Radon due diligence for Michigan self-directed IRA property

Radon does not leave a stain for an inspector to photograph. It is a radioactive gas that can enter a building from the ground and collect indoors, and testing is the only practical way to learn the concentration in a particular building. That makes a seller's old report useful, but not automatically conclusive. The address, test location, timing, device, building conditions, and any changes since the test all matter.

A self-directed IRA buyer has one more piece to organize. The test, any follow-up work, and a possible mitigation system need to fit the purchase deadline and the custodian's payment process. The goal is not to turn one reading into a promise about future air quality. It is to collect enough reliable information to price the property and give the buyer's qualified professionals a file they can review.

Do not let a map answer a building question

EPA's Map of Radon Zones shows areas with the potential for elevated indoor radon. EPA also says the map should not be used to decide whether an individual home needs testing. The map was designed to help governments and organizations direct radon programs and building-code work, not to clear a specific address for a buyer.

That distinction matters in West Michigan. A county designation, a neighbor's result, or a test from another unit cannot establish the level in the building being purchased. Foundation type, soil-gas entry paths, ventilation, weather, building operation, and prior work can all affect a measurement. Start with the exact structure and the level that could be used regularly rather than treating local geography as a substitute for a test.

Ask what was tested and how

If the seller provides a radon report, read the whole report before relying on the number. EPA's Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon recommends asking for prior results and information about any radon-reduction system. A result is more useful when the file shows where the device sat, how long it ran, whether required conditions were maintained, and who performed the work.

• Match the tested address and building area with the property under contract
• Record the device type, serial or identification information, laboratory, test dates, and reported result
• Identify the floor and room where the device was placed
• Review notes about windows, doors, heating and cooling, weather, occupancy, and possible interference
• Ask whether an addition, foundation repair, HVAC change, energy upgrade, or other work occurred after the test
• Collect the install, service, and follow-up records for any existing mitigation system

An old result may still add context, especially when it is paired with later tests and system records. It should not be stretched beyond what it measured. If the report is incomplete, the device location is wrong for the proposed use, or the building changed afterward, ask a qualified radon measurement professional what new testing is appropriate for the transaction.

Put the device where the proposed use calls for it

EPA's real estate guide recommends testing the lowest level of the home that could be used regularly, whether finished or unfinished. The guide gives examples such as a bedroom, family room, exercise room, workshop, or play area. It says not to place the device in a closet, stairway, hallway, crawlspace, or enclosed area with high humidity or high air velocity, including certain kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and furnace rooms.

The proposed use needs to be honest. An unfinished lower level that may become tenant living space raises a different placement question than a sealed utility crawlspace. A small multifamily or mixed-use building may require a broader plan than a single device. Tell the measurement professional how each level and unit is used or may lawfully be used, then have that professional set the scope. A test plan should follow the building rather than the easiest outlet to reach.

Protect the test conditions

Real estate tests happen under time pressure, which is why the procedure matters. EPA's March 2024 revised guide says radon tests should run for at least 48 hours, while some devices require longer. For a short-term test lasting two to four days, the guide calls for closed-house conditions for at least 12 hours before the test and throughout the test period. It defines those conditions in detail and recommends measures that can prevent or detect interference.

Do not improvise those conditions from a summary. Use the instructions for the selected device and the current protocol followed by the qualified professional. The report should explain any interruption, moved device, open window, fan operation, power loss, severe weather, or other event that may affect interpretation. If the conditions were not reliable, ask the professional whether the test should be repeated rather than averaging a questionable result into the file.

Read the result without calling it a pass

EPA recommends fixing a home when the radon level is 4 picocuries per liter, written as pCi/L, or higher. EPA also recommends considering a fix between 2 and 4 pCi/L because it says there is no known safe level of radon exposure. Those are action recommendations, not a warranty that a result below 4 will stay there or that one above 4 describes every season and room.

Ask the measurement professional to explain the result, quality controls, limits, and appropriate next step. That may involve another short-term test, a longer test, a mitigation estimate, or a different plan for a larger building. The buyer's health, legal, property, and transaction questions belong with qualified professionals. A real estate agent should coordinate access and deadlines, not diagnose exposure or prescribe a system.

Price mitigation as real building work

A mitigation quote should fit the actual foundation and use. EPA describes systems that collect soil gas below a slab or membrane and vent it outdoors, often with a fan, but the appropriate design depends on the building. Basements, crawlspaces, slab additions, shared foundations, finished areas, difficult routing, electrical access, and exterior discharge locations can change the work. Ask a qualified mitigator to inspect the site instead of carrying a price from another house.

