This week, I took some clients through a great house, only a block and a half away from mine. Great, in terms of potential, but not really livable in its current condition.
While our house was built in the early 1920's, it's obvious that this house was built in the early 1900's, and it was a premier house in it's day. While many of the houses here in the Bloor West Village area of Toronto have nice wide moldings and door casings, this place has wider moldings, plaster cornices, 10 foot ceilings, slate roof etc. It's a really great house, and at only 500k, it must be a steal, right?
The only problem is that (so another real estate agent told me) the previous owner died in it. Now, that's not as uncommon as you may think, but the story on this is that he lay undiscovered for three months.
On the dining room floor, is a large stain, the hardwood has buckled and the smell increases as you approach the room.
The home is being sold by the Public Guardian and Trustee which means he died without a will and there are no next of kin available.The conditions that this man lived in were completely deplorable. To call it a pigsty would be doing pigs an injustice. I had a few clients interested. Heck, if I was 20 years younger, I might even have a go at it. With all the clients I took through, the black humour jokes abounded.
I think it was everyone's way of dealing with the stain on the floor (which everyone took a wide berth around) and the deplorable living conditions. There was mouse poop everywhere, evidence of other critters- the kitchen was totaled.
Imagine no one knowing or caring that you had died there. Did he fall and live for a few days?
It's hard to believe that people live like this, but they do.
I go on about taking clients through the place and the smell, (by the fourth visit, I was getting used to it), but imagine the scene for the person who discovered all this or had to take out the remains.It just shows the value of having someone in your life, that knows, cares and checks on you. It really didn't make any difference to the person whether he was there for an hour or three months, thye result was the same, but there is something to be said for going out with dignity.
Your Perfect Match in Real Estate
Brad Furlott
Graydon Hill Realty