Telltale Signs That A House Has Been Used For Drugs

Re: Drug house buyers risk health, front page, Oct. 27

Your recent articles on drug homes rightly remind all of us of the
dangers to anyone who purchases a home that turns out to have been
used as a growing operation or drug lab.

Prospective home buyers who don't hire a qualified and experienced
home inspector should be aware that there are certain warning signs a
house has been used as a growing operation. These include holes or
patches in the ceiling in unusual places or a patch in the drywall
close to electrical services; painted-over staple marks or evidence of
plastic stapled to walls or ceilings; disconnected toilets or
dismantled furnace connections, and extraneous ductwork or piles of
unused duct pipe.

These indicators don't mean a house must have been used as a growing
operation, but they do mean you need to pay attention and ask
questions, since buying a home is the single largest financial
decision you are likely to make in your life.

Owen Dickie

President

Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors of
B.C.

Kelowna