All Forum Posts by: Derreck Wells

We're talking about 2 different things. I'm saying find the low spot in the floor and cut in a sump instead of drilling a bunch of holes in the floor to drain the water as was suggested to her by the water guy. You're talking about installing a French drain around the perimeter of the basement.  

This is all I was talking about, except with the drain going into your drain instead of outside...

If the state allows you to charge up to $56 but not more then the cost of running and verifying the application, and you're only charging $25 and losing money. I ask you this... Why? Why would you knowingly lose money when you don't have to? Seems like a very poor way to run a business.  

I live in Pelham NH, you can't get any more south without crossing the border. I'd honestly recommend Hudson NH if you're going to live in it. From Hudson you can reach Route 3 or Route 93 in 15 minutes or so, the schools are decent, so you should get a decent pool of tenants, and the rents are mid to high so again, a decent pool of tenants. Taxes aren't terrible either.

If they said drilling the floor will solve the problem, it's not a plumbing issue, it would be ground water, probably seeping in through the foundation. Drilling holes in the concrete floor allows the water to soak into the ground underneath, but this is actually horrible for the stability of the floor. The water can compact the soil and cause low spots. The right way to do it is to cut a sump hole at the lowest point in the floor with a pump in it to pump the water into your drain. The pumps have floats that turn them on when the water comes up. You can install a backup pump that runs in a car battery for power failures if they're common in that neighborhood. All together it should only cost you about $1000 to have someone cut the floor and dig the hole and set it all up. 

Chances are your real estate agent didn't inform you of the lead laws (they rarely do). In MA, if the property isn't deleaded when you buy it, you are responsible for the past tenants that may have been lead poisoned while living there unless you delead within 90 days of closing. The state is trying to get every rental property in MA lead safe, and they figured this was the best way to do it.

You also cannot rent to someone with a child under 6 unless you have a lead certificate on file with the state. If you rent to a couple with no kids and they have a baby, you are then required to delead the unit with the added expense of putting the tenants up in a hotel during the process.

If a unit is a 2 or 3 bedroom, chances are you'll end up having a family apply. You cannot deny the family because of the lead paint either, that's considered discrimination (you're refusing them because they have a kid) and is against the anti-discrimination laws of the state. If there are kids under 6, you NEED to have the unit deleaded and have a lead certificate on file.

If the unit has been inspected, but not deleaded, you also cannot do any construction or remodeling in the unit, they consider that unauthorized deleading and it will prevent you from ever getting a lead cert. The best you would be able to get is a Letter of Environmental Protection, which tells everyone you did illegal work then hired a licensed deleader in to fix it. It generally increases your insurance rate and decreases your tenant pool (who wants to rent from a shady landlord that does illegal work?). 

You can use this in your negotiations on any future properties you look at. If it doesn't have a lead certificate on file, it IS going to cost you to delead, the state has pretty much made it mandatory at this point (at least if you want to avoid the liability of a lead paint lawsuit from a past tenant). Don't let that scare you though, I've had clients negotiate $20k off the selling price, and I only charged them $10k for the deleading, so it can actually work in your favor for it not to have been done yet.

On the plus side, when you delead the property it will actually increase your tenant pool and the rent you'll be able to charge them. A deleaded unit is more valuable to a tenant then a non-deleaded unit, even if they don't have kids under 6, they still like to know they are safe from lead paint issues. Anyone can get high blood lead levels, the law only specifies under 6 because it affects the developing brain more severely then a it affects a fully developed brain.

If you want to message me any addresses you want to look at, I can check the database and see if there was ever an inspection done on the property for you. I'll be able to tell if there's a lead cert on file already too. Maybe you'll get lucky and it's already been done.

Good Luck on your investment!

Chances are your real estate agent didn't inform you of the lead laws (they rarely do). In MA, if the property isn't deleaded when you buy it, you are responsible for the past tenants that may have been lead poisoned while living there unless you delead within 90 days of closing. The state is trying to get every rental property in MA lead safe, and they figured this was the best way to do it.

You can use this in your negotiations on any properties you look at. If it doesn't have a lead certificate on file, it IS going to cost you to delead, the state has pretty much made it mandatory at this point (at least if you want to avoid the liability of a lead paint lawsuit from a past tenant). Don't let that scare you though, I've had clients negotiate $20k off the selling price, and I only charged them $10k for the deleading, so it can actually work in your favor for it not to have been done yet.

You also cannot rent to someone with a child under 6 unless you have a lead certificate on file with the state. If you rent to a couple with no kids and they have a baby, you are then required to delead the unit with the added expense of putting the tenants up in a hotel during the process.

If a unit is a 2 or 3 bedroom, chances are you'll end up having a family apply. You cannot deny the family because of the lead paint either, that's considered discrimination (you're refusing them because they have a kid) and is against the anti-discrimination laws of the state. If there are kids under 6, you NEED to have the unit deleaded and have a lead certificate on file.

If the unit has been inspected, but not deleaded, you also cannot do any construction or remodeling in the unit, they consider that unauthorized deleading and it will prevent you from ever getting a lead cert. The best you would be able to get is a Letter of Environmental Protection, which tells everyone you did illegal work then hired a licensed deleader in to fix it. It generally increases your insurance rate and decreases your tenant pool (who wants to rent from a shady landlord that does illegal work?).

On the plus side, when you delead the property it will actually increase your tenant pool and the rent you'll be able to charge them. A deleaded unit is more valuable to a tenant then a non-deleaded unit, even if they don't have kids under 6, they still like to know they are safe from lead paint issues. Anyone can get high blood lead levels, the law only specifies under 6 because it affects the developing brain more severely then a it affects a fully developed brain.

Good Luck on your future investment!

