Thursday, June 28, 2012

Meth Homes- Disclosure

In reading a story today from the New York daily news about the trouble buyers might encounter in the surprise of finding that their new home is a former meth lab (story available here: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/shutdown-meth-labs-leave-dirty-secret-potential-homebuyers-article-1.1103805?localLinksEnabled=false. 
A number of thoughts crossed our minds.

At first, the story follows a family in Washington and another in Utah, where the families were surprised to learn and suffered many health problems from the fact that their home was a former meth lab and that this was not disclosed to them. This could be a problem financially in that once a home is labeled as having been a meth lab even in the past, the property value could decrease exponentially and the chemicals left behind from meth production can cause invariable illnesses and therefore money would be lost in treatment or removing said chemicals from the home to begin with. Make note that in Missouri disclosure is in fact required, and so therefore home-buyers in the state of Missouri are safer from these specific potential problems. 

That being said, to verify that the disclosure is correct, a new homeowner is advised to have a home inspection in all cases, but especially where questions might exist about drug production. Many home inspectors have services available for chemical testing either on surfaces or even into the drywall to see if those different and potentially harmful chemicals are still present. There are also testing kits available in some places to the public, so that people may test the area themselves for possible chemical issues, although it is still highly advised that a professional inspection take place. 

Without an inspection, identifying a home as a previous meth lab or other drug producing area can be difficult, while some texts indicate there are telltale signs of such things, these aren't always completely reliable or present. As always, when in doubt, inspect.

For more information, visit us on the web at www.springfieldfirsthome.com, or simply call or text us at 417.872.9222.

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