Don’t declare it a buyer’s market just yet. A Denver row home contaminated with meth is under contract for $500,000.
The row home in the Five Points neighborhood came with the following description on the real estate website Zillow:
“Investor special. Home has been designated as contaminated with methamphetamine. Cash only deal. Do not enter the property without the proper hazmat protection.”
Tim Davis, the listing agent, said he was hired to sell the home after the previous owner passed away. The three-bedroom, four-bath row house originally was listed at $800,000, but after a potential buyer conducted an inspection a high level of methamphetamine was discovered.
The house looked normal, and there was no indication that drugs were manufactured or used in the house. But buildings where meth is smoked absorb traces of the drug, making them public health hazards.
“You don’t have to have a meth lab in the home to have high levels of meth,” Davis said.
The home was taken off the market after the discovery for further inspection. The price was lowered to $500,000 — well below market rate — and opened for offers from contractors who had experience dealing with drug or environmental hazards, Davis said.
To make it livable and approved by the state for a normal sale, “you would basically have to strip it down to the studs,” Davis said. If a contractor purchases and renovates the house, the re-sell could bring a profit.
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The sellers asked for cash only. After the price was lowered, Davis received numerous offers from contractors. It is under contract and should close soon.
Homes containing traces of drugs are not unusual, but, in 30 years in the real estate business, Davis said this is the first time he’s seen such a high-end property contaminated with drugs.
“Our meth situation doesn’t just hit lesser-end properties or the less fortunate,” he said.
