Selling a home as a caster

[MT Gianni]

When listing a home how hard do you try to hide evidence of casting and lead in the home. All my casting has been in the shop but wonder about moving all cast projectiles out of the reloading area which is in the house. Do you take down lubesizers? We are considering selling but with the current situation i don't see the house moving fast, it might be a couple of years.

[labradigger1]

Hmm, if i was looking for a house it would be a plus. Maybe advertise it here.
Lab

[geargnasher]

How big of a mess did you make? :kidding:

If you think you have made any sort of realistic hazard to anyone or their kids with your boolit activities, yeah, disclose it. Otherwise, who cares? People in their ignorance and media-fed, false phobias can get stupid about such things, so you make the call.

I'm a little paranoid myself, so when I built our new house I made it so lead is confined to one room and one corner of the shop, period. I call them "quarantine areas" which include door knob maintenance and quality doormats so that residues don't get transferred out. Our (hopefully) future children won't be allowed into those areas (locked doors and hidden keys) until they are old enough to be taught lead safety practices and hopefully will be participating in the shooting/casting/reloading sports under our supervision. Frankly, I'd be more concerned about primer residue being tracked around the house from normal reloading than I would about any lead from handling a few boolits in the gun room.

Gear

[WILCO]

When listing a home how hard do you try to hide evidence of casting and lead in the home.

As long as everything is clean, I don't see it as an issue.

[bayjoe]

From my experience the first month is critical when putting a house on the market. When we sold our house we took everything off the walls and moved or hid as much as possible so buyers can see a "blank Canvas".
I would put all casting equipment out of sight for a month or two just to be on safe side. Never know what goes thru some people's head.

[bhn22]

You would probably be okay in Montana, but in some areas I would remove all open evidence of guns and casting for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's not unheard of for burglars to use an "Open House" as an opportunity to case the house for later attention. The neighbors (in come cases) quit paying attention to strange vehicles in the area, and especially parked near your house. Valuables should be concealed, and secured. Second, you could lose potential sales if some people see signs that there is/was lead on the premises. It's not safe for the children, ya know.

[Thin Man]

I would take everything related to handloading and firearms - and HIDE it and SECURE it! There are people who will arrive to view the property not to buy it, but to return when no one is at home. They also share this information with others of the same mindset, and the word travels quickly. They are armed with information about the layout of the building and what it there for the taking, thus their time on the next visit is short and brutally painful. Some really brave ones will make their first move during the initial viewing. After 34 years LEO in uniform and investigations, I saw and dealt with enough of this to ask you to use every caution before any showing (even to a realtor) rather than having to pick up the pieces after the fact. Protect yourself against thieves, there isn't enough insurance to replace sentimental materials or give peace of mind.

Thin Man

[mold maker]

If the tinsel fairy has visited, it might take more than a coat of paint.
At the very least, vacuum everything and use lead test strips to recognize where problems exist. A good coat of paint will cover a world of problems.
Having done the above, there is no need to divulge any info, about past use of the area, unless asked. Then you should tell what steps have been taken to make it safe.

[MT Gianni]

NO tinsel fairy and no open house despite what a realtor might recommend. Just a reloading room with two lube sizers, 350 lbs of cast bullets, 25 + dies, gun safe and a locked closet. Room will remain locked until there is a second walk through appointment.

[jonas302]

I really don't think a non caster will even know what your sizer is I sure didn't before I casted I bet you could bring it into a gun shop and few would know what it is just looks like reloading tools nice and clean and well kept

[DCM]

I really don't think a non caster will even know what your sizer is I sure didn't before I casted I bet you could bring it into a gun shop and few would know what it is just looks like reloading tools nice and clean and well kept

+1 most folks would be clueless and those that do know would want to talk shop.

I would keep firearms and labeled ammo well out of sight, same with the safe(must be something worth stealing in that thing!!!).

