Recent Home-Based Meth Lab Blurbs

Goffstown, New Hampshire: Two neighbors in a downtown apartment building were busted after a raid uncovered a small meth lab in their apartment. Reportedly, the investigation started early last month when local cops were tipped off by a hardware store about the purchase of toluene, iodine and other materials used to manufacture methamphetamine. See Goffstown pair charged in meth lab raid.

Marshfield, Wisconsin: A meth lab was discovered Wednesday morning during a search warrant on the lower level of a rental duplex by local cops and other agencies, including the Wisconsin State Patrol and Department of Justice. A hazardous materials cleanup of the property was ordered and was conducted by a specialized DEA cleanup team. The property is secured and will be guarded until cleanup is completed. See Meth lab busted in Marshfield.

Austin, Texas: A baby is in the hospital and the parents behind bars after police say they discovered a meth lab in South Austin. Cops, who were serving a warrant, said they were overcome with the smell of chemicals used to make meth when they opened the door. Neighboring homes were not evacuated, but police said it took hazardous materials crews hours to clean up the scene. See Baby Taken To Hospital As Police Investigate Meth Lab.

Atwater, Minnesota: A local man was arraigned on three felony charges for meth manufacture and drug possession after cops found an operating meth lab in an Atwater home. The home was marked as a meth lab by agents and then turned over to a hazardous materials crew for cleanup of the contaminated and hazardous materials. There were 15 chemistry books in the basement bedroom, the complaint states, with pages marked to topics used in the process of cooking meth. See Man charged after meth lab discovered in Atwater home.

Wilmer, Alabama: Cops arrested a local couple accused of running a meth lab in a shed behind their home. In addition to the meth charges, the couple will also face a felony charge of chemical endangerment of a child because a minor was in the home at the time of their arrest. See Husband & Wife Running a Meth Lab.

Williamsburg, Virginia: Local cops arrest three and are searching for two others wanted in connection with the discovery of what officers believe is a home-based meth lab in one unit in an apartment complex. According to a search warrant, the cops began tracking the suspects last month after discovering they had made multiple Sudafed purchases at local drugstores. See Suspected meth lab is busted by police.

South Hills, West Virginia: One man is in jail after a lit cigarette caused his residence, one of four connected townhouses in South Hills, to catch fire and expose a secret methamphetamine lab, investigators said. The firewalls contained the damage to the one unit. See Townhouse burns in meth lab explosion.

Lincoln County, North Carolina: Police arrested two men after they found the makings of a meth lab in their motel room. Police worked off a tip from an informant. More than 30 people staying at the hotel were evacuated for several hours. See Police: Meth Lab Busted.

Perry County, Indiana: A man was found dead inside a burning car in which items used to manufacture meth were found. The evidence leads cops to believe that the car was used as a mobile meth lab, which they say is becoming more and more common. "It is very possible that a meth lab could be in a vehicle next to you while you are traveling down the highway," said Todd Ringle of the Indiana State Police. See Man burns in meth lab fire.

Louisville, Kentucky: Cops bag a portable meth lab inside a car after making a routine traffic stop on a local freeway. One of the officers noticed some paraphernalia and meth inside the car before noticing the meth lab inside. A nearby ramp leading to the freeway was shut down for several hours due to the danger of the chemicals found. See 'Rolling meth lab' shuts down Gene Snyder ramp.

Bloomfield, Ohio: Cops nail two with meth, child endangerment charges in home-based lab bust. The suspects were tracked down through a steady pattern of Sudafed bought at local drug stores. Due to its use in the production of methamphetemine, many pharmacies require consumers to sign a form when buying Sudafed. Two children found in the house and believed to be contaminated by the drugs, which can be absorbed through the skin, were decontaminated before being turned over to relatives. See Meth lab tracked by cold medicine sales.

Brevard County, Florida: In response to a domestic violence call, Brevard County cops find a 7-month-old-baby boy in an active meth lab. Authorities say the baby's mother ran a meth lab out of a home she shared with her husband and a roommate. Deputies found equipment and chemicals used to make meth, in addition to over 100 grams of the drug. The baby was rushed to a local hospital, and the three adults are in police custody. See Baby in Meth Lab.

