10 Outrageous Fails I've Seen as a Real Estate Investor

Real estate investors see and hear a lot of ridiculous and downright humorous things. We are probably exposed to more sheer lunacy than virtually any other profession. I wish I had recordings from some of the more humorous tenant interactions I’ve had (although many weren’t that humorous at the time).

But what I can share with you is part of a picture project that I’ve put together. I call it The Ode to Do-It-Yourselfers. Most of the houses I look at are bank owned and almost all of them need a lot of work. Some of them have had treasures left to us be their former residents that should bare testament to the dangers of unbridled DIYedness. After witnessing more than a few of these remodeling abominations, I knew I needed to document my findings for posterity.

So here I present you with some of the funniest things I’ve seen being a real estate investor.

The Top 10 Most Outrageous Fails I’ve Seen as a Real Estate Investor

10. Bad Plumbing or Really Bad Ventilation

At first glance, this may not look like much of a problem. But the part on the left is a plumbing stack and the part on the right is a heating duct. One way or another, this could not have turned out well.

9. The Throne Room

Just in case you’re in the basement and all of a sudden, nature’s call makes those stairs an insurmountable obstacle.

8. The Application From Hell

Not every ridiculous thing has to do with a botched rehab. This is an application we got quite a few years ago. The applicant was in the office for well over an hour filling out this nonsense. I’ve redacted any potentially sensitive information, not that you could have made it out anyways.