moldy homes

I just looked at a wonderful property today and I am really interested in it, but it has mold in the basement up about 3 feet on every piece of drywall. I am not sure it is in the studs, but it probably is. This house has been on the market for 3 years and has been vacant with no electricity so the sump pump was not on and therefore, water in the basement at some point in time. My thought is to figure in the cost of the mold abatement and minus that from the asking price. Do you have to have a professional remove the mold. My thinking is to just remove all the drywall in the basement and leave it as an unfinished basement and the next person can finish it if they want. The property is currently listed for $96,000. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath ranch. Any thoughts or ideas?

I'll be checking back on this thread, since I've already looked at a few of these, and there's currently another good bad example on the market just up the road from here. Moved from an area where people complained about the humidity when it went over 14% to a place where anything you grow has to compete with kudzu and mold. I have cleaned up a number of rental houses for myself elsewhere in the past, and found that I could do a lot myself with French drains, bleach, and borax, but if it's really into wood or sheetrock, it's likely to be an on-going battle. My brother repairs and remodels historic homes around Charleston, SC, and often has to practically rebuild whole sections. I agree with just plan_e about using a licensed mold abatement contractor, either to do the work or get a complete written estimate to factor in to any negotiations. That and asbestos in older homes are two quagmires you really have to look out for from a legal as well as a purely functional standpoint.

i use to clean mold when i worked for servpro and may i suggest use them pending on your area they are pretty quick at cleaning mold pending on the situation average we use to "DE-MOLD" an entire house in a day and then came back with in so many hours pending and start putting insulation and sheetrock back in!