Dear A***** P******* M*********,
I wish I could say that we, unfortunately
are unable to fulfill our lease requirements regarding duration, but, honestly,
I will be glad to see the house at ***** in our rear-view mirror.
When we moved into the house in late October, we were desperate due to a job
transfer that brought us to Durango. However, after living in it less than a
week, we were visited by two of Durango’s finest police officers who stopped by
to make an early morning visit. They were looking for a previous tenant.
After that event, we spoke to the guys over
at the gym on the property and found out that meth was being used and
manufactured in the house. This claim was corroborated when we spoke to the
owner of the property during one of his several unannounced visits to the
property. We also found out from the guys at the gym that the police department
conducted surveillance efforts from the upper floor of the gym, as the height
and cover of the location provided a good opportunity to observe the comings
and goings of people from the house. The guys at the gym also told us that
since they have been there, we are the longest tenant, and when there was an
active meth lab and distribution hub on the property, there would be people
tweaked out and strewn across the front yard. Charging them $1900 per month for
a warehouse that has been without heat and has numerous holes in the overhead,
leading to leaks in the rain and inclement weather is another indication of the
quality of the maintenance that has been conducted on the various buildings located
on this property.
I have numerous health issues that have
been exacerbated by living in such an environment. Although the inspection
sheet indicated that the carpets were replaced, and painting was done in October
2016, more needs to be done to remove these toxins. My physical health has been
compromised and I am now rated at 60% disabled through my military physician.
This is double the rate of when we moved into the home.
We also have developed skin irritations,
respiratory issues, anxiety, and depression, none of which were as severe prior
to moving into this house. The level of upkeep and maintenance at and around
the property is lacking too. As I noted on the move in inspection report, close
to half of the windows have been painted shut and will not open. Among those
that do open, the majority do not stay open due to the poor installation and maintenance
of these windows. Additionally, most screens on the windows are kept in place
with screws that have been driven in from the outside. This is a SERIOUS safety
hazard in the event of a fire, as it could certainly impede a swift and safe
escape.
During the winter, mice moved in and left
their mess. We were able to rid them from the house, but the stress of living
in such a state was not hospitable to a healthy life. Ants have also infested
the large bedroom (old garage space) and were not deterred by any of the
commercial bug repellants. We were able to cease their entrance into the house,
but I am not sure for how long. There is little wonder why these pests were
able to gain access to our house, as the windows are very drafty, and I had to
cover all of them in plastic sheeting during the winter.
We will be vacating the premises by June
15, 2018. We will leave the premises in better condition than when we moved in.
I would recommend you remediate the property from meth contamination with urgency,
or at least prior to renting it to another unsuspecting family. The failure to
disclose this type of information should be criminal. I would also recommend a
test of the quality of the well water, as contaminants from the chemicals used
on the premises could potentially have leached into the water table. Oh, and
you may want to inform any future tenants of the various spirits who also call
this home theirs, as we have been scratched, burned, shoved, and pushed by
things that we cannot see, as well as hearing auditory hallucinations of one
another’s voices when the other person is not home or in the room. Items have
also flown off the walls.
These are just a few of the things that we
will not be missing when we move. Keep our deposit if you must, but we cannot
stay longer than necessary. For the health of future residents, I urge you to
conduct proper meth lab remediation efforts and to inform potential renters of
the history associated with this property. Testing should also extend to the
well, as there is a risk of contamination there too.
Here are some links to articles on how to conduct
a meth lab cleanup, as well as the dangers associated with living in a home
that used to serve as a meth lab, with excerpts from the articles for a quick
glance of the dangers of living in a former meth lab and the steps that need to
be taken to remediate this dangerous issue.
When an Oregon family started experiencing
mysterious health problems soon after moving into a new home this summer, a
neighbor came forward with a likely explanation: The previous owners had
produced methamphetamine there. The house had never been properly cleaned after
the drug cooks moved out, but an environmental engineer who studies meth labs
says the family may not have been safe even if a cleanup had taken place. His
research suggests that once a house has been used to make meth, the drug can
continue to percolate in the walls for years.
The biggest filter in your home is the carpet and
carpet pad. Airborne particles float through the air and settle on the carpet
and get embedded in the fibers of the carpet including meth residue. If you
come into contact with that carpet the residue can be absorbed into your body
dermally. This is why children are more susceptible to the contaminants than
adults because they are the ones that spend more time on the floor therefore
having more carpet to skin contact.
The Cost of
Meth Cleanup
Cleaning a home that has been used to make meth is an expensive and arduous process and must be passed off by the health department as habitable before it can be rented out again. A friend of mine was able to buy several homes very inexpensively because they had been the sites of meth production labs and the landlord was financially unable to fix them. Each of the homes required full carpet and drywall replacement throughout the home.
Once these were removed and disposed of properly, he had to power wash each room with a chemical cleaning solution. Before he could replace anything, the health department had to come and check for residue and give the green light to begin restoring the homes. All of this work had to be done while wearing a protective suit. After new carpet, new drywall and new paint, he could finally rent out the homes. Some experts estimate the cost of repairs to a meth home to be around $30,000.
Cleaning a home that has been used to make meth is an expensive and arduous process and must be passed off by the health department as habitable before it can be rented out again. A friend of mine was able to buy several homes very inexpensively because they had been the sites of meth production labs and the landlord was financially unable to fix them. Each of the homes required full carpet and drywall replacement throughout the home.
Once these were removed and disposed of properly, he had to power wash each room with a chemical cleaning solution. Before he could replace anything, the health department had to come and check for residue and give the green light to begin restoring the homes. All of this work had to be done while wearing a protective suit. After new carpet, new drywall and new paint, he could finally rent out the homes. Some experts estimate the cost of repairs to a meth home to be around $30,000.
The cleanup is not just limited to scrubbing and
removing garbage. Often running into the tens of thousands of dollars, meth lab
cleanup is strictly regulated and must be inspected by a government agency
before a property can be deemed livable again. If a meth lab has not been
properly cleaned, the property owner will not be allowed to rent it out. A meth
lab location must be cleaned by professionals, and it gets very expensive. When
a meth lab is discovered in a rental property, the owner of the property is
responsible for the cost of cleanup.
Straightforward decontamination jobs can cost
$5,000 to $10,000, according to Mazzuca. Surfaces must be rinsed with special
detergents, rooms stripped of carpeting and other materials and meth residue
must be sucked off of walls and other hidden surfaces.
