Feature of Home for Sale for $1.55M: Meth Contamination

It's on the market in San Jose, California
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 27, 2023 3:03 PM CDT
Feature of Home for Sale for $1.55M: Meth Contamination
Stock photo of a meth lab.   (Getty Images / Darwin Brandis)

A recent Zillow survey found 67% of homeowners would be willing to buy a "haunted" house if it was otherwise a good fit. A San Jose, California, real estate agent is likely hoping buyers there are as open-minded about homes with a criminal past. The Los Angeles Times reports on the unusual listing for a six-bedroom home on Potomac Court, which has an asking price of $1.55 million and includes an "inactive meth lab and meth contamination" that has not been cleared and will be left to a new homeowner to deal with.

The home "will be transferred to the new buyer in its current state," the listing reads. There aren't interior photos included, as the listing notes, and "no access prior to property being cleared by Santa Clara County's Health Dept." If you're guffawing at the likelihood of such a home selling at that price, Insider cites Redfin as naming San Jose as the most competitive housing market among US cities. As the Times reports, the home was previously owned by Peter Karasev, 35, who was arrested in March on suspicion of blowing up a number of Pacific Gas & Electric transformers in 2022 and 2023.

The paper cites March comments from San Jose Police Assistant Chief Paul Joseph, who said a search of Karasev's Potomac Court residence turned up homemade explosives, rifles and handguns, and "a large quantity of hazardous materials." KRON quotes Joseph as saying at the time that the number of explosives found in the home posed a "huge danger" to the neighborhood. Karasev reportedly lived in the 2,743-square-foot house with his wife and three kids. He faces a slew of charges including child endangerment, arson, interfering with electrical lines, and possessing materials with intent to make an explosive device. (More real estate stories.)

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