Very common in this area (and SUPER common in the Midwest). Not a big deal. Just put in the abatement system. The system needs to be (inside) near an exterior wall or vented to the exterior wall. Costs $1000 - $1500 and it solves the problem. Easy fix for a common problem - not a deal-breaker, IMHO

Try leaving a basement window open or cracked first. Depending on how airtight the house is hat might be enough to solve the problem without installing a system. If you install a radon fan, make sure it has variable settings for the cfm. That way you can adjust the speed if needed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. We signed a contract where the condition is that the seller will not be doing any fixes. Home inspection and radon measurement was for our own knowledge. But we are trying to ask for a credit from the seller for radon mitigation plus some other issues in the house. Not major issues but several minor ones. We haven't heard back.

Why would you ask them to pay then? I don’t understand.

Exactly, OP needs to pay for it as they are buying the house as-is.

It sounds like OP has a home inspection contingency, but also a clause that the seller won't be paying for any repairs. That's how I bought my house also. So OP can't insist on the seller paying for repairs, but can back out of the deal entirely based on the inspection.

OP wrote: This is OP. We signed a contract where the condition is that the seller will not be doing any fixes. Home inspection and radon measurement was for our own knowledge. But we are trying to ask for a credit from the seller for radon mitigation plus some other issues in the house. Not major issues but several minor ones. We haven't heard back.
Right. So why would you expect a credit?

Anonymous wrote:Put in a system. We did. It fixed it within hours.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. We signed a contract where the condition is that the seller will not be doing any fixes. Home inspection and radon measurement was for our own knowledge. But we are trying to ask for a credit from the seller for radon mitigation plus some other issues in the house. Not major issues but several minor ones. We haven't heard back.

Why would you ask them to pay then? I don’t understand.

Exactly, OP needs to pay for it as they are buying the house as-is.

It sounds like OP has a home inspection contingency, but also a clause that the seller won't be paying for any repairs. That's how I bought my house also. So OP can't insist on the seller paying for repairs, but can back out of the deal entirely based on the inspection.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. We signed a contract where the condition is that the seller will not be doing any fixes. Home inspection and radon measurement was for our own knowledge. But we are trying to ask for a credit from the seller for radon mitigation plus some other issues in the house. Not major issues but several minor ones. We haven't heard back.

Why would you ask them to pay then? I don’t understand.

Exactly, OP needs to pay for it as they are buying the house as-is.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. We signed a contract where the condition is that the seller will not be doing any fixes. Home inspection and radon measurement was for our own knowledge. But we are trying to ask for a credit from the seller for radon mitigation plus some other issues in the house. Not major issues but several minor ones. We haven't heard back.

Why would you ask them to pay then? I don’t understand.

Anonymous wrote:Put in a system. We did. It fixed it within hours.

Yeah, I was stunned at how quickly it worked. I have one of those electronic sensors and we didn't have a big problem, around 4, but it was worth taking care of. As you said, within hours it was ~0.1.

Don’t be cheap op. It’s a drop in the bucket to protect health.

Thank you everyone for helping me calm my nerves!!

Odds are that the next house you find in the DC area will have it. Even if not now it could have it in the future since as others have pointed out the levels fluctuate over time. If you like this house and it has a basement that will be easy to install a mitigation system in, I would just go with this house.

Anonymous wrote:we have a mitigation system installed by the previous owner. The levels are still too high around winter time and late fall, because radon issues are seasonal. I am starting to wonder if these systems are tested in the warmer weather months and people think the systems are working while in the cold weather months their levels are still high even with mitigation but many people don't measure the levels constantly and may not be aware their systems are not effective.

PP who had an abatement system installed. We have a continuous radon monitor and our levels now are around 1.2-1.6.

Our house had a radon level off-the-charts high (I want to say >100, we tested in the fall). We bought off market from the estate of the original owners, got a great deal, and had a mitigation system installed for $1400. No big deal at all. Our levels are now <3 year round (we keep the digital monitor running in the basement to keep tabs).

Just one data point - the prior owners died at 95 and 98, neither from cancer. So, I guess the radon didn’t bother them! Also, the company that installed our mitigation system made the point that schools in the DC area have some of the highest levels he’s ever seen, but they don’t have to test or mitigate. That’s really a bigger risk than our basement (where none of us spend much time).

Put in a system. We did. It fixed it within hours.

Put in the abatement system, it's not that expensive.