California house with meth lab on sale for $2.6m

It can be hard to crack the property market.

Rising prices across the world have seen many frozen out but for those willing to try and break the ice, a unique opportunity has arisen.

The family home in San Jose, California, built in 1975, sits on 557 square metres and comes with six bedrooms, four bathrooms, one garage and off-street parking.

It also has air-conditioning, easy access to a nearby freeway... and a meth lab.

The property was previously owned by 35-year-old Peter Karasev, a married father of three, but the Karasev family won’t be enjoying the conveniences of the property again after the man of the house was arrested for blowing up electrical transformers around the city with homemade explosives.

From the outside, the property used to appear as any other suburban home. Photo / Google Street View

Unsurprisingly, Karasev was reportedly not entirely sober while he built his explosives and conducted his homespun bombing campaign.

KRON 4 News reports that Karasev was interested in rockets, concerned about the war in Ukraine... and used methampehtamine.

A Google Street View image shows a typical suburban home with some obvious ongoing DIY projects and a small garden.

But current photos on the Keller Williams property site tell a different story, showing the property fenced off and signs warning that it is condemned.

Sounds like a pearler of a property - so how much will it set you back?

$2.6 million.

For that price, the lucky buyer will get an “inactive meth lab and meth contamination,” according to the agents.

They also won’t get access to the property until it is cleared by the Santa Clara County Health Department.

The San Jose property has seen better days. Photo / Keller Williams

A local property expert told KRON 4 that the vendors might be hoping for a wee bit too much with the $2.6m price tag.

Zaid Hanna from Real Estate 38 told the outlet that “if they do achieve the $1.55m (NZ $2.6m) that they are asking for, that’s a homerun. I’d be very surprised if they get it.”

Hanna estimated it would take up to US$300,000 ($516,000) to make the property livable again.

Asked if the property was worth the investment, Hanna gave a straightforward response.

“The answer is no,” Hanna said.