# Selling a House With Radon in Des Moines: What Sellers Do > Buyer URL: https://radonmitigationdesmoines.com/guide/selling-a-house-with-radon-des-moines/ Last-Modified: 2026-10-30 Tags: selling a house with radon des moines, radon disclosure iowa seller, failed radon test selling house, radon mitigation before closing des moines Radon guide # Selling a House With High Radon in Des Moines What a Des Moines seller does when the buyer's radon test comes back high: the Iowa disclosure duty, mitigate or offer a credit, fitting an install inside the inspection window, and the post-mitigation report that closes the file. Updated October 30, 2026 · 6 min read · Reviewed by our radon technicians ![Radon specialist going over a test report with a Des Moines homeowner at the kitchen table](/images/featured/radon-specialist-explaining-a-radon-test-report-to.webp) ## A High Radon Result Does Not Have to Stall Your Sale The buyer’s inspector ran a radon test and it came back above 4.0 pCi/L. Now there is an inspection deadline, a buyer asking what you plan to do, and an agent waiting on an answer. It happens in Des Moines every week, and it has a known path through it. Start with the numbers so the result stops feeling like a verdict. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services puts the average indoor radon level in Iowa at 8.5 pCi/L [https://hhs.iowa.gov/media/7917/download →](https://hhs.iowa.gov/media/7917/download) , against 1.3 nationally, and lists every Iowa county as EPA Zone 1. The Polk County Health Department [https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/health-department/education-resources/radon/ →](https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/health-department/education-resources/radon/) says more than 70 percent of Iowa homes test above the action level. A high reading in a Des Moines basement is the usual outcome, not a sign that your house is the problem on the street. What the buyer wants is simple: a working system and proof it works. Radon mitigation in Des Moines [/ →](/) is a one-day job in most houses, and the rest of this guide is how a seller delivers that, or a credit in its place, before the closing date. > **Not legal advice** > > How radon is handled in your sale comes down to your purchase agreement and the negotiation around it. Your real estate agent or attorney answers the contract questions. This guide explains the disclosure duty as the statute states it and the practical timing of an install. ## Your Disclosure Duty Under Iowa Code 558A Iowa does not require you to mitigate. It requires you to tell the truth about what you know. That duty sits in Iowa Code chapter 558A [https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/558A.pdf →](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/558A.pdf) , the real estate disclosure chapter, and it has four parts that matter to a radon seller. - **When it is delivered.** Section 558A.2 requires the written disclosure statement to reach the buyer before you make or accept a written offer. If it arrives late, the buyer can withdraw the offer or revoke their acceptance without liability, within three days of personal delivery or five days of delivery by mail or electronically. - **What goes on it.** Section 558A.4 says the statement covers the condition and important characteristics of the property, in the form the Iowa Real Estate Commission adopts by rule. That form, in rule 193E-14.1 [https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/rule/01-21-2026.193E.14.1.rtf →](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/rule/01-21-2026.193E.14.1.rtf) , has a radon line, item 10: “Any known tests for the presence of radon gas?” with a box for the date of the last report and the results. - **Good faith and amendments.** Section 558A.3 requires the information to be disclosed in good faith, and requires the statement to be amended when disclosed information becomes inaccurate, misleading, or is supplemented. A new radon report is new information about the house. - **What a violation costs.** Section 558A.6 makes a seller who violates the chapter liable for the buyer’s actual damages, with one protection: no liability for an error or omission unless the seller had actual knowledge of it or failed to use ordinary care in getting the information. The same form carries one more radon line. The seller acknowledges that the buyer is given the “Iowa Radon Home-Buyers and Sellers Fact Sheet” from Iowa HHS, and the buyer signs for receiving it. That fact sheet is where the 8.5 pCi/L figure above comes from. In practice this means the result in the buyer’s hands is now a known test. Give the report to your agent, let them handle the amended form, and keep your own copy. If you sell again in ten years, item 10 asks about the last known test, and this one will be it. ## Mitigate or Offer a Credit Two choices cover almost every Des Moines sale: you install the system before closing, or you give the buyer money and they install it after. A third, the escrow holdback, is a fallback when the calendar