Buyer, seller, or agent
If you're the buyer
A high radon test is not a reason to walk away from a house you love. It's a defect the way a dead water heater is a defect: known cost, known fix, one day of work. What it is, is leverage: a documented number and a written mitigation quote give your agent something concrete to negotiate with. Should you buy a house with radon? If everything else checks out: yes. Buy it, fix it, and move in with a lower number than most of the block.
If you're the seller
Test before you list. It costs almost nothing, and it converts radon from a mid-escrow ambush into a line you control. If the result is low, that's a document in your listing folder. If it's high, fixing it on your own schedule beats fixing it in a panic ten days before closing while the buyer's agent picks the contractor. A verified system with a written guarantee is a selling point in this county, not a confession.
If you're the agent
You need three things from a radon company: a test that starts on time, an install that hits the date on the addendum, and paperwork clean enough to forward without explaining. That's the service: 48-hour tests, installs typically scheduled within days, verification after, documentation formatted for the transaction file. Put our number in your phone before you need it in a deal.
The timeline, in real numbers
- Test48 hours of closed-house conditions, results immediately after pickup.
- QuoteSame day we see the result and the basement. Firm, in writing.
- InstallTypically scheduled within days, done in one visit.
- VerificationPost-install test confirms the number; documentation goes to whoever the deal says it goes to.
Total: a radon issue discovered at inspection can be fully resolved (tested, installed, verified, documented) inside a normal closing window. It only becomes a crisis when nobody starts.
Who pays? (What usually happens around here)
There's no rule, only norms. The most common outcomes in local deals: the seller pays for the system outright, the seller credits the cost at closing and the buyer schedules the install after keys, or the two split it when the number is borderline. Whichever way it lands, insist the agreement names a performance standard. “Mitigation system installed” means nothing; “verified below 4.0 pCi/L” means it worked.
Frequently asked
Does a high radon test kill the deal?
Almost never. It's one of the most fixable findings on an inspection report. Faster to cure than a roof, cheaper than a furnace. Deals die from surprise and delay, not from radon; start the clock early and it's a paragraph in the addendum, not a crisis.
Can the system be installed before closing?
Usually, yes. Install lead times run days, not weeks, and we schedule around closing dates as a matter of routine. When the calendar is genuinely too tight, the standard fallback is a credit at closing with the install right after possession.
The house already has a radon system. Is that a problem?
It's a question, not a problem: is it working? Look at the manometer, then test anyway. Fans die quietly at around the ten-year mark. A working system is a plus for the house. A dead one is a cheap service call, and now you know to ask for it.
Do new builds need radon systems too?
They can. Some newer construction includes passive radon rough-ins (pipe with no fan) which help but don't guarantee a low number. New house, old house: the test is the answer, and activating a passive system with a fan is the easiest install we do.