[fatelk]

You never know how fast something will sell. We sold our house last year and it sold in two days. We had to move for work and couldn't afford to sit on it at all so we priced it accordingly. Might could have gotten more, maybe not.

We had everything completely moved out before listing it, but if I was selling one while living in it I would definitely have any and all gun and reloading stuff out of sight. On the one hand are the crooks who might want to come back later when you're not home, and on the other are the ignorant ninnies who might want to call in the haz-mat team at the sight of a lead ingot.

[Chihuahua Floyd]

When we put our last house on the market, reloading equipment when to stay with a friend I trusted. Left him the bench and most of the Lee equipment I started with.
I don't know who the realtor is bringing by. I don't trust people I don't know and a lot of people I do know.
CF

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Some realtors will require the "buyer's" to be "pre-approved" by a bank for the dollar amount of the house they are looking for ... Keeps the "lookie-lou's" away ... Also ... No open houses, unless the house is empty! (Too many people wandering about un-accounted for!)

[lka]

Put everything in a closet with a different key or number pad key and label it "personal" with the dimensions of the closet and floor type, that's what I do anyways.

[ShooterAZ]

MT Gianni,

Personally, I would get the casting area/reloading area cleaned up and out of sight as much as possible. I can just hear some tree hugging wife sniveling to her husband about it now. I know it's a pain, but it's what I would do.

[Oreo]

I plan on moving in a couple years. I'm going to rent a storage locker if necessary. Everything gun and shooting related as well as all valuables will be entirely removed from the property prior to listing for sale.

[popper]

some tree hugging wife sniveling to her husband about it
Yup - guy's got GUNS.
Oreo, make sure it is a well protected storage unit. Fellow here had his robbed of a bunch of ARs.

[TES]

When People were looking at our house I had a lot of great conversations about what I was doing with the folks that were looking.

Make it neat
Make it clean


Take the time to go ahead and pack up most of what you have.

[waksupi]

Since my property has a registered shooting range on it, I think they might get a clue.

[garym1a2]

When selling a house remove ALL valiables first. If they know you own guns or other easy to steal items they will!

I would take everything related to handloading and firearms - and HIDE it and SECURE it! There are people who will arrive to view the property not to buy it, but to return when no one is at home. They also share this information with others of the same mindset, and the word travels quickly. They are armed with information about the layout of the building and what it there for the taking, thus their time on the next visit is short and brutally painful. Some really brave ones will make their first move during the initial viewing. After 34 years LEO in uniform and investigations, I saw and dealt with enough of this to ask you to use every caution before any showing (even to a realtor) rather than having to pick up the pieces after the fact. Protect yourself against thieves, there isn't enough insurance to replace sentimental materials or give peace of mind.

Thin Man

[quilbilly]

From my experience the first month is critical when putting a house on the market. When we sold our house we took everything off the walls and moved or hid as much as possible so buyers can see a "blank Canvas".
I would put all casting equipment out of sight for a month or two just to be on safe side. Never know what goes thru some people's head. #1 with that

[Firebricker]

I do not think I would go to any great lengths to hide you have melted lead in the room. If you really had a nut job that would not buy the house because of that if they would have known and some how find out they might try to come back on you. I doubt it is a big deal either way but you might check and get the opinions of a few different relators to see if they have encountered anything similar. On a side note good luck and hope it sells quick for you. FB

[Oreo]

No realtor is going to tell you anything to do with lead is a good thing. Clean up your mess to prevent law suits and then keep it out of sight to prevent questions.

[RogerDat]

Removing everything you can will generally make a house show better, it is pretty simple, you want the new owners to "see" their possessions and dreams in that cleared spot, not yours. Your reloading or casting bench if cleared of equipment might be the "perfect spot" for their sewing room, ham radio equipment, or potting table for a gardener. Spot looks bigger without your stuff in it, and more like a blank canvas.

