PLUS a lab puppy 6 months old 155 pounds.

What are the proper steps to take when you've identified a potential deal...............that used to be a meth lab??

Downtown Riverside also has some intriguing projects like the Food Lab (similar to Anaheim Packing House).Just wanted a casual discussion. 

Do you mean the yard is overgrown with weeds or is half the property burned and the remaining half contaminated from a meth lab?

He looked at the seller disclosure which stated the property had been exposed to  - his words - "Meth Lab exposure which has been remediated". 

Preferably have them send a Certificate of Decontamination and report to the local and state health departments.The EPA's Guidelines to Meth Lab Cleanups

Once the work is complete, you need to have a re-inspection done and the inspector takes dust wipes and sends to to an independent lab for testing.

It could be that the place is just rundown and you can fix it up and make a great deal out of it like @John Leavelle, but you also could be up against flood damage, pests, toxic mold, a prior meth lab, or any number of things.

Good luck man ..... for me when i went to school i always thought of that "Degree"  as an "asset" that must pay dividend for 30+ yrs to come and also should have a minimum market demand .....so i went after Engineering ..and it paid more dividend that i could even dream ....So, my vote is for you to think "Physics/Chemistry/Math"and your world will be different..... example:  A) you can do MAGIC just by spending 15 mins to identify best deal on the block using one math equation (simple regression) analyzing Comps that will take lot of years of experience to figure out ....and B) Guys with physics /subsurface background in Houston are killing by buying mineral right where everyone is fighting for above surface.

You can do the testing yourself and spend around 2k/yr for lab work.