I have a bank property under contract. I checked MLS and called the agent who was selling this property a year ago as a short sale and asked him if he knew anything about the house.
He told me that there was suspicion from the neirborhs that the previous owner ran a meth lab out of it, but this was never proved
THe current selling agent is selling it with no disclosures, because the seller (bank) sells it as is.
How can I get more info on the property? The inspector also told me there is some mold…
Should I stay away? When I resell it am I suppose to say about a meth lab, if it was never proved?
Anything is fixable.
If the house is in decent shape and checks out does it matter if there was a meth lab in it? I don’t think they have to disclose that info…now if someone was murdered in there then thats a different story I think.
RyanTrim,
Yes, it ABSOLUTELY matters! If there was a meth lab there, you must be sure all of the chemicals there are no longer present. The chemicals used to produce meth are an environmental nightmare. If you buy and sell or buy and rent and someone gets sick, there could be huge liability.
The same for mold, but to a lesser extent. They make mold detectors (try Homer Depot). If there is mold, there IS a water/water vapor problem. Before abating the mold, you need to correct the water problem. It may be something as simple as a leaky pipe/faucet under the sink. Small amounts of mold on the surface can be killed with chlorine bleach. After killing the mold, simply prime with pigmented white shellac (“Kilz”, etc.) and paint. Be sure that the mold is not in the sheetrock, carpet, etc. If it is, it will need to be replaced.
My 2 cents (before taxes),
Keith