Let’s touch on a darker side of real estate today. I’m really not trying to gross you out, but things like this are sometimes a reality for agents and appraisers when inspecting dank and filthy distressed properties. This house had bottles full of urine throughout the front room. Why is that?
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Thank you to Realtor Anne Graviet for letting me share this photo. This certainly illustrates the less-than-clean side of real estate, doesn’t it? For reference foreclosures only represent about 12% of the market right now in Sacramento County compared with 73% of the market four years ago. I always take a shower immediately after inspecting houses like this.
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Hi Ryan,
Oh I just hate appraising homes that have squatters….literally!
Sonja
You nailed it. I’m not a fan of squatters either. I saw a house in MLS the other day that said, “Seller leaves the front door unlocked to prevent people from breaking in. Probably best not to view property alone”. That’s one property I would not go to alone because you know somebody else is going to be there.
The question I have for SOCIETY is: Why would NOT keep full bottles of urine around the house? ;P
That made me laugh Elisha. 🙂
Well done.
My guess would be spite — The previous owners probably felt, with some justification, duped by lenders. Others leave a door open and certain arrangements are made for persons to steal everything possible — a strip down job — I’ve seen them. Anyway, that’s my guess.
Ricardo
That’s a great guess Ricardo. There are certainly “open door” policies where everything ends up being stolen. It’s amazing what can happen to a house when someone is there who is not supposed to be there. It’s a wonder to me though why someone would not empty the bottles or at least keep them outside. Even if the water was turned off, there is a better solution than leaving bottles inside.
The contractor doesn’t give his paint-crew any bathroom breaks.
That is classic and too funny, Anne. For anyone interested there have been 10+ comments on my Facebook page too (www.facebook.com/SacramentoAppraiser)
It is to sprinkle around the perimeter to keep the coyotes away. I saw it on flipping Las. Vegas
That is great. It’s all about protecting the house and survival. 🙂
Squatters. Yes
They are saving it so that later when then need a fix they can get that residual meth that their body did not adsorb the first time through. Sad but true. I seem to see this often in rougher zip codes.
Did you visit that property with the open door??? It was an interesting non conforming property. Like an old hostel or something….
Wow Nate. You must be right. I just did some reading on meth and urine. I had no idea about this. I honestly chalked it all up to squatters. My gut was telling me drugs were involved somehow. Dirty properties, squatting and drugs seem to be connected. Thanks Nate.
Usually if its party people breaking in, they just pee and don’t bother with bottles. So Nate is probably right. BTW, that house looks “clean” by comparison to some I have seen. That means its cleared out and not stewn with a lot of junk. I have seen the worst REO’s in Detroit, but when the mortgage meltdown occurred here, the inside of some CA homes looked just like Detroit!
Thanks Janice. I do think Nate nailed it (nice job Nate). You’re right that this one isn’t all that bad. Overall REOs have become much better in the past few years compared to what they were in late 2007 and early 2008.
There is a squatter living at 4344 Greenholme Drive #20 Sacramento, CA 95842
I’m sorry to hear that. Have you reported it to code enforcement or the police department?
I did. They actually did come out, but the squatter had cleared out by then. The place has been empty the entire winter. We think it’s because we fixed the lock so the door won’t stay closed, so it’s probably much too cold to stay in during the winter. So far this summer, I’ve seen no activity. I was worried they’d come back in the warmer months. I wish the place could be sold already.
Hi Sick of It. Are you currently selling this property? It sounds like you are.