Does your home have carbon monoxide detectors? Reuben advised us of the New Minnesota requirement for carbon monoxide alarms in his July 29 post. This new requirement became effective August 1st, but no one has come knocking on our door to make sure we have them in place. If they did, we would fail. We have had one for years, but not within 10 feet of all sleeping areas as the new statute requires.
It’s always tricky when buying or selling a home just as a new law such as this is instituted, it also takes awhile for city inspections to start enforcing it. In the interests of not only health and safety but also avoiding potential future legal issues I recommend not only installing carbon monoxide detectors but also documenting their presence in the purchase agreement.
- If you are a buyer, add a statement that the seller assumes responsibility for installing carbon monoxide detectors meeting the new MN requirement prior to closing.
- If you are buying ‘AS IS’, bank-mediated foreclosure or short sale property don’t bother asking the seller to do anything, you’re on your own…it’s one of the risks you assume, just add them yourself after closing.
- If you are a seller, install the detectors and note it in comments in the Seller’s Disclosure Statement.
If you’re like me, your next thoughts might be questions such as…remind me again why it’s so important to have a CO detector? what types of detectors are there? how much do they cost? what should I look for, etc??? I found Before You Buy a Carbon Monoxide Detector helpful in answering some of my questions. There are also many combination smoke and carbon monoxide detectors available so you don’t need multiple detectors.
I wonder if I can find a CO detector at the State Fair…???
