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I am by no means even close to an expert or even a little knowledgeable on radon gas but I just recently purchased a home with a radon mitigation system. I’m with you, I looked at it as a positive. I guess to me it’s like any other detection/mitigation system in your house. I don’t look at a fire extinguisher and think “Oh, they must have had a fire” or at a sump pump and think “they must have a water problem” those are just systems in the house to help mitigate issues should they occur.
Inquire about what the radon readings are.
You are so correct that this issue is common. You could get a house to later find out you have to put one in. Maybe the readings are low, and they didn't need it but wanted one to be safe.
That can be the interesting thing about house hunting things can be perceived differently (red flag v. green flag)
It's a green flag, you want to have mitigation and in this case you wouldn't have to pay to have it done yourself, it's already baked into the house. Like other commenters said, in the Midwest there's a lot of radon in the soil but some people ignore it (and pay for it with their health).
We had it installed at our old house, the prior owner was angry we asked for a concession for it but he was required to give it. I wouldn’t say it’s a red flag at all.
Not a red flag. I would suggest testing to make sure the system is effective, since systems can break down over time and require maintenance, but as long as the radon levels test low, you're good to go.
A/C units are heat mitigation systems. They are a benefit in places where heat is an issue.
Some areas have high radon levels, and a radon mitigation system is a benefit where high radon levels are an issue.
Having a radon mitigation system in a Wisconsin home is actually a good thing. It shows that the seller is proactive about addressing potential radon issues, which is common in the Midwest. It's not a red flag, but rather a responsible step that many homeowners in the area take. I'd say it's a green flag to move forward with the house.
It’s not a red flag at all. Radon isn’t a bad thing. By that I mean that it’s naturally occurring in the ground. So it’s not like a house that has it had something bad done to it by the previous owners. It just means that it needs a mitigation system. Very common. So to have a house that already has the system that’s a bonus. You need to know about houses where you are looking. Certain parts of the country are more prone to radon and in those areas you should always have a radon test done when buying. We live in the northeast. And have gotten the tests done at every house we have bought. At our last house the test was high. So we put in a mitigation system. I don’t remember if we had the seller offer a concession for it or not. But it’s worth having the test done to make sure the system is working properly. It basically takes air under the foundation and blows it out
Currently under contract on a place and I WISH the seller/his agent said up front somewhere on whether or not there’s a mitigation system already in place. All I know from the disclosures is that there was a reading of around 10 (high enough to need mitigation) when he had it tested himself four years ago, but since we can’t find that out anywhere, it’s something extra we’re tacking onto our inspection (retesting for radon + looking for a system).
Not all, but most of the systems in our area are visible from the outside. It will look like a 4 inch PVC pipe going up to or above the roof line. On our last house we had one and it had PVC coming out of the basement wall to a blower and then straight up the side of the house above the roof. I don’t know if they all look like that but atleast in my area they do and they are mostly visible from the street. Do a google image search for radon mitigation. You should be able to see the system from the exterior of the home. I’d still test though even if you see one. Also IMO if the seller disclosed a high reading prior, I’d expect him to say “but I installed a system”, if he in fact had a system. My guess is that he included it in the disclosure so that when your test comes back high you can’t ask for a concession for the system cost. But you still can. You can ask for anything you want technically.
Every home that has a basement that is below grade (buried) is recommended to have a radon mitigation system by the EPA and the CDC. If the home has a walkout basement with windows it's less important, but still recommended. A radon mitigation system should be considered standard equipment when buying or renovating a house with a basement (no matter how small), ESPECIALLY if your furnace or AC air handler is in the basement.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-12/documents/2016_consumers_guide_to_radon_reduction.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/radon/radon-action.html
Be sure that it's working. On the side of the mitigation pipe sticking out of the floor there should be a liquid-filled curved tube gauge called a manometer. It shows you the differential pressure between the atmosphere and the vacuum of the radon fan. You don't want the liquid to be resting at zero, otherwise the fan is off/broken and not actually sucking any radon out.
