All Forum Posts by: Derreck Wells

Here's the MD law on lead... http://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Land/Documents/LeadFactSheets/LeadfsStandardOfCare.pdf

Here's the regulations that need to be followed in MA...

DELEADING AND LEAD-SAFE RENOVATION REGULATIONS

@Michael Zack You, sir, have asked an excellent question. One that is very state specific and unfortunately, the other respondents here have given you some bad advice. 

In MA, you cannot rent to a family with a child under 7 unless there's a lead certificate on file with the state. If you buy a property with a family in it, you have 90 days to begin the process of deleading, if you go over the 90, you become liable if that child has an elevated lead blood level (LBL). You also can't discriminate against a family with a child under 7, even if it's because you know there's lead paint in the unit. MA is working very hard to make all rentals lead safe and they're not being shy with handing out very large fines. 

You also need to follow EPA RRP (Repair, Renovate, & Paint) rules when doing any work and all contractors that work in the state have to be RRP certified. 

If you message me the address, I can check the database to see if the unit has been inspected or deleaded. If it has been inspected but NOT deleaded, you're not allowed to do ANY work in the unit until you have a licensed deleader come in and make it lead safe. 

The first step is to check the database. If it hasn't been inspected, you can work in the unit as long as you follow EPA RRP rules, but you can't delead it yourself. 

In order to delead, which you WILL have to do at some point if there's more than 1 bedroom, you need to have a lead inspection done. It costs about $300 per unit, but most inspectors will discount multi units. After inspection and lead is found, someone like me takes that inspection report and corrects all the lead issues (different methods of correction depending on the location of the lead). Once the work is complete, you need to have a re-inspection done and the inspector takes dust wipes and sends to to an independent lab for testing. If they come back clean, you get a lead certificate. If they fail, the deleader needs to re-clean the unit and another set of wipes need to be taken. No one can be in the unit during the process, so the best time to have it done is now before you rent it. If there are tenants in the unit, you are responsible for putting them up in a hotel during the process and it also creates more labor for the deleader (moving and covering all the furniture int eh unit, then cleaning it all , then putting it all back). 

Your now thinking "How much to delead?" Well, I can't answer that without a lead inspection to see what needs doing. If the windows have lead paint on them, they need to be replaced. If the doors have lead paint, they need to be replaced. Cost will vary greatly depending on what has lead. I've done units for as low as $1500 and others as high as $6000. That's per unit, count the exterior/common area as a separate unit, so if you have a 2 family, there's 3 units. Each one of the 2 apartments and the exterior/common areas. 

You don't have to do all the units but you will have to do the exterior/common and the rental where a family will live. If you're living in it, even if you have a child under 7, you don't need to do that unit. The law only says rentals, not your own. If one unit is occupied and there's no children, you don't have to do it. You only have to if there's kids under 7, so eventually you will, but you can do it piecemeal.

Again, message me the address and I'll check the database for you and let you know if it's been inspected. 

Derreck

@James Denon You can't get an accurate quote until you have a lead inspection done. The inspection lists all the work that needs to be corrected. Without that, it's a guess. 

Anderson Lead Inspections is who I use for inspections all the time. He's fair and honest.

Not true @Jeff B. You are "on the hook" if you do not start the deleading process within 90 days of acquiring the property. If you do, you can't be sued for existing lead poisoning cases. If you don't, it's very likely you'd be found liable for past cases as well. Someone who lived there 5 years ago finds out their kid has lead poisoning, tracked back and that unit was the only one they lived in that wasn't deleaded, you're probably gonna be held liable if you acquired the property and didn't take the necessary steps to delead.

MA wants all units deleaded. That's the bottom line. They're doing everything they can to make that happen. Just do a simple google search of lead paint lawsuits and you'll see what I mean. Settlements are in the millions, and that's after you pay your lawyer 100k to try to beat it.

This is from a law forum... "Massachusetts' lead paint law creates strict liability, which means, in a nutshell, you need not be negligent to be liable for damages. If lead is present in the property, and you have not obtained a Letter of Interim Control, you are playing with fire. In at least one Massachusetts case at the housing court (Ferraro, et al. v. Allard, 1993), a judge reasoned that the landlord's liability extended not merely to the tenant and his children, but also to guests of the tenant."

The only way to protect yourself is to delead within 90 days after acquiring the property. 

What most don't realize is that deleaded doesn't mean lead free, it means lead safe. All the lead doesn't have to be removed, I have to make it safe. Once you get your lead certificate, you're protected against lawsuit, however, you should have re-inspections done to be sure it continues to be lead safe. These are called Post Compliance Lead Determinations (PCAD). If paint is peeling and you don't repaint (you wouldn't need to hire a "me" to do that, you can do it yourself as long as it's done in 30 days) you could be held liable because you were negligent. I always recommend a PCAD every 5 years to CYA. If you're regularly taking steps to keep the place lead safe,you won't have a problem.

