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March 11, 2024 19 mins

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Ever wondered what perils could be hiding in that charming, yet neglected property you've had your eye on? Join us, Laura and I, as we uncover the shadowy side of indoor air quality, where the villains are often unseen but their impact is felt long after the deal is signed. We share spine-chilling stories from our own experiences in the field, such as a homeowner's brush with mold infestation due to ignored water damage, and the alarming tale of clients tricked by their own real estate agent into a commercial lease minefield. These narratives are not just cautionary tales but testimonies to the silent battles fought in the realm of property transactions.

In our latest episode, we also cast light on the complexities of commercial leasing, drawing attention to the critical but often overlooked triple net lease. Picture yourself as a tenant, shouldering the weight of taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs, only to discover your new commercial paradise has hidden flaws. We stress the value of thorough property inspections, not just for business spaces, but for every nook you consider calling home. Don't miss our discussion on the dark side of mold—the mycotoxins—and how they can turn a dream space into a health nightmare. And keep your ears peeled for our next episode, where we'll equip you with the knowledge to shield your health and investments from these invisible threats.

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To learn more about Habitation Investigation, the Three-time Winner of the Best Home Inspection Company in the Midwest Plus the Winner of Consumer Choice Award for Columbus Ohio visit Home Inspection Columbus Ohio - Habitation Investigation (homeinspectionsinohio.com)

NBC4 news segments: The importance of home inspections, and what to look for | NBC4 WCMH-TV

Advice from experts: Don’t skip the home inspection | NBC4 WCMH-TV

OSU student’s mysterious symptoms end up tied to apartment’s air quality | NBC4 WCMH-TV

How to save money by winterizing your home | NBC4 WCMH-TV


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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Standing Out in Ohio podcast,
where we discuss topics,upcoming events, news and
predictions with real estateprofessionals and entrepreneurs.
Listen and learn what makestheir companies and themselves
stand out and gain advantagesover the competition and gain
market share.
Subscribe for the latest newsand discussion on what it takes

(00:23):
to stand out from the crowd.
Now here's your host, Jim.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hey everybody, welcome to the Standing Out in
Ohio podcast.
This is Jim and of course, withme is Laura, the office goddess
, hello everyone.
All right, so we have that.
We did not do a podcast lastweek.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
No.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
And if somebody's I feel like a slacker because I
wanted I have so many podcasts.
I want to do a year Right.
Still well on pace for that,but it's not like we were like
slacking and not doing so.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
We've been busy.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
We've been very busy, which is nice, not, I mean, and
we're yeah, we're doing a wholebunch of passion, but you and I
personally been quite busydoing indoor air quality and we
got some stories to tell you.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Oh, yes, we do.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
How do you want to the story of the stories of
neglect fraud?
And rap, but maybe I don't knowabout that, but we will share
some of these stories with you.
Of course, names will no longerbe will not be shared to

(01:39):
protect the innocent and the notso innocent.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
Well, it's very not so innocent.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, but first let's listen to this.

Speaker 4 (01:46):
Habitation investigation is the way to go
for a home inspection in Ohio.
Trusted licensed homeinspectors for your needs, from
rate on to more to warrantiesFor a great home inspection, you
really can't go wrong.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Visit home inspections in Ohiocom All right
, laura, we've been busy Indoorair quality testing, which
includes often it's thought ofas just mold testing.
Right, but we're not doing justmold testing.
No we're doing VOC testingwhich also includes formaldehyde

(02:29):
.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
They're two separate tasks because the formaldehyde
is a different chemical size.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Correct, that needs a different media.
Yes, To test for that in thelab.
So VOCs, which a lot ofdifferent chemicals from out of
hide, and then regular old moldtesting.
Yes, we've been doing that.
Like our first story of neglect, we did a mold to air testing

(02:54):
for a couple, I think yesterdayor day before.

Speaker 3 (02:59):
They're kind of blending together.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yeah, but anyway, his son lived in this house for a
long time.
There were water issues, butfirst he never turned on the
heat.
Okay, it was just his son lived.
Never turned on the heat.
Water lines froze, busted,there's leaks and he never did
anything about it Never cleanedit up, never, yeah, never let

(03:23):
his dad know.
And so now dad and mom, wife, Idon't know live in there now.
Okay, it doesn't matter,they're living there now and
they're getting sick.
They won't figure what's goingon, and so we go.
So that's the neglect story,right there, right Neglect.