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For a related post on meth labs and the problems they cause in homes that once housed them, see The Invisible Legacy Left In Homes Used As Meth Labs.

Go here for some methamphetamine information resources.

Go here and go here for other posts on home based meth labs. meth lab zeta meth lab yak

More On Neighborhood Meth Labs

The following are stories, some recent - some not-so-recent - related to the operation of local neighborhood meth labs:

Hollywood, Florida: Hollywood homes evacuated as suspected meth lab found (Cops find home used as a meth lab, and which also contained several high-powered weapons, ammunition and grenades. Police evacuated between 40 and 50 homes in a two-block area).

Dundee, Minnesota: Cleaning up the meth mess (Describes what a remediation company is up against when a home is assessed and declared to be contaminated by meth),

Upton, Kentucky: Task force takes down another meth lab (Greater Hardin County Drug Task Force agents assisting Kentucky State Police reported a third meth lab within a week being found inside Hardin County. Local drug task force agents report finding more than a dozen labs within the past month),

Powell River, Canada: Police launch meth lab raid (Cops raid and dismantle a small methamphetamine lab in a rental house, resulting in the evacuation of some of the building's tenants),

Berkeley County, South Carolina: Berkeley County Deputies Bust Meth Lab (Several nearby business, including a day care, under voluntary evacuation as a precaution),

Phelan, Alabama: 4 Phelen residents arrested in meth bust (Hazmat unit decontaminated the area and the four suspects before locking them up & holding them on a $1 million property bond),

Charleston, West Virginia: Man indicted for running meth lab (Police say suspect was using lithium in a rare manufacturing process called "the Nazi method," a highly dangerous technique that poses significant explosion risk. Authorities evacuated neighbors around the home for more than 12 hours while a crew dismantled the lab and cleaned up the dangerous materials. A bomb squad was called in as a precaution.).

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For the kinds of health and safety concerns arising from using homes to manufacture methamphetamine, not to mention the kind of damage such operations can inflict on a home, see:

• Beware Of Homes Used As Indoor Pot Farms & Meth Labs,
• Homes Toxic Home (Buyers Beware: Owners of homes once used as methamphetamine labs are having health problems -- and sometimes going broke trying to clean up their toxic houses) (no longer available online).

Go here for some methamphetamine information resources.

Go here and go here for other posts on home based meth labs. meth lab zeta meth lab yak

Property Used As Meth Lab Spells Disaster For Homebuyer; Forced To Quit Job Due To Illness, Home Now In Foreclosure

In Fort Wayne, Indiana, The Journal Gazette reports:

• The headaches, muscle aches and breathing problems began shortly after she moved in, but Julie McCoy Sabatino was slow to blame her house for making her sick. She was shocked to realize she should: Methamphetamines had been produced in the house, just months before she bought it. Several years after the state began requiring counties to maintain records, Indiana’s accounting of its meth houses remains patchwork and incomplete. And because those public records go back only a couple of years in a state where meth has been a major problem for more than a decade, they are no help to people like McCoy Sabatino.

***

• The previous owner – who had rented out the home to tenants who were arrested in connection with producing meth – said she had washed the walls of the home with bleach and other cleaners six times in an effort to properly clean it, according to a copy of the correspondence provided by McCoy Sabatino. That probably wasn’t enough, according to federal guidelines on meth-lab cleanup recently issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The drug can seep into countertops and drywall. Most carpeting should probably be replaced. The remaining surfaces should be professionally tested for contamination, according to the guidelines. All this can come at wildly variable cost to the homeowner – from $5,000 to $150,000, the EPA report said. Property owners, even those not cooking meth themselves, typically foot the bill.

• McCoy Sabatino said the health effects from living with meth’s ghosts forced her to quit her factory job and apply for disability benefits. [...] Three years after she bought the home, it’s gone into foreclosure. McCoy Sabatino said she couldn’t afford payments because of her family’s medical bills and her job loss. She said she doesn’t see the point in paying on a house she’s come to see as a death trap.

For the story, see Old meth lab poisons dream home (State recordkeeping largely outpaced by makers of drug).

