A small article in today's Vancouver Sun, tells of a former grow operation in a home in the 1200 block of Mellis Drive in Richmond. The said home has now been sold under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, with a $266,000 profit!!
While I agree, these homes should be seized, I do not agree that they should subsequently be resold, whether it has been remediated or not! I feel they should be bulldozed, and resold as vacant lots.
As a realtor, I have never advocated the purchase of a former grow op, for several reasons:
1) A certificate of remediation from the city does not guarantee there are no longer issues in the home. There could very well still be mold issues that no one caught, or it was at a stage where it couldn't be found at the time of remediation.
2) Any person(s) who purchase these kinds of homes, now have to disclose the fact that is was a former grow op. This does not stop at the first sale after remediation. It continues for the life of the home. That disclosure must be passed along no matter how many times it changes ownership!
3) This reason is the absolute #1 reason that I will not sell former grow ops. SAFETY OF SUBSEQUENT OWNERS!!. We have heard horror stories about new owners experiencing home invasions and drive by shootings by former clients of the previous "business", when these so called clients were not aware of the change of ownership.
The fact that these homes are being resold (and for a profit to boot!) is very concerning to me. The fact that it is the government that is doing this is even more concerning. This practice needs to STOP. There will be people who will get injured, or worse, killed by this practice.
Lets get this viral if you agree with me.
Please leave your comments.
Thank you.
Email
