Radon and Real Estate

The EPA has developed a number of tools and resources for use by the real estate community:

1. Revised Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide

2. Breathing Easy: What Home Buyers and Sellers Should Know About Radon

3. Financing Residential Radon Mitigation Costs: the HUD 203(k) Mortgage Insurance Program

4. How to Find a Qualified Radon Service Professional in Your Area

Federal Housing Commissioner takes action on radon

On May 28, 2004, Dr. John C. Weicher, the Federal Housing Commissioner issued a radon gas and mold Notice (H 2004-08) requiring that a release agreement (HUD-9548-E) be included in all sales contracts for HUD-acquired single family properties. The agreement notifies purchasers of the potential health problems caused by exposure to radon and some molds. Required use of the agreement expires on May 31^st 2005. In fiscal year 2004 HUD sold about 78,000 Real Estate Owned (REO) single-family properties. View the Commissioner’s Notice (H-2004-08)  and download the release agreement (HUD-9548-E - a MS Word file) at www.hudclips.org/sub_nonhud/cgi/pdfforms/9548-e.doc

In a January 22, 2004 letter, Dr. John C. Weicher, the Federal Housing Commissioner at HUD informed Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgagees that its home inspection form (HUD 92564-CN) had been revised. The new form now includes information on radon in indoor air which reiterates the EPA and U.S. Surgeon General testing recommendation and refers readers to EPA’s 1-800-SOS-Radon hotline. The form is mandatory for all FHA insured mortgages. Homebuyers must sign the form before/at the time a sales contract is executed.  In fiscal 2003 HUD issued about 1.3 million FHA insured loans.  View the Commissioner’s letter here (PDF, 2 pgs., 77KB ) and the home inspection form (HUD 92564-CN)  (PDF, 1 page, 83KB About PDF) here.

Revised Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon

EPA has updated its Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon. 

• information on the 1998 National Academy of Sciences BEIR VI radon report; 

• revised sections on radon-in-water and radon-resistant new construction; 

• an expanded section on where to get copies of the Guide and other radon and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) information and documents; 

• a section on radon related Hotlines; information on EPA's radon (and IAQ) web sites; and, 

• an Index.

This edition also reflects the closing of the U.S. EPA Radon Proficiency Program, and advises what consumers should look for in a qualified radon services provider. The Guide has been designed to be more readable, with improved cross-references.

Breathing Easy: What Home Buyers and Sellers Should Know About Radon

Financing Residential Radon Mitigation Costs:  Using the HUD 203(k) Mortgage Insurance Program to Reduce the Risk of Lung Cancer in People.

The Section 203(k) mortgage financing program is the Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) primary tool for rehabilitating and improving single family homes. The program allows home buyers to finance the purchase and repair or improvement of a home using a single mortgage loan. Reducing radon levels in a home is an improvement that can be financed through a 203(k) mortgage loan.

Part of the 203(k) mortgage proceeds must be used to pay the costs of rehabilitating or improving a residential property. To qualify, the total cost of the eligible repairs or improvements, including fixes to reduce radon levels, must be at least $5,000. The 203(k) program is an important tool for expanding home ownership, revitalizing homes, neighborhoods and communities, and for making homes healthier and safer for those who occupy them.

Homes eligible for 203(k) financing include:

1. one to four-family dwellings that have been completed for at least one year; 

2. dwellings that have been demolished, provided some of the existing foundation system remains; and, 

3. converting a one-family dwelling into a two, three, or four-family dwelling; or, alternatively, converting an existing multi-unit dwelling into a one to four-family unit.

The 203(k) program has been used successfully by many lenders to rehabilitate properties through partnerships with state and local housing agencies, and with non-profit organizations. To further help borrowers buy homes, lenders have found innovative ways to combine the 203(k) program with other financial resources like HUD's HOPE and Community Development Block Grant Programs.

Contact an FHA-approved lender in your area for more information about HUD’s 203(k) program, or if you’re interested in getting a 203(k) insured mortgage loan. Check your phone directory’s blue pages for the HUD office nearest you; they can get you a list of the 203(k) approved lenders in your area.

How to Find a Qualified Radon Service Professional in Your Area

1. Contact your State Radon Contact to determine what are, or whether there are, requirements associated with providing radon measurement and or radon mitigations/reductions in your State. Some States maintain lists of contractors available in their state or they have proficiency programs or requirements of their own.
   
   

2. Contact one or both of the two privately-run Radon Proficiency Program (listed here alphabetically) who are offering proficiency listing/accreditation/certification in radon testing and mitigation.