On lead contamination, clean, paint THEN test for lead. The legal ramification of not disclosing a "known" condition that materially impacts the property value is pretty cut and dried. They find out and sue, you lose. By cleaning, painting and then testing I'm assuming you will get a "clean" test and thus have nothing to disclose. If someplace does not test as clean you have an obligation to disclose, as does your real estate agent if you discuss it with them at all. The agent can lose their license for failing to disclose to a buyer a known condition be it termites, failed septic, or lead contamination.

It would not just be "nuts" that might have concerns about lead contamination, my reloading room might be the new owners toddler play room, if that space has lead contamination in amounts detected by a home test I screwed up. True some folks might be concerned with or without any actual contamination, just because their "could" be. You want their money don't raise that concern in their minds or the mind of your real estate agent. The hassle you prevent may be your own.

One thing I have found selling house or car or whatever, there is the items value and it's market price. Market price always wins, it's worth what people are willing to pay for it if your selling, no matter what its real value is. If it's priced to market value, and people make appointments to view you can expect offers, if too high a price they may come look but no offers, no amount of open houses will help that situation.

Oh and don't forget the lock box, agent may want ability to allow other agents to show house when you are not home. The actually prefer no one be home generally. This means people in your home when you are not, so what has been said about removing or securing items of value is really important. As the say "an open door may tempt a saint".
Good luck with your sale, hopefully your not going to hear for the next 10 years about how everything got fixed, painted, and cleaned up "just before we moved when we did not get to enjoy it".

[WilliamDahl]

The first think I would do is take a pressure washer to my driveway where I last smelted and spilled some lead.

After that, maybe a leaf blower to my garage to get rid of the lead dust and pieces that have dropped in there while I was casting.

Unless you have great decorating sense and very good quality furniture, I would suggest moving most of your stuff out of your house. You don't want the house to look crowded anyway.

[Ibgreen]

I am getting ready to list my house. My plan is to modify a used gas grill into a smelting station. That way I can lock all lead under the cover.

[Beau Cassidy]

A good rule of thumb is to remove 60% of the stuff from your house before showing it. Leave the pictures hanging to hid the nail holes. Get rid of stuff in closets and clutter. Emphasize the positives.

As for getting rid of the casting and reloading stuff- absolutely!!!! Put it in storage.

You want your house to be generic- not known as "The house with all of the guns and ammo". I have seen it before from looking at various houses.

Tell your agent you don't want anyone looking at your house unless they have been pre-approved or pre-qualified.

If there is a lot of lead and splatter around, a potential homebuyer or even home inspector may insist that area be tested for lead. There is a buyer's disclosure form you will have to make available. See if lead contamination is listed on it.

Just remember- I had a friend with $400K plus house for sale in a very nice neighborhood. 2 realtors showed the house one day. When my buddy got home somebody had taken a whizz in his dryer! No kidding! He threw away his toothbrush and a lot of other things because he didn't know what else had gone on. With that said- hidden cameras are nice. He never was able to figure out which party did the damage.

[WilliamDahl]

Just remember that realtors will want to take photos of the inside and outside of your house and they will be posted on various websites so that ANYONE can see them. I had an ol' high school friend that I had bumped into online and she had mentioned that her husband and she had just bought a new house and what the address was. I looked it up online to see where it was located and came across a realtor's site that had photos of it. I then asked her if they still have the purple walls in the secondary bedroom or if they had painted over it. She was rather surprised that I could find that out from just a quick web search.

[mtnman31]

When I sold my last house, the reloading bench in my garge was cleaned up but not totally sanitized. I left my presses in place and covered the bench up with a sheet. The glass front gun cabinet in my bedroom was emptied and the rifles put up out of sight. There was evidence that I was a shooter elsewhere in the house such as literature, trophies, and pictures - no hiding it all. I did get all the big items tucked away. Your realtor should be able to give you some guidance.

I ended up selling the house to a retired Navy guy so I assume he wasn't too uncomfortable with any shooting paraphernalia he may have come across when he and the agent toured the house.