Madison, Wisconsin to Sebastian, Florida
One Saturday morning Bill Quigley and I were talking about Home Inspections on our weekly radio show – this time in conjunction with foreclosures and sheriff’s auctions. We were interviewing our guest and exchanging stories on air about the importance of home inspections prior to sale, when Bill relates the unusual story of a client of his having bought a home at an auction.
Apparently the buyer didn’t have the time to pre-inspect the property and apparent was hoping for the best. He won the bid, but when the lender sent the appraiser to the home, he found a toilet sitting in the middle of the living room floor. And it was plumbed and fully functional!
On the show we speculated that the previous homeowner had installed it to facilitate his Saturday football TV-watching. We mused about the neighbors hearing him shout, “Hey Honey, bring me a beer and a baloney sandwich, will ya? Oh yeah, and can you grab me some Charmin…” or similar. PBS fan? Health needs? NASCAR enthusiast? No library in town? We had fun guessing, as you can well imagine.
Truth is, this guy had apparently just been upset about the foreclosure, and had put the toilet there for spite. (Took some work to install – would take more to uninstall it.) Guess it beats the fish-behind-the-drywall and the Sakrete-in-the-toilet tricks, but it was nasty.
The buyer was lucky, very lucky. Apparently, that’s all that was wrong with the house. I DID find out the new owner removed the commode (WHY!?!?) at considerable expense. A happy “ending” – so to speak.
Moral of the story – Get access before you bid on a foreclosure at auction. The consequences can be a pain in the butt.
Art Blanchet
Bill Quigley
