All Forum Posts by: Derreck Wells

Brian, when you find them, I'll gladly help you with the lead paint issues. Save my contact info and send me a message when you find something you're interested in, I'll let you know if the property has already been deleaded or if it still needs work.

Hi Nadav, welcome to the forum!

Be sure to save my contact info, when you find a property, I can let you know the status of the lead paint and what needs to be done to make it legal to rent. The laws in MA are pretty strict about it now.

There's a huge difference between RRP and deleading. Every contractor is required to be RRP certified, including myself. There are containment rules for when they come across lead paint during renovations, this is completely different than lead abatement and being RRP Certified doesn't allow abatement. If there's a lead inspection done and the property hasn't been deleaded, a RRP certified contractor can't do the work in the property, at that point it's lead abatement and the containment rules are different then those for RRP. Once that initial lead inspection is done, the homeowners hands are tied to a licensed lead abatement contractor. Once the property has been deleaded, then the HO can use a regular RRP Certified firm again for regular repair, renovation, and painting (RRP), but said firm should use a copy of the lead inspection to know what is still lead paint and what isn't. If the inspection report isn't available, then the RRP firm can use one of a few specific testers to test for lead before they do the work and if there's no lead, then they can do a lesser containment. If there is lead, they need a stricter containment. You cannot perform lead abatement or inspection work in the State of New Hampshire without a valid license.

NH did adopt lead laws, the most recent edit I know of was in September 2015, they can be read in the NH Statutes here... 

CHAPTER 130-A LEAD PAINT POISONING PREVENTION AND CONTROL

The specific laws about relocating tenants can be found in section 130-A:8-a Relocation of Tenants.

For the record, the Law "makes sure that the contractor with the winning bid follows all the rules regarding occupant notification, etc." The fines are huge if I don't follow the laws. For example, if I have the wrong shop-vac on site, I get a $32,500 fine. (Yes, the comma is in the right place, that's thirty-two thousand.) I've seen a painting company that was RRP certified get a $16,000 fine for going too far and another with an $11,000 fine. The government isn't playing around with this. There are some news articles here about older cases... EPA Fines 4 New England Firms for Lead-Paint Violations

MA has 3 different levels of deleading, low risk, moderate risk, and high risk with different rules and licenses for them. I have a moderate risk supervisor's license. NH has a different setup, they have 3 different levels, Contractor, Supervisor, and Worker. The different levels have different rules.   

Lead Abatement Contractor's License

To qualify for a contractor's license you must:

• read and understand New Hampshire Lead Poisoning Prevention Act and Rules
• document completion of an approved training course for lead abatement contractors which includes an exam
• document two years work experience in asbestos, lead, environmental remediation or building trades
• list all names or other identifiers you've ever done business under
• list any outstanding enforcement actions pending against you for lead abatement work
• list all New Hampshire certified lead abatement workers/supervisors you employ
• pass an approved proficiency examination given by a party other than the training provider
• pass an additional 25 questions specific to the provisions of RSA 130-A and He-P 1600 given by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHA) ChildLead Program

Lead abatement contractor's license fees: The contractor's license will cost you $250 and it's good for a year.

Lead Abatement Supervisor Certificate

To qualify for a supervisor certificate you need to:

• read and understand New Hampshire Lead Poisoning Prevention Act and Rules
• pass an approved training course which includes an exam
• have at least twelve months of lead abatement work experience
• have at least twelve months work experience in environmental remediation or building trades
• list any outstanding enforcement actions pending against you for lead abatement work
• pass an approved proficiency examination given by a party other than the training provider
• pass an additional 25 questions specific to the provisions of RSA 130-A and He-P 1600 given by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHA) ChildLead Program

Lead abatement supervisor certificate fees: The supervisor's certificate will cost you $100 and it's good for a year. If you've been certified in another state, you can petition the Bureau to be certified in New Hampshire without repeating the training or work experience the Bureau requires. You still must pay the certification fee.

