Hi, I am in the market for a home and found a nice one in a nice neighborhood (upper middle class), with a huge unfinished basement. I asked the real estate agent a lot of questions, including if the previous owner used it for illegal activity. He said yes, it was used to grow marijuana. I ended up doing more research into this. The house was actually part of a ring involving half a dozen homes. The grow houses are set up by Vietnamese from Canada mainly. The growers immediately cut into power outside the meter, cut holes in the floors and chimneys to vent the humid air out of the house, and they basically turned this nice home into a green houses that can make $500k in one year on potent pot. The problem I've heard, in addition to the repairs needed for the chimney and wall damage, the homes end up full of mold. Some people freak out about the smallest amount of mold, others are more sensible and accept a bit. This house was a grow operation for about 5 months before the cops raided it. Given what I've told you about this house, do you think the mold might be so bad that the house will always have a problem unless it's stripped to the studs? Is there any simple way to check for mold of this type? The walls are all painted. One of the floors has new carpet, perhaps to cover up some floor damage? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I'd get a mold inspection first. The real estate agent could be lying! Say they've been growing for years. OR if you read it, cops are idiots. period. If the agent won't let you have a mold inspection from a professional you hired, then most likely it's really bad. I freak about mold because I saw this one show where this guy died working in his basement for a couple months that had mold. Also, if you have any children it will affect them more even with the tiniest amount.