Are You About To Buy a Meth House?
Important Signs to Look For
By Adrienne Erin
Designer Design Roast
The savvy home buyer often has a checklist prepared of undesirable defects that will kill off the buying process. This usually includes problems with bugs, unfixed leaks, and an undesirable location. A person who goes down this list may feel that they’ve taken all the necessary steps to ensure they’ve found a happy home.
Unfortunately there is one concern that is often neglected during the research phase: Whether or not a home was once used to make dangerous illegal drugs.
Are you on the verge of buying a former crystal meth house? Do you suspect you may have already done so? Keep reading for some peace of mind – or to learn the truh.
Taking a Closer Look
12 Keys Rehab Center has provided a visual guide meant to help would be homeowners know whether or not they may be dealing with a meth house.
The savvy home buyer often has a checklist prepared of undesirable defects that will kill off the buying process. This usually includes problems with bugs, unfixed leaks, and an undesirable location. A person who goes down this list may feel that they’ve taken all the necessary steps to ensure they’ve found a happy home.
Unfortunately there is one concern that is often neglected during the research phase: Whether or not a home was once used to make dangerous illegal drugs.
Are you on the verge of buying a former crystal meth house? Do you suspect you may have already done so? Keep reading for some peace of mind – or to learn the truh.
Taking a Closer Look
12 Keys Rehab Center has provided a visual guide meant to help would be homeowners know whether or not they may be dealing with a meth house.
Use this information as a guide when taking a closer look at the house in question as there are certain signs that can give away a home’s drug-related history.
For instance, think of the smells you encounter when on the property. The scent of fertilizer, ammonia, and/or rotten eggs can be associated with meth production.
Odd features visible inside and outside the house can tip you off, as well. If the house contains jury-rigged vents, some windows are boarded or otherwise blocked, and patches of grass seem permanently burned away, the former owner may have been producing drugs. These are all precautions they would have taken to ventilate the home, hide their activities, and dispose of chemicals.
Do not assume that a home meeting these characteristics is simply a “fixer upper.” What you could end up with is a house that is hazardous to your health and the health of your children and pets. The same may true in any structure from Porta-Pottys to high end homes in gated communities.
Health Concerns
Do you experience headaches, nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, or a dry mouth whenever you visit a home you are planning to buy?
You may be thinking that it is just you, however these symptoms may have to do with the property.
If you fear that a house you are considering may have once contained a meth lab, you are encouraged to call the police or inform the local health department. They might be able to tell you if the home was the site of a former meth bust, and give you details about whether it was cleaned or how to clean it. If you are planning to purchase a house but feeling suspicious, ask the neighbors. It’s possible at least one person is aware of any criminal history associated with the property.
The toxic waste associated with drug production is a serious matter. Take all the necessary steps to protect yourself and your family.
Cleaning Up
It is possible that you’ve already bought the house and didn’t realize its unfortunate history until after the fact. This leaves you with the unfortunate task of cleaning up the home. Decontamination can cost anywhere between $3,000 and $25,000, if not more.
Be sure that you seek the advice and services of a decontamination specialist trained in meth cleanup. Do not expect this process to be easy or over quickly, especially since it is up to the health department to determine when your home is habitable.
It is important to face the possibility that an otherwise desirable home may have a drug-producing history, preferably before you buy it or move in. Asking questions and looking for relevant signs can save you time and money later on.
If you’ve already purchased the home and suspect there may be a problem, do NOT wait. Take steps to confirm or rule out that your home was a former meth house immediately. Putting it off can have negative consequences on your health and happiness.
For instance, think of the smells you encounter when on the property. The scent of fertilizer, ammonia, and/or rotten eggs can be associated with meth production.
Odd features visible inside and outside the house can tip you off, as well. If the house contains jury-rigged vents, some windows are boarded or otherwise blocked, and patches of grass seem permanently burned away, the former owner may have been producing drugs. These are all precautions they would have taken to ventilate the home, hide their activities, and dispose of chemicals.
Do not assume that a home meeting these characteristics is simply a “fixer upper.” What you could end up with is a house that is hazardous to your health and the health of your children and pets. The same may true in any structure from Porta-Pottys to high end homes in gated communities.
Health Concerns
Do you experience headaches, nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, or a dry mouth whenever you visit a home you are planning to buy?
You may be thinking that it is just you, however these symptoms may have to do with the property.
If you fear that a house you are considering may have once contained a meth lab, you are encouraged to call the police or inform the local health department. They might be able to tell you if the home was the site of a former meth bust, and give you details about whether it was cleaned or how to clean it. If you are planning to purchase a house but feeling suspicious, ask the neighbors. It’s possible at least one person is aware of any criminal history associated with the property.
The toxic waste associated with drug production is a serious matter. Take all the necessary steps to protect yourself and your family.
Cleaning Up
It is possible that you’ve already bought the house and didn’t realize its unfortunate history until after the fact. This leaves you with the unfortunate task of cleaning up the home. Decontamination can cost anywhere between $3,000 and $25,000, if not more.
Be sure that you seek the advice and services of a decontamination specialist trained in meth cleanup. Do not expect this process to be easy or over quickly, especially since it is up to the health department to determine when your home is habitable.
It is important to face the possibility that an otherwise desirable home may have a drug-producing history, preferably before you buy it or move in. Asking questions and looking for relevant signs can save you time and money later on.
If you’ve already purchased the home and suspect there may be a problem, do NOT wait. Take steps to confirm or rule out that your home was a former meth house immediately. Putting it off can have negative consequences on your health and happiness.
Meth Crime Increase in Missoula Means Booming Business For Some By NBC Montana January 31, 2016 9:21 AM
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
Photo by Phil Walter/Getty ImagesMeth-related crime in Missoula saw a sharp increase in 2015. Drug-related crimes now account for 20 percent of all crimes prosecuted in Missoula County this past year.