(03:44):
If you have moisture you haveto dry it up and if you do
pretty normal, you dry it upwithin 24 hours Best you can.
You don't neglect it becausethis house there's definitely
some growth going on.
We'll see what the lab resultsshow to verify but there's
definitely stuff going on there.

(04:04):
There are also this is a sidenote there were some cute
kittens there.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
Yeah, this brand new baby kittens.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Well, they born the day before.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yes, I think so.
How is that for timing?

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, we're kind of full up on cats, all right, so
you got.
You would make a rescue.
Quiet, few cats this year.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
This year.
We've not rescued any this year, alright, alright.
Last few months.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Which I like, cats.
I'm fine to rescue an animal.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
I know you're one of the few that would be fine with
it, yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yeah, I mean, I like animals.
I don't, I like cats, I don'twant to see animals getting you
a suffering, to get injured orwhatever.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
But on the last one we had definitely would have
died if we hadn't gotten it.
So yeah, that was a.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
That was a good rescue there.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
I was.
I know pounds of that with anumber of them.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
I'm a Lucky there.
They're most outdoor cats, sothat's cool.

Speaker 3 (04:57):
But anyway, neglect of the house, the moisture
issues well, and that can alsocause issues with the foundation
.
It can cause issues with thematerial holding up the house
and cause damage like bandboards, things like that, if it's
coming in.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
So we got that.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
There's a lot of potential issues that you could
get from not taking care ofwater and neglecting it.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
Yep, and then there was another story other than the
one we did today.
What was the other one?
I can't remember.
There was a really bad showerinstall, but that wasn't a mole
test, that was just air quality.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
The other mole test that we did.
We've done like three in thepast three days.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
So anyway, the one we did today.

Speaker 3 (05:50):
I feel so bad for those kids All right, so it's a
commercial building.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
They I'll give too much detail.
What's going on?

Speaker 3 (05:59):
they had a company and they needed to rent a
commercial space to be able tooperate out of this company, out
of that space.
So they had a real estate agentwho was quote-unquote,
representing them for help withthe contract with the landlord

(06:20):
to lease the space to lease thisspace.
So the story that we got wasthat they went there to sign the
contract.
They had gotten an email,looked it over and then went to
sign the contract and found outwhen they looked back at it
later.
First of all, it was adifferent contract.

(06:41):
It got switched on them andthey didn't know it.
Second of all, the real estateagent told them that they were
fine, he would take care of them.

Speaker 2 (06:50):
Wait, wait.
This is when they asked aboutthe separate.
This is when they were askingabout different.

Speaker 3 (06:54):
I don't remember if that was it, but but they were
asking him questions and he saiddon't worry about it, I'll take
care of you.
I'll take care of you, just goahead and sign it, push them
into signing it.
And this is a young couple too.
And so the next day they go tocall him to ask him questions
and he goes f you and hangs upon them.

(07:15):
And that's the last time theytalked to him.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah, and this building has lots of issues
going on with it.
So that couple, actually they,asked us how do you find a good
real estate agent?

Speaker 4 (07:28):
And we told him call the inspection company because,
they're going to be moving.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
I believe they're going to be moving or relocating
somewhere to another state,another state.
So we told them, go find a homeinspection company in that area
Well, that's a good reputationand ask them, what real estate
agent would they recommend?

Speaker 3 (07:49):
Especially if you're moving into a new area and you
don't know anybody, because theyneed somebody to help them.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, that may seem backwards to some people.
Why wouldn't you want to justask the real estate agent?

Speaker 3 (08:00):
I mean, you know what ?
They're not always going to betruthful about themselves.

Speaker 2 (08:03):
Well, and they were burned by that real estate agent
.
Right, he was supposed torepresent them, protect them.
He switched agreements withthem.
The contrary, he switchedagreement, told them to sign it
anyway.
He'll take care of it.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
And worked with that landlord for years.
Apparently, yes, see, he's inher pocket.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
So what happened then ?
When they called?
They called for assistance, heF you and hangs up, hangs up on
them.
So they are just really againstreal estate agent.
They don't have a good taste.
I'm going to guess this isprobably the first experience of
the real estate agent, so nowthey're their entire future.
The rest of the life isprobably tainted their thoughts

(08:42):
on real estate agent.
Which is why they ask hey, howdo I find a good real estate
agent?

Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, could you imagine if this had actually
been a house that they hadpurchased, or like a commercial
property they had purchased,because right now it's just the
lease.
The lease will end.
But could you imagine if theyhad purchased it based upon what
that real estate agent had doneto them and how like down the

(09:09):
hole they would be for that?
Because they've got no clue now?

Speaker 2 (09:12):
No, and that's just one of the things I want to talk
about is people think of a homeinspector.
As you're buying a house, youget the inspection.
Then that is.
There's so many other reasonsto do a home inspection.
And then one thing I want totalk about is commercial leases.
If you're going to rent acommercial space, office space,

(09:35):
building, a restaurant we'vedone restaurants and some
inspector those you need to haveyour inspection deck of some of
these and where this contractwas written and we saw the
contract.
Are you there?
You looked at it?
There are.
They had things in the contractin which the tenant was
responsible for the interior andthe maintenance of certain
things.

Speaker 3 (09:56):
Right.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
It's.
I don't know if it was or not,but there's a triple net lease,
there's a term for it forcommercial building leases in
which, if you sign agreement andit's a triple net lease, you
are responsible for all theinsurances, the taxes, the
replacement of the heating andcooling system, plumber, you are
basically owned that buildingcompletely and are responsible

(10:18):
for every little thing, exceptit's only for reporting a
certain term, unless you're,unless you renew that lease.
So triple net lease they can becostly.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yes, they can.

Speaker 2 (10:30):
So if even you're just going to rent a commercial
space, you need to have aninspection done because they,
because the landlord, could go.
Well, you know what.

Speaker 3 (10:41):
You sign it as this all that stuff was was not there
before you moved, Wow.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
Man, I want really large, large commercial building
, we said, and part of thecontention was the condition of
the parking lot, Right, and thepeople who hired us wanted to
report on the on the conditionof the place.
But the people before I guess,I guess the owners of the
building, would say no, no, no,no, the parking was not damaged

(11:08):
at all.
You guys caused all this damageand this is a big parking lot
that is not going to be cheap tofix.
So if you're going to rent aspace, even apartments or a
house, you need to get aninspector because that is your
verification of the condition ofthe house.

Speaker 3 (11:26):
Prior to your moving in.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yes, yes, cause after you could want to, wanted to
come, or something we did afterthey were leaving, they wanted
to report to verify thecondition, because some of the
things never changed from theprevious.

Speaker 3 (11:39):
But if you get one done before you move in and take
possession of the buildingthat's going to set you up,
because you're going to have awritten record, visual
documentation of you know whatthe condition of the property
was, blah, blah, blah.
And so when you go to move outand you get that done again,

(12:02):
obviously there's going to bewear and tear.
It's been you know X number oftime, so from there they can
look at it as this normal wearand tear.
Is this, you know, just regularmaintenance stuff like painting
or things that need to be done,as opposed to actual issues.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
Oh yeah, well, I remember I did an inspection,
for it was a condo.
People owned the condo, butthey're gonna move away for a
year or so and they're gonnarent it out to somebody.
I remember that.
So I did the inspection on thatand they're leaving furniture
also, right?

Speaker 3 (12:36):
so you had all that documentation so.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
I did the inspection and I took extra picture of the
furniture.
So once they got back, andthey're like, hey, our couch did
not have a rip in the back,though there was documentation
of all that stuff to helpprotect the clients in that case
.
So, but if you're gonna rent aspace, you really should get an
inspection done, just to protectyourself and like this couple,

(13:04):
and they're kind of a bad shape.
But what we can see, though, inthis building, the roof,
because the owner, landt, wasresponsible for the exterior and
the roof, and the roof.

Speaker 3 (13:17):
Specifically mentioned in the contract.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
Luckily for them, because there are definite
issues with that roof causingissues inside, which leads to
the condition that they're goingthrough.
So hopefully it works out wellfor them, but you need to always
have an inspecting.
And what was?
Do you remember the other testwe did recently?

Speaker 3 (13:40):
That was the one where the gentleman has issues
with mycotoxins, and they justpurchased another property and
they knew that there were issueson this one because, as they
were purchasing it, the listingagent was getting it remediated
for mold and so when you go intoit, that's the one with the
really strong smell.

(14:01):
When we walked in and we werehoping it was from the
remediation process, it was inyellow springs.

