My (Temporary) New Neighbor

On a recent Sunday, I engaged in my weekly ritual: I went to 3 open houses in my neighborhood. The first two were ordinary — as usual, I used ZMobile to get the Zestimates from my cell phone (send an address to z@labs.zillow.com). I was pleased to learn that the Zestimates were very close to the asking prices. But the third house was bizarre.

As soon as I walked in, I was taken aback by the stench. There was no furniture, the carpets were stained and the house reeked. I quickly figured out why this house was asking $710,000 when most houses in the neighborhood sell for $1M+.

Anyway, the Realtor noticed me grimacing and then filled me in. Apparently the homeowner is an elderly man who several months ago moved into a nursing home. When the owner’s family hired this agent to sell the house, the agent discovered a squatter had apparently broken into the house and had been living there for several months. I should add that my house is right around the corner and shares a fence with this house. Also, several months ago my wife told me she saw a man hop the fence and go into their backyard. I told her she was crazy and ignored the event. (When will I learn?!) Anyway, the man — the squatter — bolted when the agent entered the house that day. Several months and many cans of aerosol later, the house is now on the market.

I will say this for the house: for someone with a limited sense of smell and an appetite for a big-time remodel, it’s a bargain at $700K. The house next door (which is in great condition) just sold for $1.4M, so I think this one could be fixed up for less than the $700K difference.

The whole squatting incident reminded me of an interesting column by Bob Bruss in which he discusses squatter’s rights and how to steal a property without going to jail.  Obviously, my temporary neighbor was not trying to work the system, he was just trying to find a place to live for a while.

Update: As I expected, the house sold very quickly and demolition has already begun.