Real Estate Radon Testing in Saint Augustine, FL

Real estate radon testing runs on someone else's clock. The inspection period is finite, the result has to be defensible to the other side, and the test has to be done by someone whose measurement will stand up. That makes it a different job from testing your own home at leisure.

The notice in your contract is not a disclosure about the house

Every Florida buyer sees radon language in the paperwork and most assume it means something was found. It does not. Fla. Stat. 404.056(5) requires a generic notice on at least one document executed at or before the contract for sale, or at execution of a rental agreement. The statutory wording is:

“RADON GAS: Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that, when it has accumulated in a building in sufficient quantities, may present health risks to persons who are exposed to it over time. Levels of radon that exceed federal and state guidelines have been found in buildings in Florida. Additional information regarding radon and radon testing may be obtained from your county health department.”

That paragraph is in every Florida contract regardless of the property. It is a statutory warning, not a statement about the building you are buying, and it is not a test result. The only thing that tells you about this house is a measurement.

Timing inside the inspection period

• A forty-eight hour continuous monitor test is the standard for a transaction.
• Add a day either side for placement and retrieval — call it four days from booking to report, and book it at the front of the inspection period rather than the back.
• Closed-house conditions must hold for twelve hours before the test starts and throughout. In a vacant listing that is easy; in an occupied one it needs a conversation.
• A DIY mail-in kit is not accepted for a real estate transaction.

What St. Johns County results usually look like

Being straight about this is more useful than drama. A transaction radon test is cheap relative to everything else in a closing, and a clean number closes the question for the buyer permanently. Nobody can tell you the odds for your specific house in advance — that is the entire point of measuring it — but the cost of finding out is small enough that it is rarely worth arguing over.

When a result does come back elevated, it is a negotiable item like any other inspection finding, and a well-understood one. A mitigation system is a defined, one-day scope of work with a confirmable outcome, which makes it easier to price into a deal than most repairs.

If the number comes back high mid-transaction

• Confirm before you renegotiate. One short-term reading during a storm front is thin evidence for a price adjustment.
• Get a quote from a state-certified mitigation business — under Fla. Stat. 404.056(2) only a certified business may legally perform the work, and there are roughly two dozen in Florida, so quotes take longer to assemble than for ordinary trades.
• Decide who installs and who pays. Sellers often prefer a credit; buyers often prefer to choose their own installer.
• Retest after installation. A post-mitigation measurement is required of certified businesses anyway, and it is the document that closes the issue at the table.

Sellers: testing before you list

A current test in hand removes a variable from the negotiation and prevents a surprise in the inspection period. It is a cheap piece of paper to have. And if it does come back high, you have found out on your own timeline rather than the buyer's — a mitigation system with a post-install confirmation test is a fixed, resolved line item rather than a live objection three days before closing.

How this works

We are not a contractor and we do not do the work. What we do is put Saint Augustine homeowners in front of local radon mitigation contractors, and give you enough of the picture beforehand that you can tell a fair quote from a padded one. Call (904) 395-5498 or send a few details and we will connect you.