is tight and the lender agrees. | Route | How it works | Best when | Watch for | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Seller installs before closing | You hire the installer, pay for the system, and hand over the post-mitigation report at closing | Closing is at least a week out and you want a clean break | The install and the 48-hour follow-up test both have to fit before closing | | Seller credit | A credit at closing, sized from a written quote; the buyer books the install after moving in | Closing is days away, or the buyer wants to choose the contractor | Lenders cap seller concessions on some loans; a flat quote keeps the credit honest | | Escrow holdback | Funds are held at closing until the work is done | Neither side wants to delay closing and the loan allows it | Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide has lenders escrow 120 percent of the estimated cost, or the full contract price on a fixed-price contract | **Installing it yourself is the stronger close** when the dates allow. The buyer walks into a house with a working system, a passing report and the installer’s warranty in hand. Nothing is left to negotiate at the table, and nothing is left for the buyer to arrange in their first month in the house. **The credit wins on a short clock.** It needs one thing from you: a written quote, so the number is a real number and not a guess the buyer’s agent pads for safety. The guide to what drives radon mitigation cost in Des Moines [/guide/how-much-does-radon-mitigation-cost-in-des-moines/ →](/guide/how-much-does-radon-mitigation-cost-in-des-moines/) explains what changes the price from one house to the next, which is useful when the buyer asks why the quote says what it says. **The holdback is the lender’s call.** Some loan programs allow it, some do not, and the lender sets the multiple. Your agent will know whether the buyer’s financing supports one before you count on it. ## Fitting the Install Inside the Inspection Window The inspection deadline in the purchase agreement is the clock. Everything below is built to fit inside it, and the earlier the photos arrive, the more room there is. ![Homeowner reading the screen of a continuous radon monitor in a Des Moines basement](/images/content/homeowner-looking-at-a-continuous-radon-monitor-sc.webp) 1. **Send the report and photos the day you get the result.** The buyer’s test report, plus photos of the basement or crawlspace, the sump pit, the utility area and the outside walls. That is enough for a written quote without a site visit, so the two sides can agree on a route the same week. 2. **Agree on the route in writing.** Install before closing, credit, or holdback. Once it is in the contract, the schedule is set from the closing date backward. 3. **Install day.** Most Des Moines homes need one suction point through the slab or sump, a run of pipe, a fan and a manometer. That is a one-day job for an Iowa HHS-credentialed technician. Block foundations in older neighborhoods and crawlspaces that need a membrane can add time, which is why the photos come first. 4. **Let the fan run 24 hours.** The post-mitigation test cannot start until the system has been running for a full day. The EPA sets that minimum, and the test itself runs 48 hours on a continuous radon monitor. Count on about four days from install to report. 5. **Hand over the report.** The post-mitigation result, the warranty paperwork and the installer’s documentation go to the buyer and their lender. That is the closing documentation. Give the installer the closing date with the photos. If the dates do not fit, a good installer says so up front, and the credit route is there instead. ![Newly installed radon fan on a vent pipe, ready for the post-mitigation test](/images/content/newly-installed-radon-fan-on-the-passive-vent-pipe.webp) ## The Post-Mitigation Report Is the Closing Document A radon system is proven by a test, not by the fan being on. The post-mitigation report is the page the buyer, their agent and their lender want to see, and it needs three things on it to do its job: the test dates, the before-and-after numbers, and the name and credential of the tester. The EPA’s timing is the one to follow. The follow-up test happens no sooner than 24 hours after the fan starts and within 30 days of the install. Real estate radon testing [/radon-testing/ →](/radon-testing/) on a continuous monitor logs the level every hour, the same kind of device the buyer’s inspector used, so the buyer is comparing like with like. Two things to know about the result: - If the number is still high, the installer adjusts the system, at the suction point or the fan, and runs the test again. That is rare on a one-point system in a Des Moines basement. Ask before the install whether a retest and adjustment are included in the price. - Some buyers want an independent clearance test from their own tester. That is their right and it does not change the schedule much. Give them the install date so they can time it after the 24-hour mark. Keep the report with the house papers. The