Every housing market has unique issues of note or concern to home buyers. On the West Coast, it's earthquakes, landslides, and wildfires. In the Midwest and South, it's tornados, hurricanes, and floods. And some general issues cut across geographic boundaries, like construction materials, workmanship, and building permits. Here are some buyer issues of note for remodeled or renovated Fairfax County homes, including Hickory Cluster Goodman Houses:
RADON GAS ... Radon, an odorless, colorless, radioactive gas has been identified as a major nationwide cause of lung cancer by the Federal Government. It has also been identified as a probable risk in Fairfax County homes, including Hickory Cluster Goodman Houses, that may require pump remediation systems to reduce indoor radon infiltration and risk. See the corresponding Fairfax County Radon webpage for maps and other information, and consult respective professionals for possible radon review, testing, analysis, and remediation.
ASBESTOS ADHESIVE ... 1960s Mid-Century Modern homes nationwide were originally built using some materials now considered to be environmentally harmful. Lead paint, not banned until 1978, is one example. Another is wood parquet floors typically installed with black mastic adhesive that contains asbestos fibers. All Hickory Cluster Goodman Houses had ground floor wood parquet tiles installed during original construction. If asbestos fibers in the mastic adhesive holding the wood tiles to the concrete slab are sufficiently disturbed and become airborne, an HVAC system, home, and indoor air could be contaminated. Therefore, if your Goodman House ground floor wood parquet floors have been replaced with any other material, consult respective professionals for possible asbestos review, testing, analysis, and remediation.
BUILDING PERMITS ... Local jurisdictions, including Fairfax County, require building permits to ensure that home renovations are completed according to state building safety codes. And buyers may inherit responsibility for obtaining permits or final approvals if the process is not completed by sellers before purchase transaction settlement. Visit the Fairfax Inspections Database Online (FIDO) to identify county building permit and approval status by street address, and ensure before settlement that home renovation work was properly permitted, approved, and completed according to code.