Extra expenses for pre-'78 homes? XRF Testing?

[Lynn McGeein]

We have an offer accepted on 1974 home, but have avoided anything 78 & back until now as they are already requiring abatement in public housing, so assume it's going to get even harder for the lead-safe EPA rules for owners of private rentals as well.

We have scheduled an XRF test to try to get the lead-free certificate that Maryland allows, but if it doesn't pass, how much more expensive is it to have work done using lead-safe contractors and/or maintaining/using your own certification? I know the class is like $300, but I'm looking at more of cost to comply with rules vs newer homes that don't require the special contractors or lead-safe rules. Do painters, plumbers, electricians, etc., charge a lot more to work on pre-78 homes now that they must be certified?

I'd just pass on the home, but having trouble finding newer homes in the areas I want -- seems like if you can get it at a good price around here, it's either old or soggy -- like they built on all the dry land pre-1978, so just trying to see if repairs, turnovers are going to be much more expensive, as we've decided we'd rather have old than soggy.

[Brian Levredge]

As a rough estimate, I think it's safe to add 40% extra to the cost of a project. This of course can depend on the amount of work that has to be done. Just the HEPA wet/dry vacuum alone costs roughly $800. Certainly that can be used over and over but what really drives the extra cost is all the labor that has to go into the prep before the job (sealing off windows, doors, and vents), the additional materials required, and the labor to carefully remove all the plastic and vacuum when done, which can take quite awhile to do. Then you have haz mat removal costs, pre testing and post testing costs, which will all run hundreds of dollars more.