next disclosure form asks about it. ## If You Are Listing Soon and Have Not Tested The cheapest version of this whole scenario is the one where the high result is yours before it is the buyer’s. A seller who tests first chooses the timing of the install instead of having it chosen by an inspection deadline. - The Polk County Health Department sells radon test kits for $15 [https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/health-department/education-resources/radon/ →](https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/health-department/education-resources/radon/) at its front desk on Carpenter Avenue in Des Moines, and the Iowa Radon Hotline is 1-800-383-5992. - A professional 48-hour continuous monitor test gives you a report in the format buyers’ agents expect, with hourly readings and closed-house conditions documented. - If the result is high, the install happens on your schedule, and the listing goes out with “radon system installed” and a passing report in the disclosure packet. In a market where more than 70 percent of homes test high, that line is an upgrade buyers notice. Iowa HHS, the EPA, the American Lung Association and the Surgeon General all recommend testing a home before it is sold. The fact sheet your buyer signs for says so on its first page. ## Choosing an Installer on a Deadline A closing date pushes sellers toward whoever answers first. Three checks take ten minutes and protect the sale. - **Credentials belong to people, not companies.** Iowa credentials individual radon measurement and mitigation specialists. Ask for the name of the technician who will do the work and check it on the Iowa HHS list of credentialed mitigation specialists, which the fact sheet links. - **Ask what the quote includes.** Sealing, crawlspace membrane, electrical work and the post-mitigation test are the usual places a low quote grows. A flat written quote should name them. - **Ask what the warranty covers, for how long, and whether it transfers to the buyer.** Warranty terms are set by each installer, and the buyer’s agent will ask. Get the answer in writing with the quote. The residential radon mitigation [/residential-radon-mitigation/ →](/residential-radon-mitigation/) page explains the system itself, suction point to exhaust. FAQ ## Quick Answers ### No law in Iowa requires a seller to mitigate. Iowa Code chapter 558A requires you to disclose what you know, and the Real Estate Commission's disclosure form asks whether any radon test is known, with the date and result of the last report. Whether the system gets installed before closing is settled in the purchase agreement. Your agent or attorney handles that side; this guide is not legal advice. ### Usually, yes. Most Des Moines homes need one suction point and the install takes about a day. The post-mitigation test runs 48 hours and cannot start until the fan has run for 24 hours, so count on about four days from install to report. Give the installer the closing date with the photos and ask whether it fits. ### If the closing date leaves room for the install and the follow-up test, installing it yourself hands the buyer a working system and a passing report, which is the cleaner close. If closing is days away, a credit based on a written quote keeps the deal moving and the buyer books the install after they move in. ### The post-mitigation test report, the warranty paperwork and the installer's documentation. The report shows the before and after numbers and the test dates. Keep a copy for your own records too, since the disclosure form asks about the last known test. ### No. Iowa HHS puts the average indoor level in Iowa at 8.5 pCi/L against 1.3 nationally, and every Iowa county is EPA Zone 1. A high reading in Des Moines is the normal case, which is why buyers test and why a working system reads as an upgrade rather than a defect. NEXT STEP Radon Mitigation in Des Moines Radon testing and mitigation for Des Moines IA and surrounding Central Iowa communities. Request An Estimate [/free-estimate/ →](/free-estimate/) ## More Radon Guides RADON GUIDE How Much Does Radon Mitigation Cost in Des Moines? What drives radon mitigation cost in Des Moines: foundation type, suction points, crawlspace membranes, pipe routing, fan model, sealing, warranty and running cost. Read the guide → [/guide/how-much-does-radon-mitigation-cost-in-des-moines/ →](/guide/how-much-does-radon-mitigation-cost-in-des-moines/) RADON GUIDE Why Is Radon So High in Des Moines? Iowa is EPA Zone 1 and about 71% of homes test above 4.0 pCi/L. Here's how glacial soils, winter stack effect and spring rain drive radon into Des Moines homes. Read the guide → [/guide/why-is-radon-so-high-in-des-moines/ →](/guide/why-is-radon-so-high-in-des-moines/) RADON GUIDE How Often Should You Test Your Home for Radon in Iowa? A simple radon retest schedule for Iowa homes: every two years with a system, after renovations, basement finishing or foundation work, and with the seasons in mind. Read the guide → [/guide/how-often-to-test-for-radon/ →](/guide/how-often-to-test-for-radon/)