We made an offer on a home and just got the inspection results back. A licensed radon inspector got a level of 13.4 pci/L during a 3 day test. This is well above the EPA action guideline of 4.0. It sounds like mitigation would involve having pipes and fans installed under the foundation. Fans would then run continuously. I’m not sure I want to deal with this. Is anyone living with this?
We have a system that we put in when we moved in 2023. It’s very common in our area, lots of people have the systems. It’s not something we really hear (you can hear it a little bit if you’re outside right near the pipes) and it wasn’t an expensive fix ($1000?)
I don’t recall what our numbers were that prompted us to get the system.
2 Likes
lol I’m just realizing who posted this! Are you moving by me?! 
1 Like
We’ve had fans forever.
Radon is common in my area.
We weren’t high - we were at the top of safe.
But got the fan for peace of mind.
Every few years my wife runs a test - and it’s always near zero.
I assume the fan works…but I’ve never seen it. It’s been at least ten years.
2 Likes
It’s an easy fix, not super expensive. If you love the house, I would negotiate the fix. Another home you would buy in your area may very well have the same problem.
9 Likes
We bought our current home in 1996. At the time we also had a radon test, and it also showed a high radon level. We had a mitigation system put in before purchasing the house, and it has been running ever since (except for rare occasional power outages).
If I walk over to the corner of the basement where the fan is then I can just barely hear it running.
It works just fine and is really no problem.
4 Likes
Where I live, everyone has radon mitigation. It is hard to sell a home without it here.
Our fan system is right outside our kitchen window, and you’d never notice. My folk’s vents outside their garage has only recently failed after 50 years of running, and that’s the only reason we can hear it now (we actually had trouble figuring out what the small odd noise was )
2 Likes
Radon is also common in our area & lots of people have radon mitigation systems. We just got ours within the past couple years, and it was around $1,000. The installation was pretty easy, and we don’t notice the fan at all.
3 Likes
We bought our house in 2001 and had a radon mitigation fan put in as well. From the corner of the basement or standing outside next to the fan in the pipe, I can still hear it running 24 years later. Though I’ll be honest we only ever did follow up radon tests during the first year. Haven’t done any since. Like others have said, radon is common in the area, and many homes have these systems.
1 Like
I will add that our inside part of the unit is in the basement in an out of the way corner and then of course the pipe (or whatever it’s called) going up the side of the house.
After we got it installed I found myself noticing many units on other houses where o could see it on the side walking by. I’m sure I just never noted them before! It’s not obnoxious.
I think if they had their homes tested many more homes of my
Neighbors would have them - seems that it’s only noted when one is having a house inspection for selling/buying!!
2 Likes
We sold our house in NJ about 18 months ago. The potential buyers did a radon test and we failed. (We had done one when we had purchased the house in 1988 and it was fine.) We paid for the mitigation (about $2,000 I believe that came with a 12 month guarantee.) That buyer fell through. The second potential buyer did a radon test and we were just above the threshold. The mitigation company did additional work installing a second pipe location in the lowest level. The house was a split which is difficult to work with (the radon mitigation company told us this). My husband has very sensitive hearing, I am sure had we had it in place the constant fan running would have driven him crazy.
The seller should make good on the fix and transfer the mitigation company guarantee to you.
2 Likes
We got our unit because our neighbors had testing done and had a high level. They posted on the neighborhood Facebook group. We tested, and it was not alarmingly high but definitely over the minimum recommended. We felt that it was wise to install a mitigation unit. The first place they wanted to run the pipe was unacceptable to my H, so he worked with them to find a better location … H didn’t want to cut through the roof.
1 Like
Radon mitigation systems very common in our area. I’m under the impression the sellers pay for system when house inspection finds issues.
This is a timely thread. Two friends in our town have done self testing (you can borrow testers free from the library) on homes 30+ years old . Both found levels above the recommended max (4 pCi/L). Mitigation costs depend upon where/how they run the pipes, but seem to start around $1000.
We will likely do tests soon. I assume that our mortgage lender had us do testing when we built our house in 1993. But it would be good to check. It would be ready for eventual house sale. Also want to reduce risk for ourselves, but the bigger concern to me would have been when the kids were small.
Certainly could be something the seller takes care of but these days with housing competition many offers are contingent on the seller NOT taking care of issues or not taking care of issues that are minimal - and $1000 these days is minimal. Depends the conditions the house went contingent on.
In our case the sellers we had the inspection as a way to back out of there were major issues but the offer was contingent on the sellers NOT having to pay for any issues.
1 Like
My second set of buyers were not budging on us getting the mitigation done before the close. I argued that they had the one year guarantee and they could for no cost have the mitigation piping placed exactly how they wanted it. Instead I just had them run it through a closet, honestly not the most ideal location. At that point, we had moved out and I didn’t much care - just wanted the close to happen.
Seeing as radon is considered a health/environmental hazard I doubt any buyer would foot the bill no matter how competitive a market it is. The same was true with my abandoned oil tank. Nobody would buy until it was removed and the ground tested.
My experience was that although our contracts implied minimal issues would not be need to be fixed, the buyers argued over ridiculous minor things - wanting money off.
2 Likes
Chance losing a house to buy over $1000? Yes a health hazard but also an easy fix with little house intrusion - we were happy to pay it and move on with the sale (there are more details to our purchase and the previous owners but not relevant here). Now if it was $10k to remedy that is another story!!
3 Likes
It’s sad that whoever owns the home didn’t mitigate before - sad for their health.
And every prospective seller maybe needs to add doing a test to their pre sell checklist.
2 Likes
I don’t think this will involve a little intrusion. I hope I’m wrong. It’s what I call a twin-home, with a firewall between two units. It’s open-concept, so I may have to go through one of my two precious closet spaces. It does leave 3 walls, front, back, and other side. The other side is the finished basement side. The garage is also on the finished side. The builder used Superior walls, which means the pipe has to be at least 5 feet from the wall. Then you throw in an HOA. Mitigation company makes it sound like they over rule any HOA. Maybe I need to walk through several backyards in the neighborhood to see how others are dealing with this issue.
1 Like
For anyone concerned about radon in their house. Radon meters are not very expensive. We have a finished basement and were concerned if radon could be an issue as one of the prior owners developed lung cancer. Got a meter off Amazon and tested every corner of the basement. Nope. None were above the threshold. Then we learned that the bedrock we sit on is at least 20 feet below the surface (pinpiles for deck supports). Also tested the master bathroom that has granite countertops and tiles. Nope. Not an issue either. We then gave our meter to friends who live in an area with known radon issues.
6 Likes
With realtors and real estate lawyers telling every buyer and seller, no property sale can occur with environmental issues, yes, the seller has to do it. The buyer is not at risk of losing the house, because every buyer will ask for the radon mitigation to be done by the seller.
No matter how competitive the market is, the fix will fall on the seller. I had to do several silly things to get my house sold, like passing a fire inspection which required mounting a fire extinguisher in the middle of my kitchen wall.
1 Like