House listed for $1.5M comes with meth lab; buyer pays for cleanup
If you're on the market for a San Jose fixer-upper, here's a doozy: This one can't be legally inhabited until the inactive meth lab inside is cleaned up. The list price? $1.5 million.
It's being sold as is — and the purchaser will get it sight unseen. At least on the inside. No access to the house will be provided before the Santa Clara County Health department gives its approval, the property listing notes.
The San Jose home, about a block north of Gunderson High School, was raided in March of this year as part of an explosives investigation targeting 36-year-old Peter Karasev, who investigators said was using it as a base to stockpile bomb-making chemicals and methamphetamines.
Over the course of four days, San Jose police and explosive specialists with the FBI and National Guard uncovered “homemade liquid explosive, multiple energetic homemade destructive devices and multiple suspected destructive devices,” unspecified bombmaking materials, and pipe bombs, the Mercury News previously reported.
Karasev, who lived in the home with his wife and three children, is now in custody and faces a federal indictment for planting several bombs around San Jose, including ones that targeted Pacific Gas & Electric infrastructure. His family has been relocated.
Explosions occurred Dec. 8 outside the Macy's department store at Westfield Oakridge Mall and on Jan. 5 at Snell Avenue and Santa Teresa Boulevard, in the wee hours of the morning. The similarities between the two explosions indicated a single person was behind them, and police used cellphone tracking and surveillance video to tie Karasev to the bombings.
The listing notes that the cost to clean up the meth contamination will be added to the home's price. Originally listed at $1.425 million, the home increased in price last week to $1.55 million.
The 2,743-square-foot, six-bedroom house, in the Vista Park neighborhood, was previously purchased at $1.5 million in 2021.
Cindy Selleos, the property's listing agent, did not respond to request for comment.