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!

[Roy N.]

Originally posted by @Ben Leybovich:

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

You ARE bored my friend...

 Ben ... my thoughts exactly .... 

... that an a shower might be in order ...

[Account Closed]

Wow this is crazy. Can't imagine someone living in a place like this. Very much looking forward to seeing the rehab results. Good luck!

[James Bell]

Every time I walk into a house like your I think, "This is the smell of money".  My biggest profits have come from hoarder houses.  Nasty, but profitable.

[Franklin Romine]

Burke your a bad ***.  I hope you make decent money on this one.

Frank

[Matt Laird]

@Brian Burke 

I would get that thing sold before posting the address... Wow.. Love them cat folks..

[Byron Sims]

Wow! This story is most interesting. Never seen anything like that here in Texas.  At least not me. lol

[Amanda Hensley]

My skin is crawling...

[Sylvia B.]

Makes me think my last rehab - where someone played fling the cat poo and spit tobacco juice on the walls - was not so bad. At least it didn't require hazmat suits!

[Cory Mickler]

That is by far the worst house I have ever seen!

I would love to remodel a house like that for $100,00k though!

[Johnson H.]

Excellent thread Brian! Keep the pictures and updates coming. I hope you make some good money off this flip!

[Troy Best]

WOW!! That"s awful thanks for sharing.

[Steve Babiak]

@Brian Burke as far as the sand removal, did your team consider doing it some other way? Maybe a chute like the roofers or concrete guys use. Or maybe what they do when digging Phila row home basements deeper; they fill 5 gal buckets and get those to the window. Of course being upstairs a pulley system / block and tackle would be useful for moving such buckets once at the window. I would guess one of those would beat getting wheelbarrows up and down stairs.

[Brian Burke]

@Steve Babiak that would have been an interesting idea.  Where the heck were you in January??!  There is only one accessible upstairs window facing the front, perhaps some type of conveyor belt system straight into the dumpster would have done it.  It would have been a fairly long run, though.  I think the crew was probably a little bit in denial as to the scope of the sand, thinking surely they would quickly find the bottom of it in a couple of wheelbarrow loads.  Not to be, however.

[Mike Clark]

This is like passing by a car wreck I don't want to look, can't  look,  don't slow down...

too late I am looking and can't  wait for the next pics

[Chuck Holland]

I always thought weirdos and cat lady's shop at trader joes.  I was right all along.  I had a hoarder once.   Only once.    Humans are disgusting.    

[Rob Anderson]

Wow. I want to see the kind of rats you would find in a place like that. The person/people that lived there must be in terrible health after being in a place like that for so many years. 

Sourced from ehow.com: The ammonia smell that results from the urine in the cat litter can be toxic if the concentration is high enough. Among other things, prolonged exposure to the smell of ammonia from cat litter can cause coughing, nausea, irritated lung membranes, eye irritation and abnormally high heart rate. Certain bacteria that live in a cat's feces can also be particularly damaging.

[Stephen S.]

There are a truly astonishing number of people living about like that.  When you are in the heating and air conditioning business - you get to see A Lot. <g>  

Where's the furnace?

Over there - in the corner.

What corner?  You knew we were coming to fix it - did you think about maybe clearing a path?

Well;  we'll have to move a few things . . . . 

Hey;  the pay is the same . . . . 

I wouldn't do it now though. <g>

I was in a house some years ago where there was literally no spot on the floor, anywhere in the very large house, big enough to put your foot down without stepping in dog poop.  The owner, a beautiful, ethereal really, early 30's woman, answered the door wearing rubber boots.  About a $500K per-house neighborhood.  In the CA the house would have been several million dollars.  A newish 600 Mercedes and a tricked out Hummer in the driveway, big fountain in the front yard, miles of hardscaping and three pools on different levels in the back yard.  They had $50K+ outdoor BBQ kitchen out there including both an automatic dishwashers AND a glasswasher.

The smell inside the house was crippling and there were literally Piles of non-poop crap and trash everywhere.  Only the scale of the made it possible to walk around in there.

These people are Everywhere and it seems to be a geometrically increasing problem to me.  

stephen
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Originally posted by @Tiffany Plovie:

Wow! I am truly amazed... And speechless!!! It makes me wonder how anybody can live like this!

[Chris Masons]

Wow, this is truly incredible. Did the homeowner make any comments as to the condition of the house? I wonder how many years this took???

I feel bad for the Landlord who is now renting to this person!! I am hoping this is not the case though...

Anyway, great pictures Brian I can't wait to see teh finished product. It looks like every cat in the neighborhood may have used the kitchen as a litterbox!!!!

Chris

[John E.]

@Brian Burke Why flip this house? This house could probably make a lot more money for you if you just flipped it to a Hollywood director for his/her latest horror movie. LOL!

Paranormal Flipping Activity: The Stench of Litter

Coming to theaters soon!! 

[Benjamin Timmins]

Originally posted by @John E.:

@Brian Burke Why flip this house? This house could probably make a lot more money for you if you just flipped it to a Hollywood director for his/her latest horror movie. LOL!

Paranormal Flipping Activity: The Stench of Litter

Coming to theaters soon!! 

 Damn, I feel sorry for that cat....

[Jessica H.]

Oh wow! So gross! Yet eager to see what you can make out of this!

[Danny Di]

Someone was actually living in there!?

[Amy A.]

Here's your next flip, just 2 towns from me!  Dead man and dog found inside and firemen had to break in.

 http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/local/2014/06/10/l...

 I used to live near Santa Rosa and I know it's getting hot there, so I hope you have it gutted now so you can breath in there!  No doubt your hard work will pay off. 

I purchased a hoarder's home last year for $20k, but the bank had it all cleaned out.  We had to basically rebuild it, but the well, foundation and wiring were ok and we made a decent profit. 

[Jonathan K.]

@Brian Burke 

 I wonder what kind of pet they had living in the cage? Once you dig out from all those Trader Joe's bags, I wonder if there could be a mold problem too.

[Jeffrey Armstrong]

Thanks for the pics, next time my wife complains I left a mess I'll prove her wrong! :-)