Lead Abatement Worker Certificate

To qualify for a worker certificate you need to:

• read and understand New Hampshire Lead Poisoning Prevention Act and Rules
• pass an approved training course which includes an exam

Lead abatement worker certificate fees: The worker's certificate will cost you $50 and it's good for a year. If you've been certified in another state, you can petition the Bureau to be certified in New Hampshire without repeating the training or work experience the Bureau requires. You still must pay the certification fee.

Forgot to link the site...

http://www.nhhfa.org/rental-housing-landlords-lead...

Stacy, (and anyone else reading this), please, please, PLEASE, don't listen to Flavio. First, I'm going to address his statements:

"Down here landlords are advised not to rent to families with children if the house has lead paint as it's known to cause cancer if a child eats the paint." 

Landlords are not "...advised not to rent to families with children if the house has lead paint." It is illegal in MA to rent a dwelling to a family with kids if you don't have a lead certificate on file with the state. It's not advised against, it's flat out illegal and you can get fined or worse, if you do rent to a family and the child gets lead poisoning, you can lose the building to the tenant on top of the fines and civil lawsuit. Also, eating lead paint does not case cancer. Lead poisoning causes a whole host of problems, but cancer isn't one of them. 

"Worst case scenario, you would have to scrap and repaint all the wood in the house: doors, trims, etc."

I'm actually cringing reading that. Again, that would be illegal, not to mention extremely dangerous. If there has been a lead inspection and the landlord then scrapes the paint, they are performing "Unauthorized Deleading" (UD) and it's illegal and will result in large fines and the house being flagged as having UD done to it. It will never get a lead certificate that is required to rent to families. It could get a "Letter of Environmental Protection" once the work was fixed and done legally which would allow the house to be rented to families again, but it will also raise the insurance rates and lower the value of the property. Only "High Risk Deleaders" can scrape lead paint. They need a specific license and are required by the state to get regular blood tests to be sure they're not inhaling too much lead dust. 

So, I'll repeat, please don't listen to Flavio. Flavio, please stop telling people to do illegal stuff. Educate yourself on the lead laws or just don't comment on these posts. You can get someone in a lot of trouble.

Now on to your concerns Stacy. First, I want to say there should always be contingencies for inspections. You always want to leave yourself an out unless you're getting the property for pennies on the dollar and you know it's a complete rehab. and you're planning on replacing everything anyway.

Next, I want to say I'm only a licensed deleader in MA. MA has the strictest lead laws in the country and every state reciprocates with MA because of that, which is why I got my MA license. I'm familiar with all of the MA laws, I've been licensed and working in the field for 3 years, but I don't know all of the NH laws, only some of them. I'm presently looking into getting my NH license so I can work on another Bigger Pockets member's house, it looks like just have to submit the proof of my MA license. So with that being said...

A "lead issue" can be many things, it depends on your definition of issue. "Issues" could be:

• There was a lead inspection done and it came back positive for lead.
• There was an order of "lead hazard reduction" and it wasn't done.
• There was a case of lead poisoning.
• There was unauthorized deleading done on the property.

Now the reality is that if there was an inspection and it wasn't deleaded, then the only issue is that the work needs to be done. The plus is that there is a grant program based on the tenants income, so there's a good chance you won't have to pay much for the work to be done. However, the work can be expensive, depending on what needs to be done. According to the website I'll link below, the average grant available is $11,800 per unit, but the owners are required to pay 10%. I have honestly never had a unit that cost that much, but it would completely depend on the renovations that have been done previously. If all the windows are covered in lead paint, they would have to be replaced. I've seen 3 families buildings with around 50 windows. The windows alone could cost over $10,000, but if you got a grant on that same building for $35,400, you'd only pay $3,540 anyway. That's less then the cost of the replacement windows, not even including the installation labor. 

