On May 20, 10:53 pm, Art Todesco wrote:
We just looked at a bunch of houses for
sale in western North Carolina. One of
the houses was very nice on very nice
property. One problem, there was a
musty smell in the area of the 2
bedrooms. On further checking, the
basement under the bedrooms also had the
same smell. The house did not have
central heat or AC. The heat was
provided by electric baseboard units and
fireplaces. If we were to bid on this
property and subsequently buy it, we
would add central heat and AC. My
question, how does one proceed with the
musty smell problem. Do I hire a home
inspector to check it out? Or do I hire
a water sealing company to check it? Or
what? Any suggestion would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks.

One other thing I'd be concerned about is
damage from long-term excessive moisture,
which would be a major contributor to the
fragrance you describe. Could be from above,
from below, all of the above, but I'd seek the
source(s) and assess structural damage first.

One thing more ... the home inspectors I've
seen are well-intentioned hacks, missing
obvious probs I pointed out. Conflict of interest
thing: they don't want to disturb brokers who
might give future referrals. Meaning: find
inspector on your own, or ask broker for
referrals (to NOT call.)

HTH,
J