Posted by John Corey on April 26, 2006 at 18:16:26:
I am told that you use spray starch you to tell if there has been meth in the property. The ions that are freed up when the meth is cooked will attach to the walls. If you spray the starch on the walls the stuff will turn purple.
I was told this by someone over on the MH board. Meth in a MH is somewhat common. Post there for more info.
John Corey
what are the risks for meth contamination? - Posted by Shelly
Posted by Shelly on April 26, 2006 at 24:40:26:
Hi, we are buying rentals in heavy meth areas. Is there any divice out there that can protect our rental homes and detect meth activity?
If anyone has info or experience please contact us.
thanks,
shelly
Re: what are the risks for meth contamination? - Posted by Kathy Janes
Posted by Kathy Janes on April 26, 2006 at 11:24:59:
Your best defense is diligent management. Inspect apartments frequently, so tenants know managers or inspectors will be coming through (for legitimate reasons of course). If you encounter people who won’t let you in, who have padlocks on closets, who sleep all day with pitbulls in their units, you know you have a problem. Find a legitimate way to get rid of them, like nonpayment of rent. Your local police department may have a “crime free housing” program, or landlord training for awareness of meth activity. Before buying, ask local police if they have knowledge of citations or nuisance abatement notices for meth activity at the target property. This is especially important because if the bldg has a reputation for meth activity, you won’t be able to get good tenants, just the losers who think they can do anything. Screen tenants thoroughly, with previous landlords especially. People who cook meth are used to moving around. Make sure they don’t move in to your building by letting prospective tenants know you have active knowledgeable management.
Re: what are the risks for meth contamination? - Posted by rehabber7
Posted by rehabber7 on April 26, 2006 at 07:21:11:
I have posted my opinions on this before. There is a huge meth problem in my area. This stuff really IS bad stuff unlike all the mold hype. Talk with the local sheriff and people from the local hospitals and the Dept. of Children’s Services, etc. I don’t know of any meth detection device that would act kind of like a smoke detector and alert the landlord to the activity. Even if there were such a thing, it would be too late. You would already have a “meth house”. If you are talking about detecting past activity before you buy the house, again talk with the local sherrif. There are signs to look for and there may be a local database that you can check. Also, I would do a very thorough back-ground and criminal check on all potential tenants. I might even require a drug test prior to tenancy. I spoke with my local DA one time about the drug test, and he said that it would not violate anti-descrimination laws. My personal opinion: I will not ever buy a known meth house, even if it has been cleaned up. Also, I have stayed away from rentals and l/o largely because of the meth problem, although I am currently considering a change to my business plan to sell on l/o. Get informed, and be careful. If you do not currently live in this same area that you speak of, you may not fully understand the significance of this problem. Imho, this is THE worst drug in America. It has a huge kill percentage, and it effects all of those in it’s presence, not just the users.
Re: what are the risks for meth contamination? - Posted by Joe
Posted by Joe on April 26, 2006 at 12:18:23:
Just to note, that even though you may not want to live in a former meth house, and maybe even I would not want to live in a former meth house, there are people who wouldn’t mind living in a former meth house after it had been cleaned. And you can use the meth condition as a huge negotiation factor. There’s a lot of money to be made in rehabbing meth houses (as long as you aren’t in the really bad parts of town) because no one else wants to deal with it. Have a $150k ARV house that is contaminated? Needs $20k in non-meth related repairs? Make an offer to buy it for $30k. Pay some meth clean up company $10k for clean up, do the $20k in repairs, and pocket $90k less the other costs.