Sellsius real estate marketing blog

Conducting an environmental investigation for hazardous and toxic waste is normally beyond the scope of a real estate agent or broker.  But not to worry.  The US Environmental Protection Agency has a website which lets you search by zip code to determine if any environmental hazards, toxic waste facilities, polluted waterways and Superfund sites are in the area.

The website will show you the following:

• Envirofacts: Pollution, hazardous waste sites and other regulatory information
• Watershed Info: Environmental conditions in watersheds throughout the US.
• Enviro-Mapper: computed generated maps showing exactly where the environmental hazards may be lurking.  They also name and describe the facilities. Impaired water bodies and streams (those that do not meet EPA standards) are also shown.  Very impressive.
• National Priorities List (NPL) by state:  these are places you may not want to live near
• Superfund sites: places you definitely don’t want to live near.

Here’s a look at what’s shown on the Enviro-Mapper maps:

Click here to check out the EPA website.

Knowing what’s in the neighborhood will help you determine what testing should be done before you buy that house.  Or if you even want to be living there.  You won’t find these unfriendly unseen hazards on a listing– they are unzillowables which can affect the value of the property.

Technorati Tags: EPA, environmental hazards, buyers, toxic waste, unzillowable

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