Trashed by former tenants, this once ‘majestic’ Colorado home is now a ‘slice of hell’
It’s definitely not what a home buyerwants to see when hunting for a new place to live: carpets covered in spray paint, a stench of rotting meat and animal corpses, punctured dry wall and more. All from the hands of a disgruntled former tenant.
Nevertheless, this fixer-upper of almost 3,600 square feet has found its way onto the market in Colorado Springs for $590,000.
“This formerly majestic five bed, four bath, three car garage home was once the seller’s pride and joy,” the listing says. “Now it’s every landlord’s nightmare and needs someone with firm resolve to appreciate its potential. If you dream of owning your own little slice of hell and turning it into a piece of heaven, then look no further! This house is not for the faint of heart but for that special person who can see through the rough diamond to the polished gem inside.”
You’ll have to look really hard to find that polished gem.
According to The Washington Post, home owner Suzy Myers was dealing with a disgruntled tenant who didn’t pay rent. Myers, along with real estate agent Mimi Foster, listed the home “as is“ after unsuccessfully trying to get the owner’s insurance company to rectify the situation.
“It’s all I have, so I’m trying to keep it out of foreclosure,” Myers said to The Washington Post. “The only thing I can do is to see if someone will try to buy as is.”
And now the home has gone viral.
From Redfin to the Facebook page “Zillow Gone Wild,” real estate fans have been both horrified and fascinated by the state of the now defiled estate and hope someone takes action against the person — or people — responsible.
One commenter suggested the house reeks of “Breaking Bad.”
“Has some former-White-family-house-when-Walt-returned-from-New-Hampshire vibes,” said one comment on Zillow Gone Wild.
“The tenant needs to be charged with animal cruelty in addition to property damage, etc,” one observed. According to the article in the Post, there were two dead cats discovered in one of the upstairs bathrooms.
“At least you can see the paint and meat,” said another comment. “It’s the invisibles to the mechanicals I would worry about like concrete dumped in drains etc. I would definitely get an inspection on those beforehand.”
Foster posted a video of a walk-through of the house on YouTube, which has more than 23,000 views.
“You will also notice there is not one surface of the home that has not been enhanced with black spray paint or a swinging hammer - damage done by an angry departing tenant who didn’t want to pay rent. But don’t let that slow you down,” the listing says.
“It’s not nearly as daunting as the freezer in the basement that’s full of meat and hasn’t had electricity to it for over a year. So be sure to wear your mask. Not for anyone else’s protection but your own. You may not be able to endure the smell if you don’t.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Trashed by former tenants, this once ‘majestic’ Colorado home is now a ‘slice of hell’."