Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
I was cleaning out closets to prep for paint and in the corner of the upper shelf found a baggy of what I assume were drugs of unidentifiable type ... and no I did not test them out to see what they were ...
Another one that is more common but what I use as a "tell" that I'm likely to get a good deal is this ... for bank foreclosures, in my market they don't have to worry about freezing pipes so they normally turn the water service off ... well, for some reason some people still see fit to use the bathroom facilities even though the water is off. So, if there is a turd in the toilet, I know I'm getting a good deal because it eliminates 99% of retail buyer competition, and it is usually an easy fix: 1)turn on water, 2)flush, 3)replace toilet for $100.
Oh, and one of the more ironic ones found once was a complete VHS set of a get rich quick real estate guru package ... it was in a foreclosure I bought, so I guess that particular system did not work as advertised. I put it in the trash where it belongs.
Rental Property Investor · Sumter, SC · Member since 2015 · 334 posts · 531 votes
9y
Disgusting - my current rehab, with its pounds of dead roaches everywhere and a pile of poo in the utility room. Couldn't decide whether that was done by two or four legged critters...
Also nasty - a crack pipe hidden in the electrical box, nicely wrapped in a baggie with a lighter.
Neat stuff - found a nice carved antique chair stuck up in the attic, along with some old Japanese tea cups. Also found a diary written by a young lady from the late 30's through WWII. Pretty interesting!
Wholesaler · Waldorf, MD · Member since 2015 · 459 posts · 245 votes
9y
I went to meet a "motivated" seller at his father's house that he had inherited when his father passed away 4 yrs ago. When I did a drive by a few days before our meeting, there was a big old sign on the door - "DANGER !!! KEEP OUT!!!" The front door was also boarded over. The son's wife (he is in his late 50s) told me it hadn't been occupied in about 2-3 years, & that it was her husband's childhood home. I talk price with her & we agree on it & I already have a buyer wanting it. I'm totally psyched!!
I get thier & the son/owner is there with a contractor. The contractor had pulled the boards down and the door was sitting open. When I did a quick glance in, I was instantly scared & disgusted.
I initially waited on them to lead the way, but they told me to go ahead! That's when my ego kicked in, I couldn't let 2 men see me chicken out. I walked in, & wanted to run out, but again my ego. I did an initial 10 sec walk through until I saw the outside shining in over my head. There was a huge hole in the roof & it had been there for those 2-3 years. Imagine a 1 level house with a HUGE hole in the roof just sitting there through all 4 seasons for 2-3 years.
I hurried out before I was attacked by something , but I realized I need to get some photos, that's when I made the brilliant decision to shoot video.
When I left out of there, I felt like I had all kind of spiders, mosquitoes, gnats, bugs crawling all over me for the next several hours. My wife had me through all my clothes in the washer the second I walked in the house.
What did I find? Nothing, I didn't want to stay in there at all, let alone look around.
Rental Property Investor · Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2017 · 113 posts · 91 votes
9y
We were doing an eviction, opened a shoe box on the closet shelf – dead squirrel, next to that a hand gun.
We’ve found lots of swords, a cat skeleton, and a big stain of blood under ruined carpet. The Police Forensics team said it was animal blood – It’s hard to figure out what some people are thinking!
Many years ago - roaches, mice, bats and rats... now-a-days those are all but gone, we hardly have any issues with any of those.
25 years ago, I was working under a sink on my back with roaches dropping in my face, just another day of livin the dream!
Rental Property Investor · Whittier, CA · Member since 2014 · 324 posts · 268 votes
9y
An REO I bought had a bunch of 5 gallon jugs of unknown liquid in the garage. I had a hazmat team come out to inspect them. Most of them were a mixture of used motor oil, transmission fluid, and gasoline, which they took away for disposal, the last was urine which they left me to deal with.
Durban, South Africa · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 9 votes
9y
A poem by the ex. tenant's daughter being addicted to drugs.
cellphone, knife, bicycle crank, bbq tongs, and other random objects at the bottom of the swimming pool. the water was black, you couldnt see any of it.
Wholesaler · Waldorf, MD · Member since 2015 · 459 posts · 245 votes
9y
@Nicole A. after all that the owner is sentimental about his run-down childhood home. After leaving the house, I wanted to talk about the contract. He tells me that he left it with his lawyer, and wanted his lawyer to review some of the items on there. It was a 3pg contract that I had emailed them over a week in advance to review including the purchase price. I ended up sending them a 1 pager. They ended up responding months later & doubled the price. The county assessment had come back & they wanted close to the appraisal value of the land. This wipes out all profit for any developer/builder.
Yes, it is a teardown. My buyer still wants it! It's in Glen Burnie, corner lot, great family neighborhood. Largest lot on the block.