Home buyers expect realtors to know about meth labs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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