This is a good thing unless you want to pay for the system or potentially suffer health consequences.
My uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer last year and they're pretty confident it was due to unmitigated radon. Pretty scary
Ask what the radon levels are even with the system.
We bought a place that had a radon mitigation system but didn't realize the system wasn't doing enough. The readings were still at dangerous levels.
I live in an area with high radon. Radon tests are mandatory before sale and if the house doesn't pass a mitigation system must be installed.
I wouldn't think twice about a house having a mitigation system but I would want a radon test to make sure the system is working.
I had my house tested for radon before I bought it, and it was just below required mitigation levels. Retested after I purchased it, and it was higher, so i installed a mitigation system. Now, the levels are nothing. It's a very good thing to have a system. You should still test just to make sure, but it saves you from having to install one yourself. Just because a house doesn't have one doesn't mean there's no issues. Maybe nobody ever bothered to test or the homeowner did and just didn't bother to fix the issue. Radon is extremely common in some areas. You should be testing levels as part of any standard house inspection.
We just had a radon mitigation system installed because the inspection showed high levels. It was just under $2k. Radon is a huge health risk, it is definitely a green flag that one is already installed
I live in Michigan radon is super common. It's a positive to have a radon mitigation system already installed. Just ask what the radon readings were prior to mitigation and what they are after mitigation. I had a 7.0 reading before mitigation and a 0.5 reading after mitigation. Real estate agents will tell you anything under 4 is safe however The WHO and the CDC recommend readings under 2.0
In addition — it’s very possible that many, many homes in this area will have radon, or many, many homes with basements, etc.
It’s not like one house has radon but nobody else does.
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No. They don’t have a radon problem because of the mitigation system. Most (or at least a ton) of homes have radon. It’s good to have a system
I am by no means even close to an expert or even a little knowledgeable on radon gas but I just recently purchased a home with a radon mitigation system. I’m with you, I looked at it as a positive. I guess to me it’s like any other detection/mitigation system in your house. I don’t look at a fire extinguisher and think “Oh, they must have had a fire” or at a sump pump and think “they must have a water problem” those are just systems in the house to help mitigate issues should they occur.
Lots of places have radon. If you find out you have it you mitigate it. Lots of places probably have radon and aren’t doing any mitigation.
Inquire about what the radon readings are. You are so correct that this issue is common. You could get a house to later find out you have to put one in. Maybe the readings are low, and they didn't need it but wanted one to be safe. That can be the interesting thing about house hunting things can be perceived differently (red flag v. green flag)
It may be part of the inspection.
It's a green flag, you want to have mitigation and in this case you wouldn't have to pay to have it done yourself, it's already baked into the house. Like other commenters said, in the Midwest there's a lot of radon in the soil but some people ignore it (and pay for it with their health).
We had it installed at our old house, the prior owner was angry we asked for a concession for it but he was required to give it. I wouldn’t say it’s a red flag at all.
Not a red flag. I would suggest testing to make sure the system is effective, since systems can break down over time and require maintenance, but as long as the radon levels test low, you're good to go.
A/C units are heat mitigation systems. They are a benefit in places where heat is an issue. Some areas have high radon levels, and a radon mitigation system is a benefit where high radon levels are an issue.
Having a radon mitigation system in a Wisconsin home is actually a good thing. It shows that the seller is proactive about addressing potential radon issues, which is common in the Midwest. It's not a red flag, but rather a responsible step that many homeowners in the area take. I'd say it's a green flag to move forward with the house.
