GROW-OPS A REAL-ESTATE NIGHTMARE

Weed Cultivated In 10,000 Homes: Sq. Problem So Prevalent, Association Is
Helping Agents Spot The Telltale Signs

It was a freshly painted bungalow on a quiet suburban street. The young
couple were so taken that they bought without having the house inspected.
Months later, patches of mould began seeping through the fresh paint. The
window frames were rotten.

A building inspector sent by the insurance company delivered the bad news.
The bungalow had been used as a marijuana greenhouse. The mould was a
by-product of the hot, humid conditions in the makeshift grow-op.

The Surete du Quebec estimates that more than 10,000 homes across Quebec
are being used for pot cultivation, including at least 5,000 in the
Montreal area.

The problem has become so prevalent that the Association des agents et
courtiers en immobiliers du Quebec (ACAIQ) held a one-day information
session to help real-estate agents spot the telltale signs of a grow-op.

In some instances, they are already well aware of the signs. ACAIQ recently
lifted the licences of two agents who knowingly represented home buyers who
turned their properties into grow-ops.

The association has begun at least 20 investigations involving 200
suspicious real-estate transactions, said Robert Nadeau, general manager of
the professional body representing Quebec's 16,000 real-estate agents and
brokers.

"We touched on the topic briefly last year during a session on fraud.
Suddenly, brokers and agents were appearing out of nowhere with stories of
houses they'd seen or sold that seemed a little suspicious. "

A police crackdown on grow-ops in forested areas and isolated farmland has
pushed some of the trade behind closed doors. The Surete du Quebec
estimates that half of all the pot grown comes from interior grow-ops.

The drug trade's house of choice is a modest bungalow with an attached
garage and unfinished basement in small towns or quiet suburbs that tend to
empty out during the day.

The first thing the grower does is secure and cover the basement windows.
Powerful 1,000-watt grow lamps are installed in the ceiling and extra water
lines are sometimes brought through to irrigate the plants. The main
electrical entry will be bypassed so that the operation can tap into
tremendous amounts of electricity without drawing the attention of
Hydro-Quebec. The lights boost the temperature in the house to 30 or 35
degrees C.

In winter, the hot air rises and turns to vapour when it meets the cold
outdoor air. The resulting moisture builds in the attic and promotes the
growth of mould, which can in turn lead to respiratory problems. The
humidity also causes rust and corrosion, especially water heaters and
baseboard heaters.

The moisture buildup and resulting mould problems last long after the pot
growers have moved on, said building inspector Germain Frechette. Other
problems also occurs. Walls may be torn out, the electrical entry cut and
holes punched in floors, ceilings and walls to create ventilation.

The economics of the business are simple, according to the police. It takes
45 days for a marijuana plant to mature. A typical basement grow-op will
contain hundreds or thousands of plants. In three months, an efficient
grow-op can easily harvest $1 million worth of pot, dismantle the equipment
and move on to the next address.

The problem has become so severe that some insurance companies are refusing
to insure houses that fit the grow-op profile unless they are owner
inhabited, insurance broker Louis Cyr warned.

"They are doing what they have to do to limit their liability," he said.

Those victimized, either because they've been knowingly misled about the
buyer's real intention or because they've bought a house the agent knew was
used as a grow-op, may be eligible to collect up to $15,000 from the
ACAIQ's $5-million reserve, known as the fonds d'indemnisation du courtage
en immobilier.

The fund has already paid out one claim and will meet soon to discuss
another, said Paul Mayer, chairperson of the board that oversees the fund.

Homeowners become unwitting accomplices in the drug trade in two ways.
Sometimes, growers will make an offer to purchase with a very late closing
date. To smooth things over, they will offer to rent the house until the
deal closes. They will use the house, but disappear before the sale is
finalized.

Sometimes, as with the unfortunate first-time buyers already mentioned,
victims will buy a house unaware that it has been used as a greenhouse.
Frechette mentioned a case where the buyers noticed the freshly painted
concrete basement floor. When winter rolled around and the heat went on,
wet rings began to appear through the paint, marks left by the hundreds of
plant containers the previous inhabitants had kept there.

ACAIQ's message to its members was clear: be alert. Ask questions and, if
something doesn't look right, make a call. The message was reinforced by
representatives of the Surete du Quebec, Montreal police and
representatives of the insurance industry, who said that a co-ordinated
effort will be required if grow-ops are to be nipped in the bud.