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Disclosing drug labs????

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Rick Neighbors

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2002
Professional Status
Certified Residential Appraiser
State
Texas
Saw part of a special report on television. Seems like they have determined that having a drug lab in a home can be hazardous to your health, and to the next owner's health after you get busted and they sell your house. 8O

Now we have drug lab problems to worry about disclosing. What's the next worry for Appraisers............disclosing that the previous owners were smokers??? :wink:

Rick
 
:evil: :evil:

Rick,
ITs no joke, and in some areas can be a real pain in the *** for us to find out about, and frankly I don't really want to KNOW as I 'am no expert'!!!.

Hubby did a rural repo where the "Do not cross tape" and "EPA warning stickers" had carefully been removed by the Realtor. He got suspicious as the windows had all been blown out of the structure, and started asking questions. The state DID have it on their unpublished contam site list but it took a lot of digging to discover this fact! Checking the arrest record for an address can sometimes tip you off. In his case the KBI got real interested real fast when he made inquiry... they wanted HIS name rank serial number... and it took some 'splaining before they would beleive he didn't have some sort of association with the place, just because he inquired 8O ! :?

I did a REO last year, where I looked into the crawl and found equipment that surely LOOKED like an abandoned clandestine lab: it took no less than 12 phone calls to get anyone to even listen to me! And then because I was not the owner I could not get anyone to take an interest in even cleaning up the trays bottles and other (potentially contaminated) acoutrements! :evil: Let me give you a clue: when you see an atypical water tap (add on) in a crawl space with hose hanging, trays glass bottles, heating equipment and other such items back out quick!

The degree of toxicity is to some extent dependant on whether they were 'cold cooking' or doing a 'hot cook' if they were making meth. Hot cook-sites are NO place for even adult people and HIGHLY toxic to children.

It doesn't take much exposure to such a property to result in permenant brain damage to kids. And there is no smell or readily observable sign that will tip you off if the equipment IS removed.

States should be FORCED to place bust sights on a web page, AND record on the deed, so that appraisers and other concerned folk (TITLE COMPANIES) can find out about such issues.... In my opinion :evil:
 
Craig,

I couldn't really tell if your last post was on the level. In the event that is is on the level, does that mean that you believe that the legalization of the use and manufacture of these types of drugs would somehow reduce the physical hazards posed when they are manufactured in a residence?


George Hatch
 
Meth labs are very dangerous!!! I am sorry to say that my nephew died last year after being burnt on 95% of his body while 'cooking'. Luckily, no one else in the home was hurt as the explosion was limited to the bathroom. He 'lived' for 5 days while his parents and other family suffered through this needless and stupid tragedy!

Legalize drugs? I hope you are kidding!
 
Drugs are truly horrible.

Regarding legalizing them though....

They would become regulated and the labs would be set up safely. They would become like alcohol. I don't like mind altering drugs, but I do believe we all would be better off if they were legal.

Look at what happened when alcohol was prohibited.
 
Inspecting a house that was or is a drug lab is or can be dangerous. I instruct my employees that if they smell chemicals that do not recognize to back away from the inspection and call the lender. Nothing about this job is worth your life or your health.

In regards to legalizing drugs, I suspect that humans will invariably take the path of least resistance. The people that are inclined to use drugs would likely use cocaine or heroin if the access and price were more accommodating. Meth may be cheap, but it comes with a very price tag.

Many politicians and economists have been suggesting legalized drugs for years. I agree with them. We lost the war on drugs years ago. We just haven't admitted it, yet.
 
George, legalizing drugs would eliminate the need for drug labs in residences. Phillip Morris could push the stuff out the door in Richmond and Jack Daniels could have a heroin plant in Tennessee, all inspected by the government and taxed nicely. No more need for law enforcement and the folks that are using now would likely be the ones using then. This discussion has nothing to do with appraising real property, other than we wouldn't have any drug labs to disclose. By the way, in over 14 years of appraising I have never (knowingly) seen a drug lab. Guess the beautiful Shenandoah Valley doesn't have many of them, ah, another item to address in the neighborhood section. He he.
 
Topic is rapidly becomming Watercooler fodder.

If you suspect that the property is being used for illegal purposes...conclude your inspection and reject the assignment.
 
i don't know about all this talk of legalizing meth labs and heroin , sounds kinda crazy, alot of folks die using and making that crap.

alcohol is legal and kills thousands of people a year, so its hard to say which drugs should and shouldn't be legalized

however, I see no problem with legalizing the sweet gift that Jah gave the earth

Peace & blessings
 
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