Thursday, December 20, 2007

Crazy Shit - it's non-stop!


In the 5 years I've been in Real Estate I've sold 130 some houses. On average I'll show a client 30 properties before they find the one. So that's roughly 4,000 houses I've been through. 3,000 of those were normal, 900 were really nice and 100 are where insane people live - I never cease to be amazed by the crazy shit you see out there.
I really need to write these things down as they happen and carry a camera with me, otherwise today's oddity just get replaced by tomorrow's nutjob house. I've stumbled across prosthetic limbs, dildos and bongs. I've been in houses completely packed with creepy antique dolls, packed with cats that come popping out of nowhere and plenty of homes packed with filth. There are all kinds of decorating oddities as well - recently I saw decorative molding around a front door that was made from a garden hose, spray painted gold and screwed to the wall. Fairly common and ALWAYS unpleasant is the sleeping person, even in the middle of the day. Keep in mind, THESE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SELL THEIR HOUSE!!!
A little while back I saw one that I said was, "the worst house I've ever been in". To be fair, I've seen worse - homes that are trashed and even after being fixed up they'd still suck. This one will be nice when someone fixes it up - but at the moment it's pretty shocking.


Apparently this home went into forecloser and they never winterized the plumbing. Our guess was that a pipe (or several) burst and flooded the house completely (resulting in a $100,000 price reduction). Wall paper and plaster peeled from the ceilings and walls.


The wood floors expanded, buckled and ripped themselves apart. This soaked ceiling fan warped. And of course there was plenty of mold.


The great news is that I sold this house to some very capable clients who are going to fix it up and live here. It's awesome that this place is getting a second chance and I hope to see it again after they're done with it.