This house purchase has been a journey. It began on a great note when you sold your house to a friend before ever really putting it on the market. The catch, however, was that you would need to move your family of four out within 60 days. No small task when both you and your wife were working and you had two small boys, one age four, one 18 months old.
Your own search for a home in the largest city in the state proved to be the biggest challenge. As you were looking in a price range where houses sold within just a few days, sometimes hours, of being listed. Those that did not sell typically had something that was not right, windows or roofs that needed replaced, poor location. After what seemed like a painfully long search process you finally found the house that you wanted. You were the first people to look at the home once it was listed, however, so the sellers had not yet started their search. You asked for a 60 day move in date for yourself, but this still meant that you would need to be out of your home a full two months before you could move into your new house.
Fortunately, your family of four were able to move in with in laws for the first month, and were then able to move in with some other relatives who lived just a mile from the new home for the second month. Living in someone else’s space with two small boys is not easy and you were counting down the day until you would again be in your own home. When the closing day grew closer, however, you ran into one more problem. The testing for radon indicated a problem so the buyer had to consult local radon testing companies to find a resolution.
Radon Mitigation and Abatement Services Keep Family Homes Safe
In many parts of the country testing for radon is required before a real estate closing can occur. Radon, an invisible, odorless gas has been shown to cause many health problems, but in many cases it is not tested for unless there is a real estate transfer in process. Understandably so, there is a real advantage to making sure that your home is safe from radon for your own family, not just the next buyers who will be moving in. Consider some of these facts about testing for radon and the abatement and mitigation services that can help everyone lead a healthier life:
- The Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. today.
- Depending on the device, short-term detectors measure radon levels for two days to 90 days.
- In contrast, long-term tests determine the average concentration for more than 90 days.
- Unfortunately, nearly 1 in 15 U.S. homes is estimated to have radon levels that are at or above the Environmentally Protection Agency (EPA) action level.
- By lowering radon levels in homes exceeding the EPA’s action level, scientists estimate that lung cancer deaths could be reduced by 2% to 4%, which is equivalent to 5,000 deaths.
- As many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths are caused each year by radon, according to the EPA)and the Surgeon General’s Office estimates.
Moving into a new home can be an exciting time, but there are often many obstacles in the process. From finding a new home to making sure that radon levels are safe, every part of the process is important if you want to make sure that your next move is the best move.