Buying a house where cannabis used to be grown

easilydistracted

I am the unluckiest housebuyer in the world I swear. You may have enjoyed my previous threads about planning to buy near falling down houses, disappearing vendors and underpinned houses.

We are attempting to buy the third house we have agreed a deal on. We've had a pretty sound but rather strange survey highlighting that there is an extra water supply to the loft, an excessive amount of felt insulation that needs removing up there too as it will cause condensation and also that the brick outhouse has brand new electrics but the main house ones are ancient.

I rang the surveyor to chat through and he started chuckling and explained the vendors were clearly growing cannabis there (none left on his arrival thankfully). The house is currently empty and seems ok, but I am wondering whether I should mention this to the solicitor just to make sure there are no major neighbourhood disputes. Equally I don't want to cause a massive drama.

Also, a question I guess best know to law enforcement officers, do people think old 'customers' are likely to turn up on the doorstep. I have a vague understanding (professionally!) that the 'farm' is used as a seperate supply then the drugs are prepared and sold elsewhere. I would be pretty worried if lots of people are turning up on my doorstep trying to buy.

Would this worry other buyers and if so why?

HappyMJ

No worry at all. The buyers do not turn up at the growers they have dealers in between so nothing at all for you to worry about.

The neighbours will probably appreciate new people in so I wouldn't worry about them.

Survey things don't seem to be much at all. It'll just take you less than a day to clear out whatever needs clearing out in the loft.

easilydistracted

HappyMJ wrote: »

No worry at all. The buyers do not turn up at the growers they have dealers in between so nothing at all for you to worry about.

The neighbours will probably appreciate new people in so I wouldn't worry about them.

Survey things don't seem to be much at all. It'll just take you less than a day to clear out whatever needs clearing out in the loft.

Thanks, that's about what I was thinking but some of my colleagues have been panicking me and someone even suggest it would affect the value, though I couldn't see why. Happy days

G_M

I would never give out my address to end customers - only to the distribution network I use. And even these guys would not know where I actually grow my product, so no, you won't have people knocking on your door.

You might want to get a full electrical inspection. We use a lot of power on lighting (and I mean ALOT!) and this can damage/burn out cables etc.

In some properties we by-pass the main consumer unit and connect up directly to the external supply. This cuts our bills, and also removes the risk of the electricity supplier seeing how much power we are using on lighting.

You might also have a residual smell. Personally I find the smell of fresh tomatoes quite pleasant, but of cour.... oh! Er... what? Did you say cannabis???

Lionel_Thinkbag

A house we were thinking about viewing turned out to be a former cannabis farm AND a murder scene. And they never found the body!:eek: Also it was burned down.

Anyway, if I were you I'd get an industrial size tub of oregano and if any former customers turn up you'll be quids in :rotfl:

DaftyDuck

As regulars on this forum know, I move house regularly. The users on the gardening section know me as a keen gardener...

Three years ago, I was relocated by Pfizer to Kent. I rented in Herne Bay whilst buying. Furniture was brought down by removal co... I moved the garden, cuttings, and many, many grobags by van myself, from Cambridge, leaving after work, so arriving late at night, in the dark....

I wondered why the neighbours were... quiet towards me. In my innocence, I thought all the staples left in the window frame were the result of someone putting sheets up over windows, and that the new bathroom and tiling was just the first bit of the LL smartning the property up. It had been a nunnery, and it was a bit run down.

Turned out it had been a drug-growers paradise, floods in the bathroom from the irrigation, black polythene over the windows, and dawn raids by the police. Neighbours had heard I had something to do with drugs (Pfizer ... well...), and late arrivals with vans of plants and grobags...

Anyway, for the OP, no, we had no midnight callers, there were no dealers knocking on the windows, and the rozzers didn't raid us at dawn. We did find the neighbours were just so grateful that the herbs were.... Dill, thyme, lovage and tbe like, not evil weed. The cops did visit once, but only because they'd lost a colleague, and thought he'd popped in (no, I never understood that either ).

We did get a water or electricity bill for several hundred quid, but I'd taken a photo of the meter. I don't think it would have panned out as a problem, but might be worth watching out for.

Oh, then there's always the problem of old G_M turning up and begging for a bit more of the hard stuff. From what I hear, he's moved on to marrows and pumpkins.... Poor old blighter, he'll be snorting Phostrogen neat and mainlining Tomorite....

chanz4

100% get the electrics checked if you buy it, as the cables are likely to of been messed with. Also has the mains been left live

easilydistracted

Thanks for the advice everyone. The electrics look pretty dodgy and we're expecting to have to upgrade them. Surveyor recommended electrical survey which we're having done and also getting a Gas Safe engineer in. Hopefully this will be enough precaution. G-M you really made me laugh

Dan-Dan

So just the old dealers turning up to worry about then...

jonewer

chanz4 wrote: »

100% get the electrics checked if you buy it, as the cables are likely to of been messed with. Also has the mains been left live

Absolutely. The mains is normally diverted so they dont get hit with massive bills and also to rig up booby traps.

I'd get it assessed before moving in, tbh.

jayss

Who is selling the house?

I mean we're the um farmers caught and is any court action over?
Or did they squat or rent it or not get caught?

Am just be nosy really. It's an odd one, I'd worry about any damage more than customers/police arriving.