Philadelphia townhouse lists for bargain $50K – but disturbing photos reveal a wild catch for potential buyers
A three-bedroom townhome in Philadelphia has gone viral online for its photos and one odd detail.
Buyers looking for a home in Philly may be shocked by the $50,000 price tag, but there’s one strange catch.
The 86 square meter, one bathroom property comes with a squat that each buyer takes full responsibility for, according to the list.
The photos advertising the property are also curious, showing police officers amid abandoned rooms full of clutter and damaged ceilings.
“This is an active squat,” the ad reads.
Disturbing footage of $50,000 Philadelphia property shows police officer
The advertisement further states: ‘The buyer is responsible for everything in the house, including the squatter.’
If anyone is still interested in buying the property, they will have to do so without having seen it.
“Under no circumstances can viewings be arranged. Drive by only,” the menacing ad reads.
‘Enter the house and squat at your own risk. The seller accepts no liability.’
Despite these details, there is still interest in the 1915 property, which also has an unfinished basement and no source of heating or cooling, according to real estate agent Larry Levin.
He said he had received calls from interested buyers.
On average, homes in Philadelphia are
“They weigh the risk against the purchase price of renovating it without ever having seen it,” he told Realtor.com.
“They do the calculations and determine whether they think it’s worth paying for the acquisition to offset the risk.”
Levin explained that the photos of the neglected property were taken by the owner after he decided to sell the house.
The house is in a state of disrepair as can be seen from the listing photos
The alarming images show cracked ceilings and debris in several rooms
Any buyer would have to undergo a complete dismantling before the home would be habitable
The property currently has no source of heating or cooling
‘She went over to see how things were going, discovered the squatter and called the police.’
Levin, who works for Realty Mark Huntingdon Valley, explains that the squatter situation is “actually pretty common in Philadelphia.”
Evicting a squatter from a property he has taken over, without a lease and without paperwork, can result in a lengthy legal process.
Evicting a squatter can take “four to 12 months” and cost between “$7,000 and $12,000,” he explained.
The posting went viral, with users discussing the unusual situation on Reddit.
Someone joked: ‘So the buyer is responsible for feeding the squatter? Kind of like a pet that comes with the house?’
Another user added: ‘In today’s economy this is literally a steal.’