Looking at a foreclosure property - I am ordering a professional inspection, however there is one thing they won't be able to tell me but it's bugging me a little, or more than a little.

What you see below is a picture of the ceiling of a bathroom. Right below that is a window boarded up - obviously broken previously, may be vandalism may be burglary, no idea.



Walls in the bathroom is marble. What is strange is there is a section of the bathroom where the ceiling sheetrock looks different. There is a distinctly white area, and further back there it's gray. If I look down this is exactly where the shower glass has been. Inside the missing shower glass the ceiling is gray and spotty and rough. Outside the shower glass looks fine.

What could this be? Mold from lack of air circulation? Would mold grow across a straight line like that? Or is this some stain from leaks above? Any idea what this could be? May be Chinese drywall?

This is located in Miami, Florida.

I am thinking I need a mold test, but a mold test is very expensive, more than twice the amount of the regular inspection. So some informed advice would be much appreciated.

 

Sure it could be mold. I don't know why I'd test it when a piece of sheetrock is $7. Just tear it off and replace it.

 

God only know in a case like that.
If there's not an exhaust fan in the room then most likely it's mold.
A whole lot cheaper to just mist it down with 50/50 bleach and water and see if it goes away.
Any box store have mold test kits for under $10.00.
Sure hope you not using a realtor suggested home inspector to check the house out.
Hire your own inspector!

 

I'd try to clean it first, replace if that doesn't do the trick. Bath rms should always be painted with latex enamel! Whenever moisture issues are a problem [or you want to go the extra mile] it's best to use a bath rm paint, they have extra mildewcide and are formulated for the harsher environment of a bath w/shower.