Couple Buys Meth House – Things You Should Know

In my afternoon post-lunch slump, I usually browse CNN for interesting stories going on around the world. I was surprised to see a story on the front page called “Couple’s first home is a meth house.”

Yikes.

The couple also writes a blog called Our Meth House.

The summary: first-time home buyers in Pennsylvania use a trusted Realtor(R), get a home inspection, get the clear from the county for compliance and buy an estate property. After moving in, they start having some health issues and other visible signs that something with the house is wrong. After punching in the address into Google, the couple finds out their house is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Clandestine Laboratory Registry as a known Meth Lab.

Again, yikes.

They now face a $61,000 home improvement project to clean it up, or let it go to foreclosure. They’re trying to raise $25,000 if you’d like to donate.

So what’s a couple to do?

Beyond the regular scope of inspections, such as a Home Inspector, Structural Engineer, Mold, Termite, and Radon, all of these people investigate the CURRENT status of the home. In a “Buyer Beware” state like Virginia, if you’re looking for dirt, try some of these methods to gain insight into the house:

– Google. It is your friend.
–  Neighbors and/or neighborhood association.
– Check with the County records. Visit the Arlington County website.

Other than that, there’s not much you can do to prevent something like this. It’s a horrible, unthinkable, and disastrous situation…I’m wishing Jenn and Robert the best as they struggle through this situation.