Speaker 2 (14:08):
Yes, I know what you were talking about.
Yes, yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:11):
So that was that one, and then we did their other
primary residence to see whatwas going on, because he's got a
high mycotoxin level.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah, if you don't know, mycotoxins are a substance
that molds will make in theprocess of defending themselves
against other molds that arecompetitors, or if you're
basically cleaning them up, ifthey're getting like physically
damaged or wiped off, they willmake these mycotoxins and some
mycotoxins aflatoxin is the onethat can cause cancer, liver

(14:42):
cancer.
I think it's some of a lot.
There's a lot of issue ofmycotoxins.

Speaker 3 (14:46):
They can make you really sick.
There's eight that the WHOrecognizes as being like I don't
know the worst, or ones thatthey at least recognize as
causing some significant healthissues.
Some health issues, yes, but Ithink that is mostly found in

(15:07):
food.
They're just now starting to doa bunch of research with it in
people's homes and inhaling itas opposed to ingesting it.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
We should do next podcast.
We'll do.
Did we do one of you onMicrotoxins Exactly Detailed?
I don't think we did a verydetailed.
So we'll do a very detailed onenext.
So you can have mold in thehouse but no Microtoxins, or at
least very low.
But you're not going to.

(15:36):
You cannot have Microtoxinsunless there's been a mold in
there at some point.
Is that?

Speaker 3 (15:41):
correct yes.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
Because Microtoxins don't produce themselves.

Speaker 3 (15:44):
No.
However, if you have a companythat comes in and they do the
remediation, and let's say theyactually do a good job and they
do it correctly, For moldremediation.
Just the natural course ofcleaning that mold up can
produce Microtoxins, becausethey're going to look at it like

(16:04):
oh no, you're threatening meand produce Microtoxins as
they're trying to clean it up.
So they may get rid of thatmold, but the Microtoxin could
be left and could be a byproductof the remediation.

Speaker 2 (16:17):
And the air scrubbers that they use do not do
anything for Microtoxins.
Even if it's a HEPA filter, itdoes not get rid of the
Microtoxins because there's theMicrotoxin at 0.1 micron.

Speaker 3 (16:31):
Or 0.01, and the others 0.03.
0.1.
Or 0.3.

Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yeah, hepa filters can go down to 0.3 microns and
most molds are like 0.3 to like20 microns.
But Microtoxins are 0.1.
Too small, so they're too small.
Hepa filters will not doanything to them.

Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, and they can get into how UV light and stuff
doesn't actually help with theMicrotoxins and help with some
more information about it.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
We can go or miss at the different tests that people
are doing or treatments, becausethere's some really weird mold,
there's some mold groups likeonline groups and they are so
much misinformation.
So but I think that's it forthis one A lot of indirect
quality testing.
If you're renting a commercialspace or you have a client who's

(17:26):
renting a commercial space oran apartment, recommend they get
that as pet, because that's theonly way they're going to have
to protect themselves againstthe condition of the place.
I mean, you don't want peopleto get screwed over.
It kind of depends on the agentyou are, I'll be honest, right,
but that one agent, he didn'tcare.

(17:47):
He switched contracts on theyoung couple and said F you,
you're on your own.
Yeah, screw him.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
And that just really annoys me that somebody would
take advantage of a young couplelike that.
And now he's sick, he can'teven work certain days.

Speaker 2 (18:04):
Oh, yeah, yeah, the office space is not usable to
them because they're gettingsick.

Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yeah, because they're that sick.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
So that's all.
That's a whole lawsuit, rightthere.

Speaker 3 (18:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
And if agent want to avoid lawsuits, you need to make
certain your clients getinspections.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
Well, it makes you taking care of your client.
Well, yeah, I won't.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
If you're an agent, you, you, you're overstepping
your, your role as an agent toprovide information, to do an
inspection for them, and good,no, no, I can't do this.
This is good.

Speaker 3 (18:36):
No, that guy did just sign it.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
Yeah, Wow, that guy's .
If you didn't already pass awaythat agent would have been in
the lawsuit.

Speaker 3 (18:43):
I would have been working on that.
Yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (18:47):
Anyway, that's it for this one.
Yep, I remember Great week Bye.

Speaker 3 (18:52):
Bye guys.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
You've been listening to the Standing Out in Ohio
podcast.
Be sure to subscribe on Spotifyor Google podcast to get new,
fresh episodes.
For more, please follow us onInstagram, twitter and Facebook,
or visit the website of thebest Ohio home inspection
company athomeinspectionsinohiocom or
JimTroffcom.

(19:16):
That's J-I-M-T-R-O-T-H andclick on podcast until next time
.
Have a good one and go do stuff.
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