In related stories, see:

• The Journal Gazette: Cleaning up after meth,
• The National Law Journal: Meth Lab Residue in Homes Triggers Litigation (Lawsuits over contaminated homes focus on failure to disclose issue). meth lab yak

Lawyer Successfully Squeezes Settlement From Insurer For Client's Damage Claim From Unknown Meth Lab

In Loveland, Colorado, the Denver Daily News reports on a story of a local couple who rented out a basement apartment to their son-in-law, only to have their entire home subsequently condemned as a result of contamination caused by the son-in-law's clandestine meth lab operation on the premises. Local officials promptly kicked the couple out of their home because, until the the contamination could be remediated, the premises was deemed uninhabitable.

Reportedly, after having their insurance claim for the damage denied, and after having their case turned down by a number of attorneys unwilling to go after the insurance company, the homeowners found legal counsel willing to take the case and who successfully obtained a satisfactory settlement from the insurer for the meth lab damage.

An excerpt from the story regarding how to handle a meth contamination claim with an insurance company:

• The trick is showing that homeowners had been the victim of mischievous behavior or vandalism — an unknown meth lab would fall under that category, said [Attorney Brett A.] Buccheit [with the Denver-based Frankl Law Firm].

• “The contamination exclusion is solid, you can’t get around it. No amount of fancy lawyering is going to change the words of the policy,” he said. “But if the property is treated in a manner inconsistent with the homeowners’ rights, such as malicious mischief or vandalism, then that is covered.” [...] The [homeowners] say they were able to settle for an amount that paid most of their costs.

For the full story, see Lawyer fixes meth mess (Denver-based Frankl Law Firm aids family with no other options).

Go here and Go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs. meth lab yak

New Texas Law Requires Disclosure Of Meth Lab History In Sale Of Home; May Be Too Late For A Few Dallas-Area Homeowners; Foreclosures Exempted

In North Dallas, Texas, CBS 11 News reports:

• Imagine buying your dream home, only to learn that the walls are coated in toxic residue. A new Texas law aims to prevent home buyers from making a potentially dangerous mistake. But CBS 11 News learned that there's a loophole that could leave families in the dark. [...] A North Dallas homeowner, who does not want to be identified, learned of her house's hidden history through photographs. She never imagined it once concealed a meth lab. "Do you worry at all about what the health effects could be?" CBS 11 News asked. "Well, I've had two miscarriages in the last two years, so yeah," she answered.

***

• [C]BS 11 learned that the buyer only gets that information when the seller is a person, not a bank. That's because the disclosure form does not apply to foreclosure sales, according to Texas Property Code. If you buy a house from the bank, they don't have to tell you anything about the house's history. [...] The exemption means the law would not have helped Laura Budge, a Fort Worth mother of seven. Neighbors divulged the drug habit of a former owner, but Budge had no idea her family could be in danger. [...] Now the Budge family and others live with that fear and few options."It's not like we can just turn around and leave," Budge said.

For more, see Was Your New Home Used As A Meth Lab? (New Law Requires Sellers To Disclose Whether Home Was Used As Meth Lab; Some Experts Question Law's Effectiveness) (read story) (watch video).

Go here for some methamphetamine information resources.

Go here and go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs. meth lab yak

Unwitting Buyer Of Home Used As Meth Lab Wins Lawsuit Against Broker, Seller; Court Orders Rescission, Damages, Attorney Fees

In Tacoma, Washington, a state appeals court recently affirmed damages and court costs on against a real estate agent and brokerage firm for selling real property contaminated by the operation of an illegal meth lab without disclosing that fact to an unwitting home-buying couple, but reduced the award to damages assigned to the home seller for the cost of the mortgage.

A husband and wife purchased an area home and moved in with their family. Unbeknownst to them, the home had recently been the site of a police enforcement action, in which both a meth lab operation and marijuana grow house operation were broken up. The occupants in the house, tenants who were renting the home, were arrested. The owner (home seller) and the real estate agent who eventually sold the home to the home-buying couple were aware of the incident prior to the sale.

Subsequent to moving into the home, the couple's son informed his parents that he learned from someone in the community that the home had been a known drug house. After confirming this fact with police, the couple contacted the local health department, which apparently had no record of any report that the home had been used to manufacture methamphetamine.

