By MONA NAIR
6 News Reporter
LOUDON (WATE) – A Loudon house once used for making meth was put on the market recently.
But is it, or any meth house, a home you’d want to buy?
In theory it would seem like the house is one heck of a deal. It has four bedrooms, two baths, and is listed for $8,500.
The catch is you have to buy it “interior sight unseen.”
The occupants were busted in 2010 for using the house to make meth. Three men were sent to prison for making the illegal drug. They left behind a hazardous environment in the home.
“We categorized this property as level three of contamination. Level three out of four, meaning there was quite a bit of material consistent with making meth in the house,” explained Lt. Paul Curtis, narcotics director at the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.
The house was quarantined by the Loudon County Narcotics Team. Being inside a contaminated home like this could cause headaches, dizziness, vomiting, and even cancer.
Employees of the realty company listing the foreclosed property did not want to do an interview about it, so we talked to area realtor Traci Kollock about these situations.
“They have to be cleaned and inspected by professionals. There are people who go and just clean these houses,” explained Kollock, with Smoky Mountain Realty. “I can’t imagine why someone would buy a house they haven’t been in to begin with.”
Lt. Curtis agrees it is unconventional to sell a home without allowing anyone to see the inside.
According to Tennessee law, without a cleaning and inspection, “it is an offense for any person to offer that property to the public.”
So if the home was cleaned and inspected, why list it as sight unseen?
“It is interesting, it also raises some other questions and creates some work for my group. I need to look into that and need to see exactly what has transpired as far as them listing the property,” Lt. Curtis said.
Despite that, we’re told someone bought the property on Monday because of its low price.
We don’t know who that person is. The place is now boarded up.