As for affecting the rental income and marketability... yes it will. Once the property is legally deleaded, your rental income can go up and marketability has been increased since it's now lead safe for families and you can advertise it as such. It's a plus, not a negative.

If there was a case of lead poisoning, then there would have been an order of lead hazard reduction.

If there was an order for lead hazard reduction, that follow the property to the new owner. The property could have been legally taken off the rental market for a time to get the family out, then re-rented. That would have to be addressed. 

So, I'd suggest yes. Put in the offer and add contingencies for inspections and finding out the cost of solving the existing "lead paint issue". It could turn into huge negotiating tool for you. Let's say the lead abatement will cost $30,000. The seller doesn't need to know that you're going to apply for a grant for that, so you can use that $30k to negotiate a better price and end up with a better deal because of the "lead issue".  If you get me a copy of the inspection report I can give you an idea of how much it should cost to delead. If you can't get an inspection report, I'd get the property inspected yourself. It should cost less then $500, but it could pay off in the end! By the time you get the property, I'll have my NH license so I could even take the project on for you. 

Let me know if you need any more help,

Derreck

 This would be my concern as well. As mentioned, it may be legal on the state level, but technically speaking, the feds can still raid the property. Could they seize it? 

In MA if you knowingly rent to a drug dealer, they can seize the property even if you weren't the one dealing. The thought process being that you knowingly took drug profits for your rent, therefore YOU profited off the sale of the drugs. They seize anything that was purchased with drug money. 

I'd have to deeply study the laws before I'd personally take that kind of risk. Legal MJ is just too new for me to be comfortable with. 

 This would be my concern as well. As mentioned, it may be legal on the state level, but technically speaking, the feds can still raid the property. Could they seize it? 

In MA if you knowingly rent to a drug dealer, they can seize the property even if you weren't the one dealing. The thought process being that you knowingly took drug profits for your rent, therefore YOU profited off the sale of the drugs. They seize anything that was purchased with drug money. 

I'd have to deeply study the laws before I'd personally take that kind of risk. Legal MJ is just too new for me to be comfortable with. 

Welcome to the forum Patrick! When you find your first potential deal, shoot me the address and I'll check the lead paint status for you and let you know what needs to be done to the property to make it legal. Just send me a colleague request and you'll be able to find me when you need me!

You might want to find a seasoned, successful wholesaler on here or at a REIA and let them know what you're looking for. Just make sure they know what they're doing so you don't overpay and find youself coming up short on a rehab. Check out their business and talk to some of their other clients. Think of a wholesaler as someone who works for you finding properties before they go on the market. Don't buy something from a wholesaler that just grabs cheap stuff off the MLS, cause you can do that cheaper with an agent. You want a company that actually works to find properties, whether that's from driving around and making contact with pontential sellers or mailing them, you want the properties that haven't been seen yet by the general public (mls).

Good luck!

Hi Rich, welcome to the forum! Keep my contact info, when you find a property to buy, I'll help you with the lead paint status and whatever needs to be done to make it legal to rent it out.

Hi Jonathan, where you are on the border, always remember that NH is a much more landlord friendly state than MA. If you're looking at rentals, Lowell and Lawrence might be tempting, but I'd suggest Nashua, Salem, or Manchester as the NH equivilants. You will thank me when it comes time to evict someone. In NH it's a simple straightforward process that's easy enough that most folks I know do it themselves. In MA, it's a complicated legal process that usually requires a lawyer and lots of money. Also, rentals on single familys are pretty good up here if you can get them cheap enough to make them cash flow. People that want to live in NH but don't want to pay NH property taxes eat up the SF rentals. They don't stay on the market long. 

If you're considering section 8, then you can look in MA as they tend to be easier to evict. If you tell them you're going to evict, they usually leave on their own because if they actually get evicted they lose section 8.

If you're flipping, by all means, look south of the border. 

Keep my contact info, I can help you with the lead paint issues when you buy something.