Home buyers expect realtors to know about meth labs
January 28, 2010 by Meth Lab Homes · Leave a Comment
Home buyers expect that realtors know about homes that have been used as meth labs. Yet, many realtors don’t know much about them, according to what I’ve seen posted on Read more
Minnesota: Couple unknowingly buys house from meth lab cook
August 28, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes · 2 Comments
All that Kristi and Justin Keller wanted was a home to call their own, where they could someday raise a family of their own. After years of saving their money for a down payment, they Read more
Indiana: The Sabatino meth lab home story
August 27, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes · Leave a Comment
In 2006, Julie McCoy Sabatino bought a small two-story house in Churubusco, Indiana, an affordable home where she dreamed of happy days together with her 10 year old son. But, health problems began, just a few weeks after Read more
Washington listed as top 5 pick for home buyers – beware
August 12, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes · Leave a Comment
Washington state is one of the top 5 places in the United States, where home sales are rising. Although, that’s good news for home sellers, it may not be such good news for home buyers. Before you buy a home in Washington, find out if the home has a history of drug activity. Be especially careful when buying a foreclosed home or from a private seller.
How large of a problem is meth in Washington?
“The production, transportation, distribution, and abuse of methamphetamine” are the primary drug threat to the Pacific Region” (National Drug Intelligence Center [NDIC], 2005).
92.3% of law enforcement agencies in the region report that methamphetamine is the “greatest drug threat” in their jurisdictions. (National Drug Threat Survey, 2004).
Methamphetamine has impacted the entire Pacific Region, but Washington has been hardest hit with:
Nearly twice the number of methamphetamine labs reported than Oregon and exponentially more than Idaho and Alaska. (Reports of Read more
Nebraska still lacks meth lab clean up standards and disclosures
July 27, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes · Leave a Comment
Despite a 2006 law, that directed Nebraska health officials to develop meth lab clean up standards by July 2007, the state still does not have clean up standards in place, nor does it require home sellers to disclose their home’s history. Former state senator Ray Aguilar of Grand Island expressed his concern that the standards had still not be created by the state, noting that without regulations in place, the law he helped pass, fails to do what it was designed to do – protect the health of the public.
Nebraska’s reasons for delaying the creation of clean up standards and disclosure requirements have to do with questions about the legality of requiring home owners to disclose the history of their home to a potential home buyer. Nebraska Realtors agree with Read more
Single mom Andrea Wagner buys contaminated meth lab home
July 26, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes · 2 Comments
Stow, Ohio: Andrea Wagner bought a meth lab home on Meadowbrook Boulevard for $147,000,in January 2006, not knowing that she was buying a home contaminated with meth lab chemicals. The seller, who bought the home at a Sheriff’s auction never told her Read more
Arkansas: The Cornell family meth lab home
July 19, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes · 2 Comments
McRae, Arkansas: Hazel and Clarence Cornell lived in a trailer for a year, after they found out that the home they bought in 2001 had once been used as a meth lab. Soon after they bought a new home where they hoped to spend their retirement years, health problems began. Read more
Meth lab pictures for renters, realtors, home owners, home buyers
July 16, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes · 11 Comments
Pictures of meth labs can help renters and home owners can help them identify a meth lab home, just by observing the inside and outside of the home. Pictures are not the only way to identify a meth lab however, as there is no standard situation when it comes to meth labs. But, these pictures may help you to become familiar with some of what you might see inside and outside of a property that is being used or has been used to manufacture methamphetamine.
This is by no means a complete list and is only presented here as another tool to help you identify a “possible” meth lab scene. If you do not see any similarities between these pictures and your home, you should not assume that your home was never a meth lab. If neighbors tell you that they suspect that the previous occupants of your home had drug problems, listen to what they’re telling you! Also, call the police and the health department and ask them if they have any records about your home.
Keep in mind that meth lab clean up contractors say that very few homes that have been used to make meth have ever been busted and/or placed on a quarantined list.
Neighbors may, in fact know more about a house and its occupants, than the police or the health department. Talk to neighbors who have lived in the neighborhood for a long time – the longer the better.
Lastly, know that the only way to positively identify meth contamination in your house is to have the home tested for the chemicals used to make meth.
Chemical stains on flooring
Chemical staining on walls and floors often result when chemicals spill during the meth cook. Floors and carpets are often stained or damaged by meth chemicals that can include liquids such as hydrochloric acid. A former meth lab may also have brand new flooring and carpets, which can signal that the previous flooring was damaged because of meth lab chemical spills.
Fixer-upper buyers beware! Also, keep in mind that meth lab homes may look brand new and not show any of the damages you see in the pictures listed here. Unscrupulous sellers who buy meth lab homes at rock bottom prices often cover stains with carpeting and new flooring and paint walls to minimize any questions or concerns about the home from prospective buyers or renters.


Burned grass or vegetation
Meth lab cooks may cook meth outdoors or burn empty pseudoephedrine packages or blister packaging for cold, allergy, and sinus medicines, to avoid raising the suspicion of anyone seeing the tell-tale meth signs in their trash. Cooking outdoors is remote locations in another way to avoid being detected by neighbors who may smell the chemicals they’re cooking. Cooking outdoors also keeps their homes from getting contaminated or exposing their children to the hazardous chemicals they’re cooking with. If you see burn pits, stained soil or dead vegetation it may indicate areas where meth lab chemicals have been dumped.

Kitty Litter
Kitty Litter is often used by meth lab cooks to soak up spilled chemicals. In the first picture, a meth lab cook uses this kitty litter container as part of their meth manufacturing process. Tubing is commonly found at meth labs, where it is often connected to a variety of containers.

Do you see kitty litter in unusual locations? It could indicate that someone used it to absorb a chemical spill.

Housekeeping
When someone is addicted to meth, meth is ALL THAT MATTERS. The effect of meth on users makes it difficult for them to get organized and keep the kind of focus it would take to keep their house neat and tidy.
Renters who are using meth and/or making meth will try to avoid having their landlord come in to inspect their home, due to its condition and to prevent the landlord from seeing anything that might evoke questions. Neighbors and other visitors are also avoided by meth lab cooks, for the same reasons.
Windows are often covered or blacked-out to keep prying eyes from seeing inside.



Strange Plumbing
Strange plumbing, vent systems, and/or electrical connections in a house should make you question why someone would have a plumbing, wiring, or electrical system like that in their house, basement, attic, or garage. Could the plumbing be installed to make it easier to dump chemicals without being detected by anyone outside of the house?

Could venting systems be installed in basements to vent out meth lab fumes? Are electrical outlets or wiring found in weird places?

Glassware
Police often find different types of glassware in meth labs, including glass bottles, jugs, and glass cooking containers.

Colorado Health Department tells home owner to use bulldozer on his meth lab home
January 3, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes · Leave a Comment
Tim Young’s realtor told him that the home he was thinking about buying from them had once been a meth lab. But, they also told him that it had been cleaned and it was perfectly safe to live in. It wasn’t.
Tim has asked me to share his meth lab home experience with you through his words and pictures. His hope is that by sharing his story, others might be able to avoid the tremendous losses that he and his mother have had to endure.
Here is Tim Young’s experience with meth lab homes, in his own words. Read more
Colorado Real Estate Commission receives meth lab complaints
December 21, 2008 by Meth Lab Homes · 2 Comments
The Colorado Real Estate Commission has received complaints from buyers that they were shown contaminated meth lab homes by Colorado realtors. One of those complaints came from a pregnant buyer who said that a realtor showed her a home that had not been decontaminated. The Commission says that it Read more

