Bargin?

Mercy Haus was listed on Yahoo real estate for 6k in the summer of 2008. There were few photos of the property and little information regarding lot size and square footage. Investigating county tax records uncovered quite a bit of information.

The lot measured 75’ x 125’. Square footage was listed at 1500, though it is double that. Four bedrooms, one bath. The owner had purchased the property from a bank in 2006 for 13k. His mailing address was listed out of state. Taxes were up to date.

A walk through was scheduled and when we arrived the agent had to break into the house because there was no key. The first room we entered was the kitchen. All that remained was a broken dishwasher and gaping drain pipes. 

The next was the dining room, also completely bare. This pattern continued throughout the entire house. It had been totally stripped. This was a benefit in terms of garbage removal, though it did not outweigh the extreme damage the house suffered.  

Almost a year prior there had been a roof fire which was believed to be started by lightning in the southwest corner stack. The damage caused by the lightning was minimal; it left a crispy corner which had little open sky exposed. The majority of the problems stemmed from the 5’ x 4’ hole cut by the firefighters in order to save the house and its neighbors.  This is where the trickle effect began.

The bedroom directly under the hole was damp, sooty and filled with crumbling drywall and plaster. The dining room was beneath this soggy mess and had begun to suffer the same fate: wet walls, wet insulation, sooty everything. Water damage is one of the worst fates for a house, it weakens studs and walls, destroys ceilings and breeds mold.

It was clear that the price of 6k was a hopeful request on behalf of an absentee owner. After our walk-though, we offered $3,600. They accepted and we got ears deep in the world of deconstruction and renovation.