Evidence of a second-floor leak..is mold guaranteed?

Had a home inspection on a home that I'm really hoping to purchase, but there was some drywall repair on the dining room ceiling. We ran the water on the bathtub above it and turns out there was a slight measurement of moisture after draining the water.

So, now there's a threat of mold that may be relevant moving forward, but not sure how bad it is just yet or if it should be a deal breaker. I'm assuming that cutting open the drywall to take a look inside would be the right thing to do but now my realtor recommends a full mold inspection which will cost me $300 if the seller refuses to get it done and I'm not sure if I want to go through with that.

What are your thoughts? The home is in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

My thoughts are that mold has become a big business. Funny how it wasn't even an issue 30 yrs ago. You just dealt with it.

 

Luckily the water won't travel far so at the most I think you would be replacing the sheetrock in that area and repainting the ceiling. That area will have to be cut open to access the plumbing and fix the leak so you'd be replacing that sheetrock anyhow. So, I would not spend the $300. And when the ceiling is opened up it is super easy to just look around to see the extent of the water damage.

Also, it's Nevada with low humidity for much of the year. Mold doesn't grow in low humidity conditions so I'd be less concerned there than in a more humid climate so even Mother Nature is on your side.
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I am of similar thought as XSleeper regarding recent mold fears and the same with asbestos & lead. These are all things we need to be mindful of but unless you are particularly sensitive to mold I wouldn't be concerned. But, much of the emphasis is based on a lawyers cut typically being 50% or more of any settlement.

 

But that's really my concern: if you have a single leak of water then there's this big scare that the house is infested with it and you're basically looking at huge costs to remediate it. It sounds more like a scare than anything else.

I have a feeling that if I remove the drywall, correct any leaking pipe and replace, paint and texture then nothing bad will happen moving forward.

 

You would not have a mold issue with a leak in the tub.
You would have had major staining and the sheetrock would be well bulged.
If you had that much water the ceiling would have fallen down.

 

So sounds like it's not a big deal.

I'll ask the seller to repair the leak or give me a discount on the asking price.

 

Why not? If water is leaking and it found the wood, wouldn't there possible mold growing?

It seems there's a difference in opinion here. Everyone here seems to be optimistic while the home inspector, an uncle who's a handyman and a Home Depot associate recommend I do a testing for mold, just in case.

As a side note, the bathtub drain bodies appeared to be corroded and I'm assuming that could have caused the leak. I really hope it's not the internal plumbing as that would be a lot harder to fix. See attached.

 

Testing is kind of beside the point. If its leaking, you fix the leak, you might need to cut open the ceiling anyway to fix the trap, and if you do, you will be cutting out any drywall that is "moldy" and you will replace it. Some building components cant be replaced without major renovations, like the subfloor under the tub. But typically if its your drain, that water would likely end up on the ceiling below, not on the subfloor, because it follows the pipe and drips off the trap.

The thing you are likely most concerned about, and possibly rightly so, is if they concealed damage by fixing the ceiling, but not fixing the leak. In either case, its not a huge deal. Drywall isn't that hard to replace. And I believe that you might have some recourse if there is concealed damage they had repaired but did not reveal.

 

The SRPD made no mention of any leak or ceiling repair. It does all come down to the legalities now. I may not have my rights protected if I still accept the home and, in spite of all this, I'm now legally liable for repairs since I did sign on it.

What would a worst-case scenario be and entail to repair? I'd need to confirm that before signing.

 

Reread post 8.

 

It sounds like you believe there is a leak. So, the ceiling sheetrock will have to be removed to access the plumbing and fix the leak. That sheetrock is the primary thing that would mold if there were mold because it's the lowest and horizontal. The floor joists could get wet but the water tends to run down to the sheetrock so it's got to be a pretty consistent leak... but, if a leak raises the humidity in the joist bay enough then mold can grow on any surface, even those that are not wet.

This is one of those repairs where the cost is about the same whether or not there is mold. You are going to spend the money fixing the leak and repairing the ceiling. That much is given. As a happy side affect that repair happens to remove the primary mold source. Two birds... one stone. And, if you are concerned about mold it is very easy to spray the affected areas to kill the mold so you can gain that protection for minimal cost.

 

Just saw this video here and it may show the extent of my problem:

https://youtu.be/iIgllzb4YSo
The guy just fixes the leak and calls it a day. Doesn't even remove or treat the resulting mold! Just places the drywall back over it...lol. I'm guessing the guy's confident the mold will go away once everything dries up.

And to think I've lost sleep over this. What a crock!

Thanks for all your advice!