In real estate, you would think that people would put on their best show when selling a house? Well think again!
In the past 5 years I’ve seen some pretty strange things from a dining room china buffet filled with rambo knives and gas masks to a room covered in spit! From weird to downright scary, here is a countdown of the 5 Weirdest Things I’ve Ever Seen in Real Estate.
# 5 The Pet Cemetery
I thought this only existed in a Steven King Novel, but I did see a real pet cemetery in a backyard last year with head stones and all. Someone REALLY loved their cats!
#4. The Panic Room
I once showed a townhouse in Burlington that had a room equipped with 12 monitors & closed circuit cameras covering all points inside and outside of the home. What was intriguing was that there was nothing in the house except some empty pizza boxes and 3 dirty mattresses upstairs. There was a strange gentleman home at the time (not sure if he owned the house) who paced nervously and said we would have to come back again if we wanted to see a small room in the corner of the basement….. Needless to say after the basement we cut the tour short.
#3. The Underground Hospital
Back in 2010 I was previewing homes for a buyer client that was relocating from out of town. When I walked into this house a very strange odor hit me as soon as I walked in. I called out my usual line to make sure no one was home, “Hello, hello, real estate agent to see the house” – no answer. My client at the time was someone open to a fixer upper and not afraid of damaged homes so I continued on my tour. As I went up the stairs I noticed a hospital bed in the hallway complete with dirty sheets, an IV stand and what looked like surgical utensils. While I was taking in the sight I realized that I wasn’t alone, i could hear someone moving in the room down the hall. What to do? Do I knock or not? I passed on that one and quietly let myself out.
#2. ‘Locked and Loaded’ Real Estate in Malton
Every time I have a listing it is common to receive sign calls from people in the neighbourhood that are curious how much their home is worth. On this occasion a neighbour of one of my clients called and said she wanted me to come by and give her a home evaluation. As I arrived I was greeted by a very weird woman who seemed as if something wasn’t right in her head. As we toured her house she told me about how she was robbed and beaten on more than one occasion in home invasions. What do you say to that? By this time I was thinking to myself, “I dunno about this woman” when we walked into the dining room. There on the dining room table was a rifle, just lying there in all of its glory. Now what do you do in a situation like that? My mind went blank, I was taken aback that someone would casually have a gun just lying there, so I blurted out in the most nonchalant way, “nice rifle, but if you sell I would strongly suggest putting that away, it may make potential buyers nervous.” She said she was just about to clean it as you never know when you’ll need to use it.
Ok, well I have enough info, let me go back to my office and crunch some numbers and I’ll call you…
I’ve met some crazy people in my real estate dealings, and I’ve been in some uncomfortable situations but nothing has ever made the little voice in my head scream, “get out of this house” like one home showing I had in the fall of 2011. Which leads me to my number 1 weird moment….
#1. Anaconda in Mississauga.
One morning in the fall of 2011, a client I was working with called me out of the blue to say she saw a house on the internet with a basement apartment and wanted to see it. Now up until that point in our search she had no interest in apartments (hence why I wasn’t looking for this type of home) so she asked if I could show it to her it on lunch time as it was not far from her work. Since I had no appointments at lunch that day I agreed.
As soon as we arrived at the house my ‘spidey senses’ went on high alert. There was no door knob or lock on the door and it was slightly open (always a good first impression…). “Hello, hello, anyone there? Real Estate agent here to see the house.” No answer, so we walked in and right away we were hit with a very strange smell. Inside, the home was completely empty aside from two knocked over chairs and ripped up newspaper scattered all over the floor. I then walked directly into the living room and that’s when I saw it. Sitting in the middle of the room was a 6 foot long snake cage with the door wide open. In the cage was a long, large, shedded snake skin that was as thick as a fire hose, and no snake. I looked at my client and said I don’t know about you but I’m getting the heck out of here now! We both flew out of that place! I’m not sure whatever happened, or if the snake was loose in the house, but if anyone lost a small pet in Huron Park in the fall of 2011 you might have your answer….
In over 5 years I’ve had the privilege of being in more homes then I can even start to remember. While 99.9% where typical, it’s always the weird and crazy homes you remember. I hope you enjoyed the 5 Weirdest Things I’ve Ever Seen in Real Estate!
