Barbara Lawlor, Peak to Peak. When recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado, communities could only guess at how they would be impacted by the change in their culture. Would there be more crime? Would kids become more involved? Would they have more access? Would municipalities profit from the sales? Would the availability benefit people suffering from chronic pain?

Those who are in the real estate and property management had already seen what can happen to their property assets when a pot grow is established in their rental properties. Even though many of their tenants had legal licenses to cultivate medical marijuana, many of them did not have the means or time to do it without damaging the grow facility, often a basement or gutted rooms.

Damaged homes have become an epidemic nightmare for the realtors who manage rental properties, who have been left explaining to home owners why black mold has infested their income properties, why their sheet rock has been pulled out and makeshift watering systems installed.

Every realtor seems to have a horror story about renting to seemingly fine tenants who are actually quick-profit-making pot entrepreneurs.

Laurie and Ryan Roberts of Gilpin County manage properties and have a few of their own that they rent out. Last October they placed an ad in Craig’s List for a three-bedroom, three-bathroom 2,400 square foot home for $1,500 a month.

They had an offer, someone who wanted to pay them $2,000 a month, with the first year in cash and a $10,000 damage deposit. They were up front, said they wanted to grow marijuana. “We told them no,” says Laurie. “It was a lot of money, but because of past experience, we rented the house to someone else.”

They cite the house they rented near Rollinsville to a cute couple who said they were pregnant and said they wanted to grow some legal medical marijuana. One weekend the Roberts were told the well had run dry, so they went to the house to see what the problem was. No one was home and upon investigation they discovered a large grow operation that included a water-drip system under super powered lights. The windows were blacked out and there were holes in the walls.

This was seven years ago.

“We called the sheriff. This is one of the very first incidents. The well pump had burned out and mold was an issue.. Even though the guy had a license to grow, that had not been part of the lease.”

When Ryan had told the owners about the money, they had agreed to let them stay. It would have been a good deal if the house had not been destroyed. To make matters worse, some people thought that the pot was being sold from the house and one night armed masked men broke down the door and took a bunch of cash from the house.

The couple who had a baby moved to another rental in Coal Creek Canyon and the Roberts took it to court, trying to get $5,000 to cover the damage.

Four years ago, a family with children, students at Nederland Elementary School, rented one of the Roberts’ Gilpin County houses and left $12,000 worth of damage.

“They didn’t care what they did to the house. It wasn’t their home. The basement was trashed, there was spit on the walls, gum wads. They had no respect for the house or people.”

After taking them to court, the Roberts were awarded a $12,000 judgment, but have yet to collect. It is a stressful, time consuming effort. Since that lawsuit, all renters are asked to sign a lease agreement to not grow pot.

One couple was evicted after violating the lease and left during an extreme cold spell, leaving the door open. All of the in-floor heating system froze.

“We will no longer rent without referrals or personal knowledge of the renters,” says Ryan. “We manage 20 properties and want to know who the renters are. We don’t care if you smoke pot, but we don’t want people growing. Home owners get excited about the money, but that excitement diminishes when they find out about the damage costs. No insurance company will cover damages from a grow establishment because it is still federally illegal.”

The situation has become so prevalent that marijuana can be smelled on subdivision streets. It is estimated that there are probably up to 100 grows in the county.

Only one house has been busted for an illegal grow and that occurred when a resident fell and needed help and the alarm contacted the fire department. When firefighters arrived, the windows were blacked out and they had to break down the door to get in. It turned out the resident didn’t live there but the alarm button was listed at the Gilpin address.

Realtors talk to each other and soon get to know what to watch for. People paying cash up front, not wanting the owners or managers to enter the property. Most of the people who have been involved in growing are clean cut, employed, and want to stay a long time. They move from one rental to another, seeking a place to grow.

The Roberts have learned that they have to at least drive by a rental once a week to make sure there aren’t six cars in the driveway and 10 people living there.

Growers know how to play the game, how to change the name on a lease, how to have a few people on a lease and then leave someone holding the bag after the house is destroyed. Grows void all insurance policies on the property.

Boulder County and Nederland realtors have experienced the same problems. Realtor Tom Kirkendall says that he learned after one renter left a house with substantial mold damage, that the mold had to be professionally removed before the house could be listed again.

Nederland realtor Eleanor Yeager says she was told a couple was going to move in and grow legal personal plants. When she went to check it out, she found over 100 plants and the electrical system had been tweaked.

“The lease hadn’t been signed yet and out they went,” says Yeager. “I now have a release contract that includes federal law.”

She went to visit one of her Boulder houses and found water coming out from the inside where all the windows were blackened. When she opened the door a blast of heat rolled out. Further inspection revealed a hydroponic grow in the master bedroom. She called the police and had the renter arrested and later received restitution.

Boulder County and mountain realtor Jimmy Keith rented a house off Magnolia Road to a nice 30s couple who decided make things easy by just running a hose through the windows into the house for their irrigation system.

“All of the hardwood floors were ruined, at least $35,000 worth of damage. They had always paid the rent and then left in the middle of the night.”

Keith says that the damages to the building are not the only worry. Known pot growers stand a good chance of being robbed and once they get inside, the suspects grab everything they can.

“You are inviting the wrong element by renting to growers,” says Keith. “It has become so common, it is not cool.” He describes one renter who had 100 plants that he had grown behind a beautiful artificial wall. When the plants were discovered, it cost $6,000 to remove the quality construction that hid the grow in the basement.

Keith says that the sheriff’s department does not want to be involved in marijuana calls because of the vague laws and the liability issues. In one of his rental grow cases, the feds ended up raiding the house because of a custody case and after knocking down the doors and tearing the kitchen to shreds, the house was a mess. “You can have your house wrecked and then sell it.”

And good luck in suing the renters. Keith says the owners have to watch out for up-front money and in the case of prepaid rent, it is almost impossible to get an eviction. He says that almost everyone is growing pot these days.

“I don’t even think it’s that valuable anymore. Also many people are risking the custody of their kids. We are just lucky we aren’t dealing with a meth problem. That’s even worse.”

Mary Ann Rodak of Peak Performance Realty of Nederland says she no longer rents to anyone without having them sign a contract with a drug addendum which is tied to federal law.

“I have lost properties because of pot-growing destruction. I have cleaned them up and put them back together and that is old news. The cops are not moving in and so I kick the renters out and tell them to move on. I make the call and go on inspections and spend much more time going through my rentals.”

The whole pot growing issue became a traumatic part of Rodak’s business. She says when a rental has been taken apart to the studs, it is not a pretty sight and she would just as soon do it her way and rule with an iron fist. She calls and says, I am coming over now, I am on my way with a key whether you are home or not.”

She has seen more than one house gutted to the studs and has had to hire mold mitigators to deal with what is left behind.”At one time, I thought I would have a nervous breakdown. And these people go through incredible expense to hide it. One renter had a photo studio that covered up a full crop.”

It is all about being experienced and being aware of what is going on in the world of on-the-fly pot growers. Rodak says a few people have ruined it for everyone. One home owner allowed a renter to have a medical grow and it was done scientifically with the proper engineering and she rewrote the lease for that person. If it is done correctly, there is no damage.

In future articles we will look into how a legal marijuana grow operation is accomplished without damage to the building or surrounding neighborhood.