Upon determining that the home was contaminated, the health department prohibited use of the property, stated that the couple was financially responsible for the cost of remediation, directed that a certified decontamination contractor would have to perform the remediation, and that use of the property was subject to criminal charges. The couple ultimately sued the home seller, real estate agent, and the real estate brokerage employing the agent.

At the end of the lawsuit, which spanned about two years, the home seller was required to take back ownership of the home, refund the purchase price, pay the accumulated unpaid interest on the couple's unpaid mortgage, late fees and related foreclosure costs incurred by them, who were unable to keep up the mortgage payments after the health department declared the home uninhabitable and ordered the family to vacate the premises. They were also awarded actual and punitive damages.

Among the actual damages incurred by the couple was the loss of all of their personal belongings, including clothing, bedding, furniture, keepsakes, and other necessities as the health department told them they could not remove their personal property from the house because of the risk of cross-contamination. They were also awarded damages for loss of income, damage to credit rating, emotional distress, and litigation expenses.

In addition, the couple's attorney, who represented them on a contingency fee basis, was awarded a legal fee of approximately $140,000, a charge to be imposed on the losing defendants (ie. the home seller, real estate agent, and real estate brokerage firm) in the lawsuit. The fee was based on 800+ hours logged in by the attorney in litigating the case over a 24 month period, and reflected the application of a contingency fee risk multiplier of 1.2.

For all the facts in the case, as set forth in the court decision, see Bloor v. Fritz, et al., No. 35740-2, Wash. App. Ct., Div. II; April 1, 2008 - courtesy of Findlaw.com, free registration may be required).

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In a related story, see The National Law Journal: Meth Lab Residue in Homes Triggers Litigation (Lawsuits over contaminated homes focus on failure to disclose issue).

Go here and go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs. meth lab yak

Wave Of Meth Lab Home Contamination Litigation On The Horizon?

The National Law Journal (appearing on law.com) reports:

• First it was toxic mold. Now it's meth residue. Property owners are battling a new breed of lawsuits, in which people who unwittingly bought homes that were once methamphetamine labs are suing over contaminated houses that are making them sick. The lawsuits are fallout from the massive federal crackdown on meth labs during the past decade, which saw more than 100,000 labs busted, leaving behind thousands of polluted homes and apartments for unsuspecting residents to fill.

***

• In Ohio, a single mother is suing the former owner of a drug house that she unknowingly bought [...]. Her children developed chronic respiratory problems, forcing her to vacate the house, lose most of her personal belongings and face foreclosure.

• In Washington state, a real estate company and property owners are currently appealing a court ruling that awarded $94,000 to a family that unknowingly bought a house that was a former meth lab. The family was forced to move and lost its personal belongings to contamination.

***

• Ohio attorney Warner Mendenhall, who is representing the single mother in the Ohio lawsuit, believes that a wave of meth contamination litigation is on the horizon. "In the city of Akron alone, there are hundreds of houses, apartments and hotel rooms that have been used as meth production labs, and I think there are tremendous dangers there," said Mendenhall of Akron, Ohio's The Law Offices of Warner Mendenhall.

For more, see Meth Lab Residue in Homes Triggers Litigation (Lawsuits over contaminated homes focus on failure to disclose issue) (requires subscription; if no subscription TRY HERE).

Go here and go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs. meth lab yak

Salt Lake Health Dept. Not Liable For Incorrectly Declaring Ex-Meth House Safe; Homeowners Vacate, Leaving Lender Holding The Bag

In Salt Lake County, Utah, KSL-TV Channel 5 reports:

• A Salt Lake County family is devastated after a judge ruled they can't sue the health department for negligence. The family unknowingly purchased a home that was once a meth lab, but the Salt Lake Valley Health Department (SLVHD) later told them inspectors had declared it was safe to live in. Our investigative team tested the home last year and discovered it was still contaminated with meth.

• [Friday], a district court judge dismissed the [family's] lawsuit against the SLVHD, because there's a Utah law in place that protects the agency from liability. It's called Governmental Immunity -- basically the [family] can accuse the health department of negligence, they just can't sue them over it.

