Warning!
The volatile, toxic nature of manufacturing “meth” makes it a very serious health issue. For every pound of methamphetamine (crank) manufactured there is six pounds of toxic waste and residue left behind. In addition to the hazardous waste concerns, the making of “crank” in a drug lab is highly susceptible to explosions and fires. Trust me, you don’t want to be living in a former drug lab home or even near a drug lab. It is not going to be very good for your safety, home appreciation or resale value.
It would definitely be nice to make sure your new home wasn’t a former drug lab for Meth. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) thinks the same way. This is why they have started the National Clandenstine Labortary Register, a great web site that will allow you to look up houses in your state that have been identified as meth labs.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is still trying to set guidelines & procedures on how to deal with drug lab homes. It seems NAR can’t figure out how to properly disclose drug homes and/or how to set standards for cleaning up drug homes. As of August 2008 NAR has no policy in place to deal with this issue.
So, take a second to review the registry to see if your new dream home was a former drug home. While your looking, you also might want to check other addresses of family members, friends, co-workers, etc. Lucky for us, it appears the higher concentration of drug homes are located in the southern states.
My Buyer Broker Advocate! 
5 comments
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November 12, 2008 at 12:46 pm
MuchoMama (Stacy from BBM)
Lucky for you…but I’m in Southern Illinois!! TONS OF METH LABS! ha ha
August 13, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Michael
Julie, Excellent point. The DEA registry was not meant to be an all inclusive list of drug lab homes. But, at least it is a good start. Thanks, Home Buyer Advocate Mike
August 8, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Julie Mazzuca
I just want to caution your readers…just because it isn’t listed on the DEA site that doesn’t mean there is no cause for concern. 75% of the properties we clean have no law enforcement activity in their history. Statistically, only 1 in 10 meth labs are busted – Oklahoma’s Narcotics Task Force estimates 1 in 30. The smartest thing to do is have the property tested professionally.