Cat Litter House: Flip # 653 and it could be the worst one yet. Look at the pics and you decide.

[Brian Burke]

Some flips are easy...paint, carpet, clean, and list.  Then there are the hard ones. 

I've never posted a diary of a flip before.  With over 600 flips under my belt I sometimes think that I've seen it all.  Then I see something I haven't seen before.  This time, It's so outrageous that I couldn't resist sharing.  I'll share the visuals, but fortunately for you I can't share the smells.  This is kind of a diary and kind of not...I bought it in January so you don't get the day-by-day play-by-play, but it's not done yet so this isn't old news either.

I came across this deal from a wholesaler who I met on BP (thanks yet again BP for making me money).  He hadn't seen the house in person but he had heard it was in bad shape.

I sent my acquisitions guy down there to look at the house. When he came back he said, "that's the worst house I've ever seen." At first I thought "Come on, really? You've looked at over a thousand houses for me!" Ultimately, I took his word for it. We threw a number at the rehab and ARV and made an offer. It was accepted.

Here are the numbers:

ARV $400,000 (probably a little more, I hope)

Rehab $175,000 (probably a little less, I hope)

Since there were some unknowns I had to make a conservative offer.  It would take a while to fix this place up, so I had to add some margin to cover the carrying costs. 

My offer: $125,000.

Closing was about a month later.  The seller agreed to move out and leave the key at the title company.  On move-out day, I went down to the house to see it for myself for the first time.  When I opened the front door, this is what I saw.

Ok, so now I knew that my acquisitions guy was right!  We were in for it!

Have you ever seen anything like it?  Wait, it gets worse.  More to follow!

[Dawn Niermann]

Oh my!

[Brian Burke]

I had to have my climbing shoes on because the heaps of garbage were taller than me.  Fortunately for me, part of the house had some trails that I could navigate.  That's a trail in the center of the picture.

I've never seen spider webs like this except for the fake ones you see in front yards on Halloween.  These are real.

The workers all asked if anyone was living here.  Yes!  See, here is a picture of the kitchen, they kept one burner available for cooking.  Something tells me the dishwasher doesn't get much use...

[Brian Burke]

I can't remember the final count, but it took over twelve 40-yard dumpsters to trash this place out.  That's a lot of garbage for only 2,000 SQFT of house.

I don't think the master bedroom got much use, either.

Neither did the master bathroom.  The dress hanging on the shower rod probably hasn't moved in a decade, judging by how it's encased in cobwebs.

[James Wise]

wow

[James Wise]

cant wait to see side by side before & after photos.

[Tom Reynolds]

 Hoarders...they're the worst. trash, rot and everything that follows.

[Brian Burke]

I'd say 80% of the homes I've bought were purchased on the courthouse steps.  When buying at the auction, you don't get to see the inside.  This is one home I'm really glad I didn't buy at auction.  Judging by the appearance from the street, you'd never guess what you were to find inside.  At the auction, this deal surely would have been a big loser due to underestimating the rehab.  There is no indication here that the house was THIS bad.

If you were able to see the back yard, there might be a clue, however.

Back yard BBQ, anyone?  There's plenty of kindling.

[Matt R.]

Holy Moly! Thanks for sharing. 

[Steve Babiak]

Does the nearest Trader Joe's sell alcohol? Because lots of TJ bags and empty cartons that held beer.

And please tell me you or your team introduced the seller to this invention called a trash bag, or at least mentioned that the TJ bags could be put to good use for holding some trash. Oh, I forgot - this seller did not recognize this stuff as trash :)

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

Wow! That is quiet the house! Looks like you got a great deal! Can't wait to see the finished house.

[Brian Burke]

Using a bag to store trash?  Why would they want to do that?!  :)  Ultimately, the TJ bags would be the least of our problems. Stay tuned.

[Christopher Hunter]

@Brian Burke Oh!!! that is a beautiful thing.

[Mhamed Channaj]

priceless!!!!!! 

[Joshua Dorkin]

Holy crap!  That's the biggest dump I've seen.... good luck, @Brian Burke 

[Ben Leybovich]

Haha - al this for $100k...?!

You ARE bored my friend...

[Sherrine Milton]

Oh my!! If I lived there I would be afraid that something was going to rise up and eat me. Can't wait to see the finished product!

[Account Closed]

Holy crap! I'll second that! That is a ridiculous trash out job. If it's that full I'm sure you can smell it from several houses away. The neighbors will love you for cleaning that place up.

It's so painful to see the homes of hoarders especially if you have ever had a loved one with this particular mental illness.

[Brian Burke]

@Joshua Dorkin you ain't seen nothin' yet!  This is just the beginning.  Just wait until my next round of pics.  Hey, I wouldn't even own this place if it wasn't for you...no BP = no meeting of my source of this deal = no deal.  

@Ben Leybovich which one of us is bored?  Didn't you just build a shed in your back yard?    This is a for-profit venture, my friend!  LOL

[Jay Hinrichs]

Brian,,, been in one as bad in Sunnyvale. CA. and that lady was a nurse !!! .. And one in Portland almost as bad and one out in the outskirts of pdx bad but not that bad.... I wonder if they worry about mold? The one in PDX I never touched because it had a second lot.. I listed it on MLS put in the private remarks.. ( Warning Hazmat suite and Masked Required) I had agents calling me thinking I was joking and I told them no joke.... From door is wide open go on in.. Eventually sold it to rehabber who took it to studs split off a lot and built another home and came out smelling like Rose !!

[Matt Laird]

That's a thing of beauty.. How is the neighbor hood? seems some one would have complained to the city prior to it getting this bad.. 

Call your Dr. make sure your shots are up to date, that place could be contagious.. 

[Ben Leybovich]

@Brian Burke 

Dude - don't you think that I'd rather not be bored.  There are too many damn idiots and jerks out there...

[Brian Burke]

@Jay Hinrichs our crew wore hazmat suits when emptying this house, so I know exactly what you mean.  I've had other similar houses but none as bad as this one. I just opened escrow on another one that will close Friday...fortunately on that one most of the stuff is outdoors, but it's an acre of debris and enough cars to open up a car lot (if the cars weren't 30 years old!)

[Brian Burke]

@Matt Laird this house is in one of the best neighborhoods in that particular city. When the neighbors saw inside they couldn't even believe it. They had no idea. Funny thing, you couldn't smell it until we took off the top layers of trash.  Then you could smell it from two houses away.  After the trees were cut down in the front yard, one neighbor said that he didn't even realize that it was a two story house.  Crazy.  Check back after I post the next update, the plot thickens.

[Kenneth Huddleston]

The only houses i've seen as nasty as that one have been on TV. Good luck, but i do have a question for you. Why is it taking so long? You said you bought it in January and 5 months, although i don't pretend to be an expert, seems like a long time for a rehab in general, even a nasty one like this. That being said, if these pictures are up to date you look like you just started or have made very little progress. Did you have other projects you were working on? Were you just reluctant to start on this? Speaking from my own perspective, i would want to get a property like this done as fast as possible just for the fact that i am not too fond of something like this EXISTING let alone owning it. I'm not trying to criticize, i'm just legitimately curious what the hold up is.

[Kenneth Huddleston]

Also, if these pictures aren't modern, would you mind sharing more recent picks as i am looking forward to see this tough nut broken?