• Define each building area, foundation type, and space included in the proposed system
• Identify suction points, crawlspace membranes, pipe routes, fan and electrical locations, and the discharge point
• Include sealing, access, permits if required, restoration, labeling, and cleanup in the written scope
• State the post-mitigation test, target, warranty, fan coverage, and service responsibilities
• Price later electricity, monitoring, testing, fan replacement, membrane repair, and changes required by future building work

A contractor's estimate is not a guaranteed final radon level or a permit approval. Compare written scopes rather than bottom-line prices. If one bid excludes electrical work, finished-wall repair, a crawlspace membrane, or follow-up testing, it is not pricing the same job as a bid that includes those items.

Inspect an existing system instead of admiring the pipe

Visible PVC pipe does not prove that a system is complete, operating, or effective. Ask for the original design, installer information, permits or approvals if applicable, electrical records, warranties, service history, and every post-installation test. Have the qualified professional check the fan, indicator, suction points, membrane, seals, pipe routing, discharge location, and any addition or remodeling that may have changed the system.

If the fan is not operating, EPA's real estate guide says to have it repaired and then test. Radon-resistant construction also does not remove the need for measurement. EPA recommends asking whether those features were used in a new home and whether the home was tested. The file needs evidence about this building's current result, not an assumption based on construction details alone.

Give testing and custodian review their own deadline

A useful purchase schedule leaves enough time to select the professional, place the device, maintain the required conditions, receive the report, resolve an invalid or surprising test, inspect an existing system, obtain mitigation scopes, and decide how the contract will address the finding. The buyer's Michigan attorney and real estate professionals should write the inspection right and response options for the actual deal.

Ask the self-directed IRA custodian how measurement fees, contractor deposits, mitigation work, electrical work, permits, and later service must be authorized and paid. Confirm the purchaser name and signature procedure before documents are signed. Do not assume the IRA owner can install pipe, seal cracks, repair a fan, pay a contractor personally, or perform other work on the account's property. The IRS prohibited-transaction rules can apply to services and transactions involving the owner or another disqualified person, so the custodian, CPA, and attorney should review the proposed people, payments, and work before anyone acts.

Plan for rentals around the building, not the people

For rental property, assign responsibility for future testing, system monitoring, service calls, recordkeeping, and tenant communication. Access, notices, repairs, temporary arrangements, and accommodation requests must follow the Fair Housing Act and applicable Michigan and local protections. Apply a written process consistently. Radon decisions should turn on measurements, building conditions, professional recommendations, and legal requirements, never a tenant's protected characteristics.

Keep the operating budget grounded in actual documents. Include the accepted mitigation scope, ongoing power and service, later testing, property-management coordination, and enough account cash for an unexpected repair. Do not offset a known cost with assumed rent, full occupancy, appreciation, a seller credit, or future refinancing. None of those outcomes is guaranteed, and a personal payment should not be treated as the account's backup plan.

This article is educational, not legal, tax, financial, health, environmental, engineering, fair-housing, retirement-plan, or investment advice. No property, test result, mitigation system, ownership structure, or strategy is approved or endorsed by the IRS. Have your own self-directed IRA custodian, CPA, Michigan attorney, qualified radon measurement and mitigation professionals, inspector, property manager, lender, insurer, local authorities, and other advisors review the account, building, reports, proposed work, and transaction before taking action.

Keep one radon file with the property records

Save prior reports, the current test plan and result, device and laboratory information, condition and interference records, building sketches, mitigation inspections and scopes, permits or approvals if applicable, warranties, post-mitigation tests, service records, custodian instructions, invoices, and closing documents. Add a calendar for later testing and system service. A single number in an email is not enough for the next property manager or advisor to understand what was measured.

Primary sources for this review include EPA's March 2024 revised Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon, EPA's action-level guidance, Map of Radon Zones, and radon testing resources; HUD's Fair Housing Act overview; and the IRS prohibited-transaction guidance. They provide the general framework. The answer for one Michigan building comes from a properly conducted test, current records, qualified professionals, public authorities, and the buyer's own advisors.

Rennie can help identify Michigan property and coordinate the real estate records, professional access, and offer deadlines. Radon testing, mitigation design, health conclusions, legal duties, and retirement-account decisions stay with the buyer's own qualified professionals.