Post Compliance Assessment Determination (PCAD)
PCAD's are inspections for units with prior lead compliance generally used to update a letter of compliance. If no lead hazards are found, a Letter of Maintained Compliance is issued. If lead hazards are found the owner has a 30 day window to correct the hazards and have a Re-Inspection. If work is not completed within the 30 day window, only authorized people may complete the work.

@Thomas Hickey You are correct, and that's what a lot of people don't realize. They will make the money back they spend deleading on the sale of the property. Plus, they can charge higher rent because they're deleaded units since they are more desirable to families So they also make it back a little at a time over the years they own it as well. They also get tax breaks when they do it and they can even get grants and there was a 0% interest loan out there that didn't get repaid until the property sold, so nothing came out of pocket. Not sure if that one is still available though.

@James Denon If you buy a property with tenants, you have 90 days to fix any lead issues or you become liable if anyone has high blood lead levels. If there's no one under 7, you won't have to delead yet. You cannot rent to anyone with kids under 7, so if there were kids there, you can evict when buying the property, but not because of the lack of lead certificates. You can evict them just because you're a new owner and want tenants that you vetted. 

No, a tenant does not have to move if they have children and there's no lead certs, you have to delead if they have children. It's on you, not them. You are also required to put them up somewhere during the construction. Most tenants don't realize that however and just go stay with family without any argument because you're improving their living situation and making their unit safe. However if they don't have a place to stay, you're required to pay for the hotel.

Deleading isn't a long process, some jobs are done in less then a week, I've never had one take longer then 2 weeks from start to issuing of the lead cert. 

Even in jobs with complete rehabs, there will still be things with lead. No one ever gets it all. Plus, if lead shows up, even on the exterior, the units have to have dust wipes taken, which means the deleader has to clean every unit from top to bottom. Once I take on a job, I own every bit of lead dust that could be hiding in that building. I need to have the place completely dust free even if I didn't work in that unit. This is very time consuming, every surface must be vacuumed with my HEPA certified shop vac (not just a HEPA filter in a normal vac. If I have the wrong vac on site, I get a $32,500 fine. Not a typo, thirty-two thousand)and then completely washed from ceiling to floor.

Don't let the fact that it's not deleaded scare you off. Use it in negotiations. Assume $5k per unit, count the exterior as a unit, and get them to knock $20k off the top. You will receive tax credits for deleading and there is financing available as well. I've never charged more than $20k, other's might have, but I've never come in over that. Once done, you can advertise that you have lead certificates and charge a higher rent, these units are more desirable to families, so you'll make back the cost of the project in increased revenue over time.

If you want to PM me the address, I'll take a look at the database and see what's been done. Often there has been an inspection, violations were found, but it was never repaired. If that's the case and you then go and hire another inspector and he finds things that were deleaded, there's gonna be problems. The building will be marked with Unauthorized Deleading (UD) and it will never get a lead cert. You would have to get a "Letter of Environmental Protection" which would allow you to rent to kids, but it tells that there was illegal deleading done, which will raise your insurance and lower your rent. If the place has been inspected, you need to get those inspection reports and delead the building based on them so everything is done by a licensed deleader before there's another inspection done. It's the only way to avoid issues. I have the number of a good inspector that tries to not get you jammed up with stuff like that. If he saw that it was done before, he'd tell you the same thing I just did instead of just taking your money and flagging it UD on you. I use him exclusively.

Let me know if you want to me to take a look,

Derreck

Where is there a 1000 Sq ft, 2 bed, 1 bath house renting for $3000 in central MA? Downtown Boston, maybe, buy Fitchburg?!?!

I have a friend that takes sec 8 tenants. Often he has difficulty collecting the tenants share of the rent. His solution... don't push it. He doesn't tell them not to pay, but he doesn't push either. He still makes a profit off of the government share. When that tenant becomes an issue (and if they're not paying rent, they will become an issue) he can then simply tell the tenant that he's going to file eviction papers if they don't move voluntarily.  They choose to move rather than face eviction, because if they get evicted, they lose sec 8. This can save months of headache in MA trying to evict 

The more intelligent route here isn't to get licensed for lead abatement, it's to use the fact that there's lead paint to negotiate a better purchase price because you have to delead.

I've given you the "format". Assume $5k per unit counting the exterior as a unit. A 3 family becomes a 4 unit. Negotiate $20k off the asking price for lead paint removal on that 3 family. Look at the windows, if they're replacement, there's less expense, the windows won't need replacing. If they're original, use that too. Figure $300 per window to replace and add that on to the negotiations.

There are programs out there to help, some 0% interest,  some grants, and loans that only become payable when you sell the property so it's kind of like a lien on the property. You can save money by negotiating a lower purchase price, then get the loan and add a ton of value by deleading, then when you sell, you'll make a small fortune and never put out of pocket to delead.