***

• After a neighbor informed the family they'd purchased a former meth lab, the health department assured them it had been decontaminated, it was even in writing. Then, last spring, we came along and tested the home and found meth contamination all over the place. [...] Here are the facts for the [family]: They can't afford the $40,000 it'll cost to decontaminate the meth home, and it'll go into foreclosure.

For more, see Court: Family can't sue health department over meth house.

In a related KSL-TV Channel 5 report, see: Former Meth Houses Declared "Safe" May Not Be:

• Hundreds of Utah homes, former meth labs, have been shut down until they're rid of the dangerous drug. But an Eyewitness News Investigation uncovers disturbing evidence: Homes the government reopened and declared safe, may not be. [...] We discovered there are now more than 250 homes in the Salt Lake area that were once meth labs. Do the people living there now know that? Or did sellers keep it a secret? We went knocking on some doors.

Go here and Go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs.

Editor's Note:

The day mortgage lenders begin requiring mold and methamphetamine inspections(1) from homebuyers seeking a home loan may soon be approaching (and could become as common as getting a termite inspection).

The day may also be coming when laws are changed to require law enforcement, health department officials, etc. to record a notice in the public record (the same way one records a lien against real estate) that a home, apartment, etc. was the cite of a methamphetamine or marijuana grow house bust and may require remediation. Such a notice, when discovered in the course of a title search, would warn both the homebuyer and lender of a "secret charge" (the cost of remediation) against the real estate that someone will ultimately have to "satify."

(1) At least in those homes that have a recent foreclosure listed in its chain of title. meth lab yak

Home-Based Meth Labs A Threat To Health & Pocketbook

From the Rim Country of Central Arizona, The Payson Roundup reports:

• Health and law enforcement officials across the country are becoming increasingly alarmed at the number of homes being sold that were once used as meth houses or laboratories. The problem developing is that former homes where meth was either used or manufactured are in fact health hazards to anyone currently residing in them due to the residual poisons that were soaked into the walls, window treatments and flooring.(1)

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• In 2005, nearly 17,000 homes were seized by authorities (many ending up in foreclosure) and unknown to those subsequently purchasing these homes, the families inhabiting them are exposed to the dangers of the toxic chemical waste left behind. While at this time there are no federal guidelines for cleanup of these materials, in 12 states (Arizona included), it is illegal to occupy a dwelling before it’s been decontaminated. However, in most states there are few protections in place.

• Fourteen states (including Arizona) require property owners to disclose if the property offered was a former drug house and 13 states (Arizona being one of them) have actually established a guideline for cleanup. The cost of cleaning and decontaminating a former meth lab is astronomical. It can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 to complete. Unfortunately, with no federal assistance in place, the price tag is up to the property owner to absorb.

• Right now there are literally tens of thousands of contaminated residences across the United States. Living in one of these former drug houses can very easily cause a family to face financial ruin between having to pay for any possible cleanup, developing health-related illnesses and having to throw away any personal possessions that can’t be cleaned. Add to that the cost of acquiring another residence and then moving. It is a nationwide nightmare.

For the story, see Meth houses need to be decontaminated.

In a related story, see The National Law Journal: Meth Lab Residue in Homes Triggers Litigation (Lawsuits over contaminated homes focus on failure to disclose issue).

(1) Reportedly, for every pound of meth that is cooked in a home, five to seven pounds of chemical waste products are created. From this waste, a variety of long term health problems can occur including but not limited to: headaches, blisters, damaged lungs, liver or kidneys. meth lab yak

Home-Based Meth Lab Once Used As A "Zoo"

In Boise, Idaho, KBCI-TV Channel 2 reports on local cops busting a meth lab that was being operated in a home in an area neighborhood. Reportedly, a neighbor said that the current owner purchased the home as a foreclosure back in February, and that the prior foreclosed homeowner had used the home as "somewhat of a zoo," having "a hundred cats inside the house along with [...] probably around 30 rabbits and around 20 iguanas." The neighbor said the house was a mess, but the new occupants rushed to move in anyway. They now face felony drug charges. Good luck to the next guy who ends up with the house. For the story, see New information on meth lab bust in Boise. meth lab yak

Failure To Inspect For Meth Contamination Could Create Future Financial, Health Havoc For Homebuyers

The New York Times reports:

