All Forum Posts by: Derreck Wells

Welcome to BP!

Derreck

Originally posted by @Jeff S.:

My (non expert) understanding:

Physically, lead paint is hazardous to children if they ingest or inhale it.  Not likely if paint is not peeling/flaking.

Legally, lead paint it hazardous if you know (via testing) that it there. Also, if you do not properly disclose that it *might* be present.

My conclusion:  assume (but do not test) that it might be there.  Take good care of all painted surfaces. (And don't get legal advice from the Internet.)

Legally, lead paint is hazardous whether you've had it tested or not. You as the owner of the property, are responsible for your property, period. 

In some states, however, there are no state level laws, you just need to follow the Federal laws. You need to figure out what your local laws are. A simple google search for "[your state here] lead laws" will get you the relevant results. Here's NY's page... NY Lead Laws and here's Arkansas' laws... Arkansas Lead Laws and here's Colorado's... Colorado's Lead Laws. That covers all the folks who commented on this post so far. If you guys have rental properties, it's your responsibility to know those laws and act accordingly. 

The law in MA and many other states is that you cannot rent a unit in a building built before 1978 to a family with kids under 7 unless you have a Lead Certificate on file. Whether you know this law or not, you'll still get sued if a child has lead poisoning and you don't have a Lead Cert on file, and you will lose. There's also the anti-discrimination law that says you can't exclude a family because they have small children. Basically, if you have a 2 bedroom or larger unit for rent in MA, you have to have it inspected and deleaded or you're breaking one of those laws. 

As far as buying the x-ray gun, that's not gonna happen. It's an x-ray gun. X-rays = radiation. That requires training and huge expense. Not to mention a new gun alone costs upwards of $20,000. You can get them used on ebay for half that. 

Why do you want this? What are you trying to accomplish? 

Most states have a window of time where you're not held liable for lead issues after you buy the property. If you get the property inspected for LED within 90 days or whatever New York's statute is you'll be fine. For now, I would definitely get them the lead disclosure. Thats Federal you're supposed to give that to everybody.

Chan, if I remember correctly, you're in Lowell. Give me a call, I'm on a job in Lowell for the next couple of days, maybe I can swing by the property and take a peek. I can let you know what to expect.

Derreck

Welcome to Bigger Pockets! 

Lead paint can be a scary subject when buying rental properties. The state of Massachusetts has mandated that a property owner can't rent an apartment built before 1978 to a family with a child under 7. It is also illegal to discriminate against a family for having a child under 7, even if its because you know there's lead paint in the unit. The only safe course of action for a property owneris to obtain a lead certificate. 

The benefits of legal deleading are many. Not only are you protected from lawsuits that can cost you your property or even millions of dollars in judgements, you get the added benefit of being able to advertise your units as being lead safe, thus bringing in a higher monthly rent over the standard "I don't know if there's lead, sign this disclosure." rental units. Which is actually illegal if they have a family and doesn't protect you!!! You need a Lead Certificate to be protected!

The deleading process isn't that difficult. I've outlined it below.

• Obtain a lead inspection. I have an Inspector I like to use, he's inexpensive and will get us in his schedule quickly, but you are free to call anyone you like.
• Give us a copy of the inspection. You can have the inspector email me a copy. At this point I can give you an estimated cost of deleading.
• If you approve of the estimate, I'll need to see the property and view all the units that need lead abatement. I'll work up a materials list based on the best method of deleading each componant. This process can take up to 2 hours, you do not need to be present for this. 
• I'll then write up a contract with a firm proposal for the deleading and get it to you within 24 hours of my walkthrough.
• Upon signing of the contract and paying of the deposit, I will issue the required 10 day notification or waiver to the agencies involved (The local and State Board of Health, etc)
• When the required waiting period has expired, we will begin work. The duration of the project will vary based on the amount of componants that need to be deleaded. Depending on the scope of work, the tenants may need to be relocated until the final inspection is completed. It's best to delead when the unit is vacant, it is less work for us, therefore less expense for you. 
• Once the work is complete, the inspector comes back in and reinspects to be sure all work is up to code. At this time he also takes dust wipe tests of the units. These wipes get sent to a lab for independent analysis. Upon approval from the lab, the units pass the inspection and a Lead Certificate is issued. 
• You are now legal to rent the unit to any family that passes your approval process!

I've seen a discussion very similar to this before, I don't remember hte outcome but if you search the forum, you should find it.

It's my understanding there are people who set up an LLC for each property. You're attorney can deal with all the legal filings as you get old and feeble minded so they don't get messed up.

My question is this; "Are you planning to be a slumlord?" I believe the best protection against lawsuits is to do things legally. When you buy a building, have it deleaded. The result? You're not going to get sued for lead paint. If the water heater starts putting out rusty water, replace it. If the roof starts to leak, fix it. If you don't give the tenant legal ground to stand on, they sink. 

The biggest issue I've seen with my friend's section 8 tenants is the bugs. They tend to bring roaches and bedbugs with them when they move in. On the other hand, they're easier to evict then "normal" tenants.

My tip to new landlords is this. Charge enough for the rent so that Section 8 pays you what you really want for the apartment. I'll use round numbers to keep this simple. If you have a unit that you'll get $1000 from a "normal" tenant, then list it for $1200. Section 8 will pay the $1000 and the tenant is responsible for the other $200. When they don't pay, you're still getting what you originally wanted for the unit. Now, don't tell the tenant they don't have to pay. Every month ask them for the rent and listen to their excuses. (They'll be entertaining.) Never say "Don't worry about it." always act upset. Let the arrears grow. Sometimes, they'll get you a lump sum from whatever agency they get their housing from which makes a nice bonus, but even if they never pay, you're still getting what you would be from a "normal" tenant plus you're getting something WAY more important. Leverage. If the tenant becomes difficult, you have a legal standpoint to evict, they're behind on their rent. Now the best part is, if you simply tell said tenant that you're fed up with the non-payment and are intending to evict, they'll move. If section 8 finds out they haven't been paying, they'll lose their benefits, so the tenant will be anxious to move without Section 8 finding out why. They won't want to go to court, they'll just go. 

Don't be afraid of the deleading process. It's not as scary as people make it out to be. I don't know what MD's lead laws look like, but here in MA, you can't rent a unit to a family with a child under 7 without a lead certificate on file for that property. You also can't discriminate against a family, so basically they have the laws written so you have to delead any rental with more than one bedroom. However, there are financing programs you can take advantage of in terms of no interest, no payment loans that get paid on the sale of the house as well as low interest loans that you can pay off anytime. There are also $1500 per unit tax breaks for deleading. So while they have basically made it mandatory, they've made it as painless as possible. In terms of cost, again I don't know MD, but here it can range from $2000 to $5000 per unit, counting the common/exterior as a unit. So I'd consider a building with 3 rental units to be 4 units in my "guesstimating". On a flip, that number can be substantial, but can benefit by gaining a higher price on the sale. On a buy and hold retirement plan, that $10-$20K can roll into the budget fairly easily. 

Good luck with your retirement plan!

Derreck

 Credit Report / Back Ground

Wait a minute. In your profile it says that your a lead paint supervisor. How did you get licensed if you don't know the laws?