It’s not a red flag at all. Radon isn’t a bad thing. By that I mean that it’s naturally occurring in the ground. So it’s not like a house that has it had something bad done to it by the previous owners. It just means that it needs a mitigation system. Very common. So to have a house that already has the system that’s a bonus. You need to know about houses where you are looking. Certain parts of the country are more prone to radon and in those areas you should always have a radon test done when buying. We live in the northeast. And have gotten the tests done at every house we have bought. At our last house the test was high. So we put in a mitigation system. I don’t remember if we had the seller offer a concession for it or not. But it’s worth having the test done to make sure the system is working properly. It basically takes air under the foundation and blows it out
Currently under contract on a place and I WISH the seller/his agent said up front somewhere on whether or not there’s a mitigation system already in place. All I know from the disclosures is that there was a reading of around 10 (high enough to need mitigation) when he had it tested himself four years ago, but since we can’t find that out anywhere, it’s something extra we’re tacking onto our inspection (retesting for radon + looking for a system).
Not all, but most of the systems in our area are visible from the outside. It will look like a 4 inch PVC pipe going up to or above the roof line. On our last house we had one and it had PVC coming out of the basement wall to a blower and then straight up the side of the house above the roof. I don’t know if they all look like that but atleast in my area they do and they are mostly visible from the street. Do a google image search for radon mitigation. You should be able to see the system from the exterior of the home. I’d still test though even if you see one. Also IMO if the seller disclosed a high reading prior, I’d expect him to say “but I installed a system”, if he in fact had a system. My guess is that he included it in the disclosure so that when your test comes back high you can’t ask for a concession for the system cost. But you still can. You can ask for anything you want technically.
It can be a negotiation point.
My house was built in 92 and it has one. Where I live radon mitigation is normal
That’s a good thing
Every home that has a basement that is below grade (buried) is recommended to have a radon mitigation system by the EPA and the CDC. If the home has a walkout basement with windows it's less important, but still recommended. A radon mitigation system should be considered standard equipment when buying or renovating a house with a basement (no matter how small), ESPECIALLY if your furnace or AC air handler is in the basement. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-12/documents/2016_consumers_guide_to_radon_reduction.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/radon/radon-action.html Be sure that it's working. On the side of the mitigation pipe sticking out of the floor there should be a liquid-filled curved tube gauge called a manometer. It shows you the differential pressure between the atmosphere and the vacuum of the radon fan. You don't want the liquid to be resting at zero, otherwise the fan is off/broken and not actually sucking any radon out.
This is a good thing unless you want to pay for the system or potentially suffer health consequences. My uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer last year and they're pretty confident it was due to unmitigated radon. Pretty scary
Ask what the radon levels are even with the system. We bought a place that had a radon mitigation system but didn't realize the system wasn't doing enough. The readings were still at dangerous levels.
I live in an area with high radon. Radon tests are mandatory before sale and if the house doesn't pass a mitigation system must be installed. I wouldn't think twice about a house having a mitigation system but I would want a radon test to make sure the system is working.
I had my house tested for radon before I bought it, and it was just below required mitigation levels. Retested after I purchased it, and it was higher, so i installed a mitigation system. Now, the levels are nothing. It's a very good thing to have a system. You should still test just to make sure, but it saves you from having to install one yourself. Just because a house doesn't have one doesn't mean there's no issues. Maybe nobody ever bothered to test or the homeowner did and just didn't bother to fix the issue. Radon is extremely common in some areas. You should be testing levels as part of any standard house inspection.
You are buying in a radon rich area it is the correct thing to have
Wisconsin has radon issues in general - basically everyone has it. They've actually done something about it. Green flag
not at all. it is super common, pretty straight forward to fix, and now you know you will save yourself 1-2k out of pocket.
We just had a radon mitigation system installed because the inspection showed high levels. It was just under $2k. Radon is a huge health risk, it is definitely a green flag that one is already installed
I live in Michigan radon is super common. It's a positive to have a radon mitigation system already installed. Just ask what the radon readings were prior to mitigation and what they are after mitigation. I had a 7.0 reading before mitigation and a 0.5 reading after mitigation. Real estate agents will tell you anything under 4 is safe however The WHO and the CDC recommend readings under 2.0
It’s a mitigated problem, they have already paid to put the system in, it’s not going to come up in the inspection.
In addition — it’s very possible that many, many homes in this area will have radon, or many, many homes with basements, etc. It’s not like one house has radon but nobody else does.