In MA, this scenario means you're screwed. MA is a very tenant friendly state and it can take 6 months to a year to evict a tenant if they know what they're doing. I would strongly advise you don't take anyone's advise on this issue unless they're from MA. It's been a while since I've read the MA landlord tenant laws, but I don't think you're able to charge 4x the rent (as much as I love the idea), however, if I remember correctly you can charge a late fee. 

Hi Devin,

Chances are your real estate agent didn't inform you of the lead laws (they rarely do). In MA, if the property isn't deleaded when you buy it, you are responsible for the past tenants that may have been lead poisoned while living there unless you delead within 90 days of closing. The state is trying to get every rental property in MA lead safe, and they figured this was the best way to do it.

You can use this in your negotiations on any properties you look at. If it doesn't have a lead certificate on file, it IS going to cost you to delead, the state has pretty much made it mandatory at this point (at least if you want to avoid the liability of a lead paint lawsuit from a past tenant). Don't let that scare you though, I've had clients negotiate $20k off the selling price, and I only charged them $10k for the deleading, so it can actually work in your favor for it not to have been done yet.

You also cannot rent to someone with a child under 6 unless you have a lead certificate on file with the state. If you rent to a couple with no kids and they have a baby, you are then required to delead the unit with the added expense of putting the tenants up in a hotel during the process.

If a unit is a 2 or 3 bedroom, chances are you'll end up having a family apply. You cannot deny the family because of the lead paint either, that's considered discrimination (you're refusing them because they have a kid) and is against the anti-discrimination laws of the state. If there are kids under 6, you NEED to have the unit deleaded and have a lead certificate on file.

If the unit has been inspected, but not deleaded, you also cannot do any construction or remodeling in the unit, they consider that unauthorized deleading and it will prevent you from ever getting a lead cert. The best you would be able to get is a Letter of Environmental Protection, which tells everyone you did illegal work then hired a licensed deleader in to fix it. It generally increases your insurance rate and decreases your tenant pool (who wants to rent from a shady landlord that does illegal work?).

On the plus side, when you delead the property it will actually increase your tenant pool and the rent you'll be able to charge them. A deleaded unit is more valuable to a tenant then a non-deleaded unit, even if they don't have kids under 6, they still like to know they are safe from lead paint issues. Anyone can get high blood lead levels, the law only specifies under 6 because it affects the developing brain more severely then a it affects a fully developed brain.

If you want to message me any addresses you want to look at, I can check the database and see if there was ever an inspection done on the property for you. I'll be able to tell if there's a lead cert on file already too. Maybe you'll get lucky and it's already been done.

Good Luck on your future investment!

Hopefully as a Broker you know about the Lead Laws. If you don't have the property deleaded within 90 days of closing, you're responsible for all past tenants that might come back and claim their kids got lead poisoned there, if you do have it deleaded, you're no longer on the hook for them. You just need to make sure it stays lead safe moving forward to protect your tenants (and yourself from lawsuits). If there's already a lead cert on file for all the units, you're in the clear.

 Trim, moldings, walls, floors, ceilings, and anything else that has paint on it could be lead paint. It wasn't only used on trim and moldings. Some stain back then also had lead in it. The x-ray gun will find it if it's there. 

The law still states that you need a lead certificate on file, whether the property looks move in ready to you or not, so you will still need to get a lead inspection done, address any hazards found, and get a letter of compliance issued. Plus it's the only way to avoid liability from past tenants. There might have been lead paint on the trim at one time. And even if there wasn't, you can't prove it. If a professional tenant comes and claims there was and you don't have a Certificate on file with the state, you lose. 

You're $6k for renovations is too low. 

Chances are your real estate agent didn't inform you of the lead laws (they rarely do). In MA, if the property isn't deleaded when you buy it, you are responsible for the past tenants that may have been lead poisoned while living there unless you delead within 90 days of closing. The state is trying to get every rental property in MA lead safe, and they figured this was the best way to do it.

You can use this in your negotiations on any new properties you look at. If it doesn't have a lead certificate on file, it IS going to cost you to delead, the state has pretty much made it mandatory at this point, at least if you want to avoid the liability of a lead paint lawsuit from a past tenant. Don't let that scare you though, I've had clients negotiate $20k off the selling price, and I only charged them $10k for the deleading, so it can actually work in your favor for it not to have been done yet.

You also cannot rent to someone with a child under 6 unless you have a lead certificate on file with the state. If you rent to a couple with no kids and they have a baby, you are then required to delead the unit with the added expense of putting the tenants up in a hotel during the process.

This is a 3 bedroom, so you'll end up having a family apply. You cannot deny the family because of the lead paint either, that's considered discrimination (you're refusing them because they have a kid) and is against the anti-discrimination laws of the state. If there are kids under 6, you NEED to have the unit deleaded and have a lead certificate on file.

If the unit has been inspected, but not deleaded, you also cannot do any construction or remodeling in the unit, they consider that unauthorized deleading and it will prevent you from ever getting a lead cert. The best you would be able to get is a Letter of Environmental Protection, which tells everyone you did illegal work then hired a licensed deleader in to fix it. It generally increases your insurance rate and decreases your tenant pool (who wants to rent from a shady landlord that does illegal work?). So if this is the case, you need to delead before you can renovate.

But, when you delead the property it will actually increase your tenant pool and the rent you'll be able to charge them. A deleaded unit is more valuable to a tenant then a non-deleaded unit, even if they don't have kids under 6, they still like to know they are safe from lead paint issues. Anyone can get high blood lead levels, the law only specifies under 6 because it affects the developing brain more severely then a it affects a fully developed brain.

If you want to message me the address, I can check the database and see if there was ever an inspection done on the property for you. I'll be able to tell if there's a lead cert on file already too. Maybe you'll get lucky and it's already been done.

Good Luck on your investment!