House update

So the house is pretty much ours. We submitted an inspection addendum, with items that we wanted the seller to fix, and they readily agreed. So since it's the holidays, not much is happening now. We've locked our mortgage interest rate [4.625%], and are just waiting on the mortgage banker to get our loan commitment letter together. Should be on schedule to close mid to late January.

One thing we did learn from the house inspections is that Minnesota has elevated radon levels. I'd never even heard of radon being an issue before. Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, it is naturally occurring, resulting from the radioactive decay of uranium or thorium, usually found in igneous rock and soil, and occasionally in well water. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and the second leading cause overall. The gas typically moves up through the ground to the air above and collects indoors through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the U.S. is estimated to have elevated radon levels.

The EPA [United States Environmental Protection Agency] recommends radon mitigation if the average level is 4.0 pCi/L [picoCuries per Liter of air] or higher. Our short term radon test done in the basement was at 4.0 pCi/L. Radon mitigation was included in our inspection addendum list, so the seller will be responsible for hiring a certified mitigation contractor to fix the problem. Which as far as I can tell, involves sticking a pipe into the ground and venting the gas outdoors [I'm sure it's much more complicated than that].

So Jamie and I are going to spend the holidays packing and throwing stuff out, a spring cleaning of sorts. Yay, moving! [scarcasm] :)