• The spacious home where the newly wed Rhonda and Jason Holt began their family in 2005 was plagued by mysterious illnesses. The Holts’ three babies were ghostlike and listless, with breathing problems that called for respirators, repeated trips to the emergency room and, for the middle child, Anna, the heaviest dose of steroids a toddler can take. Ms. Holt, a nurse, developed migraines. She and her husband, a factory worker, had kidney ailments.(1)

• It was not until February, more than five years after they moved in, that the couple discovered the root of their troubles: their house, across the road from a cornfield in this town some 70 miles south of Nashville, was contaminated with high levels of methamphetamine left by the previous occupant, who had been dragged from the attic by the police. The Holts’ next realization was almost as devastating: it was up to them to spend the $30,000 or more that cleanup would require.

• With meth lab seizures on the rise nationally for the first time since 2003, similar cases are playing out in several states, drawing attention to the problem of meth contamination, which can permeate drywall, carpets, insulation and air ducts, causing respiratory ailments and other health problems.

***

• Meth contamination can bring financial ruin to families like that of Francisca Rodriguez. The family dog began having seizures nine days after the Rodriguezes moved into their home in Grapevine, Tex., near Dallas, and their 6-year-old son developed a breathing problem similar to asthma, said Ms. Rodriguez, 35, a stay-at-home mother of three. After learning from neighbors that the three-bedroom ranch-style home had been a known “drug house,” the family had it tested. The air ducts had meth levels more than 100 times higher than the most commonly cited limit beyond which cleanup is typically required. [...] They moved out, throwing away most of their possessions because they could not be cleaned, and are letting the house go into foreclosure. “It makes you crazy,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “Our credit is ruined, we won’t be able to buy another house, somebody exposed my kids to meth, and my dog died.”

For the story, see Illnesses Afflict Homes With a Criminal Past.

Go here, Go here and go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs.

(1) Some of the health problems associated with living in a meth-contaminated home appear to be similar to those currently being attributed to the "Chinese drywall" problem being experienced in some parts of the country. meth lab yak

Failure To Decontaminate Homes Busted As Meth Labs Shocks Subsequent Homeowners

In Jefferson County, Missouri, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports:

• Jason Dowdell and Michelle DiLorenzo thought the three-bedroom ranch along a quiet, winding Jefferson County road would be the perfect place to start their life together. They envisioned a nursery in one bedroom. Toys in the backyard. Perennials in the planters. But all that was put on hold two years later when they learned the home was contaminated with enough methamphetamine residue to be condemned in more than a dozen states.

***

• The Post-Dispatch tested five homes police busted for meth and where new families are living. [...] Months and, in some cases, years had passed since meth labs in the homes were busted, according to police reports. The tests revealed residue levels in all five homes high enough to be condemned in 13 of the 18 states.

***

• Cleanup companies along with national and local health experts say it's common for meth labs that haven't been cleaned to test positive for residue — no matter how long after police busts. "It doesn't just go away over time," said Michael Frakes, who co-owns Chicago Crime Scene Cleanup LLC, a company the newspaper commissioned to collect samples.

• The newspaper's findings shocked the residents, who said they did not know they were living in former meth labs until they were contacted by the Post-Dispatch.

For more, see Are you living in a former meth lab? (if link expires, try here).

Go here and go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs. meth lab yak

Another Meth Nightmare As Recent Homebuyers Walk Away From Home After Discovering Toxic Residue In Home; Leaves Lender With Contaminated Collateral

In Grapevine, Texas, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports the story of the Rodriguez family, whose purchase of a home last October quickly turned from a dream into a nightmare:

• It didn’t take long for them to regret their purchase. Just weeks after they moved in, their dog, Bruin, started having seizures and had to be put to sleep. After the dog’s sudden death, they began to hear rumors that methamphetamine may have been used in their house. The couple hired a company to check the house for chemicals and discovered traces of meth contamination. While the cause of the dog’s death was not determined, the couple believe their house is not safe to live in.

***

• The Rodriguezes, who have three children, are now renting about a block away while they figure out what to do with the 1,430-square-foot house, which is under foreclosure.

