Justin and Kristi Keller of Cannon Falls, Minnesota no longer own a meth lab home. It was sold at a Sheriff’s sale to the lender who originally lent them the money to buy it, although the lender has gotten it at a significantly reduced 
price. Although the Kellers paid $250,000 for the home, the home was reportedly bought by Chase Home Finance at a Sheriff’s sale for $219,747.16.
Since the Kellers bought their four bedroom home with six acres of land, their lives like too many others who have bought former meth lab homes, has been turned into a living nightmare. Unable to pay for the decontamination of their home or pay both a mortgage and rent for somewhere else to live, they were left with two choices that no one ever wants to make: bankruptcy or foreclosure. They opted for foreclosure.
What the lender will do with the property is anyone’s guess, but Minnesota Law states that:
The property owner is responsible for the cost of remediation. As with any contracted work, it is in the best interest of the property owner to use caution when hiring someone to provide this service. The property owner should understand the work plan and monitor progress on the site.
The meth legislation, effective January 1, 2006, states that the lab operator (meth cook) can be required to pay restitution to public entities and property owners for costs associated with lab response and remediation. Several meth cooks have entered into repayment agreements with local authorities before and after the effective date of this law.
Minnesota law entitled the Kellers to receive restitution money from the former owners, yet the Kellers never any money from them. Although the former owners were given thirty days to pay the Kellers $100,865.10 for the decontamination of their home, storage fees, and money to rent another home, they never collected any money from them. No payments were made to the Kellers and attaching the paychecks of the sellers was a lost cause – they are unemployed.
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