NBC Montana reports officer Eric McClean of the Missoula Police Department’s drug task force enforcement team calls the rise an “epidemic.”
NBC Montana spoke with a man who makes a living on cleaning up the mess.
Lee Yelin works for Water Rights Incorporated by day, but spends half his time cleaning houses after they have been contaminated by methamphetamine or meth labs.
He said, in his experience, he has found meth, needles, chemistry books and equipment. He added that an employee found a bunch of needles in a light fixture.
With Missoula County methamphetamine-related cases on the rise, Yelin has been busy.
“We used to do one to two a year. I had one employee that took care of them; now it’s 40 percent of my business, and I have four certified cleanup contractors,” Yelin said.
When Yelin and his team clean a contaminated house, they gut everything — doors, windows, light fixtures, appliances and anything made of wood.
Yelin said such a deep clean is necessary because “meth residue, either from smoking or from a lab is very strong. It’s like tobacco and it just sits there like an oil base.”
They spent numerous hours in the crawl space of one house. When they’re exposed to such dangerous chemicals, it’s important for the team to wear protective gear including coveralls, protective eye gear, heavy-duty gloves and respirators.
Yelin said the worst part is most property owners don’t even know methampetamine traces could be in their household.
“Every property that I’ve gone into in this past year except for one came up positive for meth,” Yelin said about his inspections last year.
So what should you do if you fear your property is at risk?
“What I recommend to any real estate agent, to any prospective buyer or seller, is to test your house before it goes on the market if you’re the seller. If you’re the buyer, test a property, especially if it’s ever been used as a rental, because we are finding almost every property I go into is contaminated with meth,” said Yelin.
While meth contamination testing is cheap — about $50 — meth remediation is not.
“It’s all the duct work, furnaces come out, purchasing new appliances, that’s thousands of dollars,” he said.
Yelin’s current house repair cost the homeowner over $20,000. It’s also a lengthy process.
“Once a property is contaminated we need to contact DEQ for approval to sample, approval to clean, and then third-party clearance, which is a neutral party to come in and sample to make sure it’s clean. Then DEQ will give them a certificate of fitness and remove the property from the contaminated list.”
Yelin said once he and his crew come through, the property is as good as new. The trouble is, with the increase in meth cases, he may be hard pressed to keep up with the demand.
Even those who do get their properties cleaned still run a risk. Yelin said when meth users leave one contaminated property, they bring all of their contaminated belongings to the next place infecting that one. He is advocating the city to put known meth users on a national database list to prevent them from renting low-income housing in the future.
Read More: Meth Crime Increase in Missoula Means Booming Business For Some | http://newstalkkgvo.com/meth-crime-increase-in-missoula-means-booming-business-for-some/?trackback=tsmclip
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
Photo by Phil Walter/Getty ImagesMeth-related crime in Missoula saw a sharp increase in 2015. Drug-related crimes now account for 20 percent of all crimes prosecuted in Missoula County this past year.
NBC Montana reports officer Eric McClean of the Missoula Police Department’s drug task force enforcement team calls the rise an “epidemic.”
NBC Montana spoke with a man who makes a living on cleaning up the mess.
Lee Yelin works for Water Rights Incorporated by day, but spends half his time cleaning houses after they have been contaminated by methamphetamine or meth labs.
He said, in his experience, he has found meth, needles, chemistry books and equipment. He added that an employee found a bunch of needles in a light fixture.
With Missoula County methamphetamine-related cases on the rise, Yelin has been busy.
“We used to do one to two a year. I had one employee that took care of them; now it’s 40 percent of my business, and I have four certified cleanup contractors,” Yelin said.
When Yelin and his team clean a contaminated house, they gut everything — doors, windows, light fixtures, appliances and anything made of wood.
Yelin said such a deep clean is necessary because “meth residue, either from smoking or from a lab is very strong. It’s like tobacco and it just sits there like an oil base.”
They spent numerous hours in the crawl space of one house. When they’re exposed to such dangerous chemicals, it’s important for the team to wear protective gear including coveralls, protective eye gear, heavy-duty gloves and respirators.
Yelin said the worst part is most property owners don’t even know methampetamine traces could be in their household.
“Every property that I’ve gone into in this past year except for one came up positive for meth,” Yelin said about his inspections last year.
So what should you do if you fear your property is at risk?
“What I recommend to any real estate agent, to any prospective buyer or seller, is to test your house before it goes on the market if you’re the seller. If you’re the buyer, test a property, especially if it’s ever been used as a rental, because we are finding almost every property I go into is contaminated with meth,” said Yelin.
While meth contamination testing is cheap — about $50 — meth remediation is not.
“It’s all the duct work, furnaces come out, purchasing new appliances, that’s thousands of dollars,” he said.
Yelin’s current house repair cost the homeowner over $20,000. It’s also a lengthy process.
“Once a property is contaminated we need to contact DEQ for approval to sample, approval to clean, and then third-party clearance, which is a neutral party to come in and sample to make sure it’s clean. Then DEQ will give them a certificate of fitness and remove the property from the contaminated list.”
Yelin said once he and his crew come through, the property is as good as new. The trouble is, with the increase in meth cases, he may be hard pressed to keep up with the demand.
Even those who do get their properties cleaned still run a risk. Yelin said when meth users leave one contaminated property, they bring all of their contaminated belongings to the next place infecting that one. He is advocating the city to put known meth users on a national database list to prevent them from renting low-income housing in the future.
Read More: Meth Crime Increase in Missoula Means Booming Business For Some | http://newstalkkgvo.com/meth-crime-increase-in-missoula-means-booming-business-for-some/?trackback=tsmclip
