Property hunters turning to ‘P houses’

Buying a ‘P house’ might not appeal to everyone, but with property prices rising around the country, buyers are eyeing up contaminated houses as a cheap bet in a hot market.

Bargain hunters could leverage the fact homes are contaminated to get tens of thousands off the asking price, pay to get them decontaminated and then do their own renovations.

Sean Johnson is the owner of Restore, a company providing cleaning and decontamination services in Nelson and Blenheim.

He said he had done eight full decontaminations and three partial decontaminations in Marlborough and Nelson this year. Last year, he did about 30 properties across the top of the south.

In Blenheim, Bayleys Marlborough is marketing a ‘‘cosy flat’’ in the suburb of Redwoodtown, which is contaminated with methamphetamine.

The Trade Me listing said the one-bedroom, one-bathroom house ‘‘will require decontamination to bring it to a liveable standard’’, but ‘‘once the work is done you will reap the rewards.’’

Johnson said prospective buyers, who he described as bargain hunters, would try and leverage the fact a property was contaminated to try and shave as much as $100,000 off the price.

A Real Estate Agency Authority spokeswoman said agents could sell properties contaminated by methamphetamine. ‘‘However, they are required to disclose any known defects with the property.