Paul's Appraisal Blog

    I read a scary article on MSN.com about people that have bought houses, only to find out that they were at one time "Meth Labs".  Labs used to make methamphetamine, or meth, are incredibly toxic and more often than not leave behind dangerous levels of toxic chemicals.

    Although one might think that these types of houses are only found in lower income areas, along side "crack houses", the fact of the matter is that they have been found in every conceivable neighborhood, from low end slums to "well off", affluent neighborhoods.

    The toxic residue left behind has caused numerous medical problems for the occupants, some of which are very serious, especially for young children. Additionally, once you discover you have a "Meth House", it is very costly for clean up and you cannot sell it without disclosure.

    One of the scariest things is that you cannot tell by looking if your house was a "Meth Lab".  It could appear very clean and well maintained, yet still have dangerous levels of toxic residue. I, personally, am very concerned, especially knowing that San Diego is the Meth capital of the United States.

    I'm no expert, so don't take my word for it. Go on to Google or some other search engine and look up "Meth Houses" and other similar phrases. You will be shocked at what you find.

    Here is a link to Meth Lab Homes, a website dedicated to the problem.

    I am going to do some research and find out if there are any reasonably priced testing services a person could use before close of escrow so I can post on my site.

    Do you have a comment?  Let me know what you think or if you have any good resources. Thanks!!             

(These are samples of "Meth Labs" and "Meth Houses")

    As we look at the current real estate market, many people are amazed at how low values have gotten. This is because the vast amount of foreclosures have forced banks to sell at ridiculously low prices to get them off of their books as fast as possible, even if it means losing large amounts of money. As these properties start to get bought up, prices will start to stabilize and home values will start going up. People will start to realize that the number of houses for sale is going down will rush in to get the good deals before they're gone.

    I already am seeing this happen as homes go on the market, there are multiple offers and the typical market time for a home that is realistically prices is often under 30 days.  In a normal market, 90 -180 days is typical. In my neighborhood, I am seeing prices starting to go up. There is a guy rehabbing houses and getting good prices for them. He bought one for $180,000, fixed it up, and sold it in less than a week for around $290,000. I am seeing signs in other markets of prices going up, too.

    Another phenomenon I'm starting to see is that banks are holding on to properties to doling them out little by little to try and keep the prices high. There is a house on my street which was foreclosed on over 6 months ago but has yet to be put on the market.

    I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I think we are pretty close to the bottom, if not there. If you are thinking about buying a house, this is probably the best time ever to get in. Even if prices go down, it won't be as drastic as it was at the beginning.

    If you have a question or just want to chat, go ahead and shoot me an email at paulmcewen@cox.net or call at 760-525-2742