Buying or selling a home with radon

The U.S. EPA action level is 4.0 pCi/L. At or above that, EPA recommends fixing the home. EPA also suggests considering action between 2.0 and 4.0 pCi/L. For scale, EPA puts the average indoor level in the United States at about 1.3 pCi/L and outdoor air at about 0.4 pCi/L; there is no safe level, only lower and higher. American Radon Systems follows that guidance without scare tactics. Your own test result is the number that matters for your home.

Stay calm. Elevated radon is common and fixable. Note the number, where the test was placed, and any closing date. Then call Bill at (815) 370-9682 (that is his cell), or send your info on the contact form. You do not need to know what system you need. Bill looks at the home, explains the next step, and prices before work begins.

Most residential installs are completed in a single visit, often a few hours once the plan is set. Bill looks at the home first so materials and routing are right. Real estate closings get scheduled around the calendar when you tell us the date early.

Call Bill with the inspection result, property address, and inspection deadline if you have one. He can walk through the number and quote the home under contract. That gives you a real number for the conversation with your agent and attorney. Decisions about credits or concessions belong with them, and a firm quote makes that conversation easier.

Call early. Bill can look at the home, give a real quote, and help you understand the schedule. If you decide to install, the radon issue gets handled, documented, and removed as an open repair item instead of sitting as a negotiation problem near closing. Talk with your agent or attorney about the contract side.

Most agents want a calm plan: state-licensed mitigation, clear timing, and paperwork that holds up in the file. Some deals use a seller-paid install and some use a credit. The right path depends on the contract and the parties. We are not giving legal advice. We give a realistic schedule, a clean system, and documentation agents can use.

Buyer’s agents often want the buyer to understand the number, get a real quote for that house, and decide whether a credit, seller-paid install, or post-closing install fits the deal. Quality, routing, and warranty matter because the buyer is the one who will own the system. Bill can quote the property and work with the agent on timing.

It is negotiable. Sometimes the seller pays for install before closing. Sometimes the buyer receives a credit or concession and hires the mitigator. Local custom and the specific contract drive it. We price the work the same either way and focus on a system that is done right.

It can if nobody calls until the last minute. Most of our installs are one visit once the plan is set. Tell us the closing date early. We will say what is realistic. Documentation is ready for the file when the job is complete.

Have it checked. We can inspect the visible parts, fan, and manometer and say honestly whether it needs repair, fan replacement, or nothing. A working system with documentation is usually a plus at resale, not a problem. A future buyer may still test the home.

Elevated radon is common and can be addressed. It is not automatically a reason to abandon a good home. Get a mitigation plan and price during the inspection window, then decide with your agent using the home details and transaction terms.

That is usually a passive radon system: rough-in piping that Illinois has required in new residential construction since June 1, 2013, under the Radon Resistant Construction Act. It is not the same as a completed active system. If a test is elevated, activation adds the right fan and finishes the system so it pulls correctly. Bill checks whether the existing pipe is usable first.

Every install comes with written documentation from a state licensed mitigator, which is what a buyer, their inspector, and their agent will want to see. Warranty details, including transferability, are spelled out in the customer packet you receive after installation, so keep that packet with your home paperwork.

No. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act does not require a seller to test or to mitigate. It requires the seller to give the buyer the IEMA-OHS pamphlet Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions and a Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards form that states what the seller actually knows, including any earlier elevated results and whether the home was mitigated. Because that disclosure only covers what the seller knows, buyers usually test during the inspection period.

EPA recommends testing before you put the home on the market and, if needed, fixing the level first, because you have more time to handle it than you will in the middle of a contract. Save the result and the mitigation paperwork. A documented system from a state licensed mitigator is a selling point rather than a surprise at inspection.