• Experts say methamphetamine contamination of apartments, hotel rooms, houses, storage sheds and even cars is more common than people may imagine. Meth-making or heavy use can leave chemicals in carpets, air ducts and attics. And without proper cleanup, experts say, the chemicals linger and expose people to health risks.

For the rest of the story, see Meth left a residue of trouble for Grapevine home buyers (After dog dies, family moves out as tests reveal traces of drug in Grapevine house).

In a related story, see The National Law Journal: Meth Lab Residue in Homes Triggers Litigation (Lawsuits over contaminated homes focus on failure to disclose issue).

Go here and Go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs. meth lab yak

Home Based Meth Labs Pose Threat To Homebuyers, Investors, Foreclosing Lenders Alike

An article in DSNews.com (formerly REO Magazine) addresses the problem that clandestine meth labs pose to unsuspecting homebuyers, real estate investors and foreclosing mortgage lenders:

• Unfortunately, it may be difficult for a potential buyer to know that a property has been used as a clandestine lab. Even if an interested party is aware that a property has been used as a lab, they may not understand the health and monetary risks associated with it. It is essential that parties involved in real estate transactions be knowledgeable about identifying labs, the health effects associated with meth labs, state remediation and disclosure guidelines, and the costs of rehabilitating a property to avoid a toxic pitfall.

***

• The cost of decontaminating a property can range from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Large labs that produce speed by the pound, rather than by the gram, can exceed $100,000 in clean-up costs. When Arizona law enforcement busted a super lab in Mohave County it took only several days to clean the site. But the cost to remove the contaminated soil, dispose of left-over chemicals and tear down the structures on the property was more than $100,000. Even a small time operation can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. A local Colorado savings and loan discovered that a home it had loaned money on left enough toxins to cost $30,000 to $40,000 to remediate. The amount remaining on the loan in addition to the clean-up cost put the bank upside down on the property value, leaving the bank with the option to demolish the home and sell the lot for $10,000, or abandon the property.

For more, see Attorney Warns REO Community About Meth Labs.

Go here and go here for other posts on home-based methamphetamine labs. meth lab yak

Toxic Mold Problem In Brand New Home Forces Family Into Foreclosure

In Knoxville, Tennessee, WVLT-TV Channel 8 reports:

• A West Knoxville family says mold has ruined their health, home, and finances. So much so, the House family says it's forced them into foreclosure. [...] The House family bought a brand new home nearly two and half years ago, and they say they've battled mold problems just about ever since.

• [Cherie House] says mold grew and so did her family's health problems, including headaches, loss of vision, joint pain, and upset stomachs. "The toxicology report found we had four of the most dangerous molds," House said. House blames Developer John Luttrell for the problems.

For the rest of the story and link to the video report, see Mold forces home foreclosure. meth lab yak

Buying A Vacant Foreclosed Home? Don't Forget That Mold Inspection

Northern Virginia Daily reports:

• [M]old litigation has become one of the fastest growing fields of litigation, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. Empty houses in foreclosure are becoming mold breeding grounds. It's not a new problem -- mentions of household mold date back to biblical times -- but is one that is receiving more attention due to huge jury verdicts, allegedly due to its toxicity.

For more, see Silent stalker: Household mold can cause damage to health and wallet. meth lab yak

Moldy Buildings In Foreclosure An Issue In South Florida

In Miami, Florida, WFOR-TV Channel 4 reports:

• Mold and foreclosure--they might not seem to be a correlation between the two at plain sight, but if you're talking about South Florida's foreclosure crisis you might see that sometimes they go hand in hand. Because of recent skyrocketing short sales and foreclosures in Miami's real estate market, many high rise buildings now have mold growing inside.

***

• Even some of the most luxurious condos in town have been affected. This often happens because owners who are going through short sales or foreclosures end up cutting off their AC, sealing up the unit, and never looking back.

• "These enclosed spaces, you have high temperature, stagnant air, you have high humidity," said Samir Elmir of the Miami-Dade County Health Department. "It's a perfect ground for mold basically to grow," he said. And mold doesn't respect property lines, especially in buildings with central air. "There is an opportunity for the mold to disperse through the duct system," said Elmir.

For more, see Beware Of Mold In Foreclosed Homes (read story) (watch video). meth lab yak