Can anyone give me meth house advice?

[Mindy Jensen]

A house was recently withdrawn from the market because a potential buyer had a meth inspection that came back with high levels of meth contamination - indicative of a lab rather than just smoking it inside. 

Public records show it was in foreclosure late last year, and lis pendens removed early this year. 2003 shows a mortgage for $300,000.

Until it was withdrawn, it was listed at $250,000 and it is poor shape. Not that the shape matters anymore after meth was found.

So my questions are:

It is worth remediating the meth contamination? Would it be better to just tear down and sell the lot? Who should I contact about the property first? The current agent, the bank, the owner?

[Brian Burke]

Originally posted by @Mindy Jensen:

@Brian Burke? Would you tackle a meth house?

Sure, why not?  I'm in this business to make money.  It's just a factor of what it will cost to correct, and factoring that cost into the acquisition formula. Since I haven't had to deal with a meth lab house (amazingly, because I've had hundreds of chances to have been stuck with one) I would engage with a skilled vendor and interface with the city to make sure the steps to remediation are well understood and the costs quantified before proceeding.