Investor · Morgantown, WV · Member since 2008 · 207 posts · 33 votes
A prospective renter told me a horror story about the trailer she reneted four 5 yrs. 6 mos. ago she found out that there may have been a meth lab there some time, so she had it tested and the chemical levels were outrageous. Everything was condemned and she is suing the city and LL, the City because evidently they had already condemned the property before. The LL's insurance will not cover this. She said there were no signs that there had been a lab there before.
Does who invests in Trailers have advice about this type of protection. I Just bought 4 trailers and am renting them. I thought " wow, what if any of these units had Meth labs in them at some time?". Apparently you can get them tested for a small fee- around $300 and also I think there is Insurance now you can get..
I don't suppose Mr. Lonnie covers this liability in his book?
I am not sure how you can be held liable if you did not know this to begin with. This is something that should have been disclosed to you when you bought it and I would say they or you would have to go back and file against the seller. Once it is brought to your attention, then you have to act on it.
Its a horror story and I have fortunately not rented to the person. She continues to call my adds and a freind of mine who has trailers for rent, but this is a mess.
I would not worry about it, Yes they are everywhere. Odds are you know more HIV infected people than you do Meth cooks.
Use your Landlords right to inspect the homes. It is 5:20 Pm Central time. My renters payments are late as of 3:00pm today. I already sent out 9 3 day vacate notices, In 3 days I will enter all of these properties and do an inspection if they are home or moved out.
As others have pointed out the labs can be anywhere. They have been found in houses, mobile homes, apts, condos, RVs, mobile units on vehicles, etc. If Sellers or Realtors know about the problem, they are supposed to disclose this. Often though greed gets in the way and they want to sell ot get their commission so do not disclose such matters. During your due diligence period, you could pay to have a test done, but may be expensive. I have heard from several other investors that they do a field test using spray starch. They spray it on the wall and if unit was a meth lab, it turns either pink or purple - I do not remember. Anyway, this would be one way of deciding to proceed or walk away from a contract!