San Jose home with meth lab goes on market for $1.5 million
A San Jose home that was busted as a meth lab seven months ago is now for sale and the asking price is turning heads.
The home, located at 668 Potomac Court, went on the market for more than $1.5 million and is being sold as-is.
Surrounded by chain link fencing and warning signs reading “condemned,” the home is currently unsafe to occupy. Keller Williams Reality’s website lists the home for $1,550,000 and states, “Great opportunity to own large home. Great location to freeway and expressway. Home has inactive meth lab and meth.”
The homeowner, 35-year-old Peter Karasev, was arrested in March for keeping explosive materials, guns and narcotics inside. FBI agents said Karasev stockpiled highly explosive bomb-making chemicals while he lived at the home with his three young children and wife.
Police found chemicals, drugs and firearms “within easy reach of children,” San Jose Police Department Assistant Chief Paul Joseph previously told reporters. “It was not a safe environment for children, or for anyone.”
When he was questioned by detectives, Karasev said he was interested in building model rockets, used meth, and was concerned about the war in Ukraine, according to court documents. Investigators said Karasev built bombs that he used to blow up PG&E transformers around the city.
The property’s listing description says the home will be transferred to a new buyer in its current state.
Real Estate 38 owner Zaid Hanna told KTLA sister station KRON that, even though it’s a seller’s market, the listing price is quite ambitious. “If they do achieve the $1.5 million that they are asking for, that’s a homerun. I’d very surprised if they get it,” Hanna said.
Hanna says getting the home to a safe, livable state won’t be cheap. “Somebody will have to come and rip out the flooring, the sheet rock, insulation … so you’re looking at about two-to-three hundred thousand dollars to bring this back to where it needs to be,” he said.
Six bedrooms, four bathrooms and a 6,000-square-foot lot are some of the selling points; the house is also nestled in a residential neighborhood with a school nearby.
But is the house worth $1.5 million, plus $300,000 in repairs?
“The answer is no,” Hanna said.
KRON reached out to the listing agent who is selling the property, but they were unable to comment.
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