www.des.state.nh.us and click on the Popular Topics drop-down menu in the lower right hand corner of the page.

Water Quality Including Radon in Water

Discussions of water quality issues can be found at www.epa.gov/safewater. This is an important starting point since many of the homes in southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire depend on private wells for their drinking water supply.

In certain parts of New Hampshire and Maine, some of the common problems in drinking water may include the presence of radon gas, a naturally occurring radioactive element, and inorganic contaminants such as arsenic. The links are www.epa.gov/safewater/radon.html and www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic.html.

The EPA and New Hampshire web sites discuss the cost of testing and costs of treatment. The New Hampshire website www.des.state.nh.us/factsheets/ws/inc/3-12.html also provides a list of vendors who supply these types of treatment systems.

Indoor Air Quality

Radon gas can also be present in the home as a result of passing up through the foundation or cellar spaces. The EPA link is www.epa.gov/radon .

On January 13, 2005, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Richard H. Carmona, identified this commonly-occurring, radioactive gas as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. His statement is available at www.surgeongeneral.gov/pressreleases/sg01132005.html.

At www.epa.gov/radon/pubs you can find several EPA booklets including: A Citizen’s Guide to Radon, Home Buyer’s and Seller’s Guide to Radon and Consumer’s Guide to Radon Reduction.

They are also available in print from the National Service Center for Environmental Publications at www.epa.gov/ncepihom.

The Maine Citizen’s Guide to Radon is available at http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/eng/rad/Radon/Citizens_Guide_To_Radon.htm and New Hampshire has a useful booklet at http://www.des.state.nh.us/factsheets/ws/ws-3-12.htm.

Mold

Another common contaminant of concern is mold. Again, the EPA provides an excellent resource at www.epa.gov/mold. The New Hampshire website is www.des.state.nh.us, go to the Popular Topics drop-down menu and select Mold. This contaminant is a hot topic in the media and certain molds such as stachybotrys chartarum can have serious consequences. The presence of mold has increased importance if you or a member of your family has an allergy to mold. This is definitely an area for your additional research.

Testing and Remediation

The requirements for testing and for remediation contractors are different between New Hampshire and Maine. New Hampshire does not require licensing or registration of Radon remediation contractors; Maine does require registration. The Maine Radon website lists the names of registered mitigation contractors at http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/eng/rad/Radon/mitigators.htm.

Both Maine and New Hampshire require certification of laboratories that perform testing for water or air quality issues. The Maine Health and Environmental Test Laboratory and a list of accredited Maine testing facilities can be found at www.informe.org/hetl and the New Hampshire list is at www.des.state.nh.us/NHELAP. Both sites provide the names and phone numbers of the personnel to contact if you have more questions.