Real Estate Professionals Information

If you are in any way connected to property sales and/or rentals, you need to know about Meth and the effects Meth manufacturing or use have on property. Until you have the property sold or rented, you are responsible for it, as well as for every person who enters it.  If the property is contaminated from Meth manufacturing the owner is responsible for the residual cleanup, which can easily run into the tens-of-thousands of dollars.  If the property is not cleaned up thoroughly, many health risks may present themselves to potential buyers or renters.  Be proactive and get the property tested.

Contamination from the manufacture of Meth will affect every corner of a home or apartment including the walls, draperies, furniture, ceilings, vent and ceiling fans, carpeting, blinds, light fixtures, kitchen appliances, plumbing fixtures, drains, heating and air-conditioning vents.  In an apartment building, the contamination can spread from the apartment where the Meth was cooked to other apartments and areas of the building through common vents.

As you make your first walk through of a new listing or you make your check when a renter moves out, look for signs of a Meth lab or Meth use.  Also, be sure you check the cupboards and closets, and do a thorough inspection of all parts of the garage.  What you find may be as simple as a light bulb wrapped in a sock, razor blades, mirrors, straws, aluminum foil strips or pop cans that are used for inhaling and smoking Meth.  If a user is injecting, you might find paraphernalia such as syringes, heated spoons, surgical tubing.

Remember, for every pound of Meth cooked, five to six pounds of toxic waste is left behind, including hydriotic acid formed during the manufacturing.  The toxic waste may still be present in and around the property you have to sell or may own.  You or people you show the residence to can be exposed to these toxins and the contamination on the property through inhalation, absorption through personal contact with contaminated objects, ingestion or from a puncture or scrape. 

Even if the prior residents or owners didn’t manufacture Meth, there may be contamination if they smoked the drug in the premises. Smoking Meth also leaves residue and contamination on almost all surfaces.

Other important information for realtors or landlords:
Be aware that you may encounter someone at the property who has been using and is in the “tweaking” stage, the most dangerous time for a user.  See Dealing With Tweakers.
Learn to Recognize Meth Labs
Know the Laws Concerning Real Estate and Meth
To find out how to set up a training session on Meth and Property Issues, or to get more information, please email MAPP-SD.

Also of Interest:
Meth Lab Photo Gallery
Meth Lab Recognition
Meth Laws