Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Leveraging, renting vs owning, making an investment or buying a home?
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Hogwild
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Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by Hogwild »

Hi everyone:

I'm a homeowner in the GTA. When we did some work in our basement in 2013, I discovered lead paint on the walls. The paint tested for significant concentrations. Fast forward to now. I want to sell the house some time this year.

I looked into lead cleanup companies, and OH, what a nightmare! More on that later if anyone's interested. BTW, by remediation, I mean damp ragging under zero-pressure environment followed by sealing the walls with encapsulant paint. There's no way I'm gonna pay to have it all removed, it costs a fortune. At least the encapsulation process is more reasonably-priced.

My question: Friends are suggesting that since the lead is just in paint form, I try to sell the house to someone who is a DIY type and just let them know about the situation. They figured I could just agree to discount the price of the house equal to the costs of the lead work to be done. After all, tons of houses in Toronto have lead paint if you look hard enough. Is this recommended, or will even savvy DIY-type people scoff at a house until remediation/cleanup is done?

Thanks in advance.
Just a Guy
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Re: Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by Just a Guy »

Technically you can sell the home to anyone as long as you don't hide the fact that it has lead paint. It doesn't have to go to a DIY person, and you don't even have to drop the price (unless you have problems selling it). The only thing you need to do is disclose the issue.

Some people don't want to buy a place that had bugs, some don't want a place where someone died, there are all sorts of reasons why someone may not want to buy, but there is always someone else who'all buy the place "as is", as they are either better educated or they don't care.

It's the same with any issue that you're aware of, as long as it's disclosed there is no issue.
Hogwild
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Re: Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by Hogwild »

JustAGuy:

I appreciate your answer, however it does sound a bit hedged. Are you speaking from any experience with this sort of thing? Would anyone else like to chime in?

I'm sure someone somewhere might be interested in the house, the question is...how many people. Will they be hard or easy to find? I dont' want to spend a lot of time looking for the right buyer. Also, how would I find such person. Maybe I should describe the house in my ad as needing a small amount of DIY work on the basement?
Spudd
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Re: Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by Spudd »

I would just tell my realtor about it and let them determine the best way to handle it, personally. Given the hot GTA market I suspect many buyers would brush it off as nothing important and not even investigate what's involved in remediation until after they move in.
Just a Guy
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Re: Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by Just a Guy »

Why are you making it your job? Hire a realtor. There are millions of homes across the country with issues like lead paint, asbestos, UFI insulation, aluminum wiring, mild, whatever...that change hands all the time. Your house isn't unique, and most people don't even bother trying to do an environmental cleanup.

From talking to realtors, and I talk to them on a daily basis, more people have issues with the colour scheme of places than old paint.
Hogwild
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Re: Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by Hogwild »

In my case I don't want to use a realtor. TBH, I never felt they were worth it. In my case, for reasons I won't get into here, I think that is particularly true.

Thanks for that info. Any more opinions?
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Pickles
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Re: Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by Pickles »

Allow the prospective buyers to bow out if they want too. I bet they won't blink. It's not asbestos.

Don't budge an inch on the price due to this "problem" Any house built up to the late 60s has lead paint. It's a given not a sudden unexpected flaw. When I sold my parents' home, the only flaw detected was the lead paint in three rooms. They wanted several thousand off the agreed upon price and I told them to shove it. They bought the house.
Regards,
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twa2w
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Re: Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by twa2w »

Agree with comments so far.
Lead wasn't actually fully banned from paint until 1991(from 1976 to 91 it was limited to. 5%) and any popcorn or textured ceiling mixture before 1979 most likely contains asbestos.( asbestos was also used in siding and accoustical tiles and some insulation). Most older house with copper piping have lead solder as do older plumping fixtures.

This means approx 25-30% of all houses in Canada have either or both present.( likely under another coat of paint). I suspect 95% of people who own these homes are unaware.

Lead paint has a sweet taste and children can eat chipped paint or lick walls. They can also inhale dust with high lead content - exterior paint had higher lead content and some lead could end up in soils around house where kids play.

Not sure you legally have to disclose lead paint - that would depend on the laws in your province but always a good idea to avoid future problems.
Hogwild
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Re: Lead paint cleanup-can I sell without it?

Post by Hogwild »

Thanks everyone. That gives me some nice perspective on things.
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