We sold a home that the buyers bought blind
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
United States
July 28, 2016 10:16am CST
Our first home in Tennessee was a two-year-old 'contemporary' farmhouse. It was a nice size home. The main level had two bedrooms, a huge bathroom, very good size living room, open plan to dining and kitchen. The master bedroom/bath were on the second floor all by themselves! The basement was finished but was not legal 'living space'. We had three acres and an 24-foot above ground pool.
Unfortunately, the builder wasn't the best when it came to steps and ours were very steep. I am not the best on steps and neither was the dog (that was Abby). Also, the tourist traffic was interesting the first few months, but after two years we had enough.
We listed the house with a realtor. A few days later my husband answered the phone and I heard him say he should speak to me. Turned out the guy was calling from Florida. He and his wife fell in love whit the photos of our home. He was very interested and asked hundreds of questions! I told him I would answer his questions, then he had to call our realtor- which he did.
Not a lot of time went by when he asked if his in-laws (from NC) could come look at the house. After they toured it he asked if friends of his could look at it. The actual buyers could not come to see it. They had just been here house-hunting before we listed ours and couldn't afford the time to make another trip. The husband was a to start work at the Dixie Stampede and he had to find a home immediately. He said he was "the opening act" which turned out to be far from the truth.
He and I did such a good job communicating that our realtor sorta let us roll with it. He made an offer directly to me, and after some countering we landed on a price that we both agreed to.
The closing came and went. They owned the home but still hadn't seen it. They didn't actually see their new home for about 4 days after they bought it.
Things didn't go well for them after that - they didn't realize he would have to spend many hours in rehearsals besides the time for the actual shows he was in. That left the house and the three acres to the wife and it was too much for them. They let the beautiful huge garden go to pot, the property wasn't taken care of.
The guy wasn't as important as he had led us to believe and his contract wasn't renewed...they sold off one acre of land to make ends meet. They listed the house for sale and the price kept dropping and dropping. It was finally sold at a very low price and the new owners have let the entire place go to pot. We saw it last year and I thought my husband would cry it looked so bad.
Anyway, the moral of the story is - don't buy a house without looking at it in person and if you are used to a tiny city-size yard maybe 3 beautiful flat acres should be left to someone else.
Photo is mine - the house the way we saw it last year. The photo doesn't show how bad it really looked. I didn't want to hang around, I was afraid the owner might come out with a shotgun!
9 people like this
10 responses
@celticeagle (189927)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Jul 16
That's a shame. It sounds like a lovely home with a nice piece of land. Terrible that people are not more responsible about their affairs.
1 person likes this

@celticeagle (189927)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Jul 16
@AbbyGreenhill ......Hope someone gets the place who will clean it up.
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
29 Jul 16
@celticeagle As far as I know the couple who that is letting it go to pot is still there, no hint of selling. They do have three man pit bulls that guard the yard - so the neighbors are kept at bay.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
28 Jul 16
They liked to brag and I think it backfired on their faces. Last I heard they went back to FL.
1 person likes this

@miniam (9151)
• Bern, Switzerland
28 Jul 16
I dont think l would buy a house without seeing it first, what someone feels is good might not be what i want.Anyway if/when the time ever comes to buy my own house,i`d even love to sleep there for a night to see how it feels at night and in the morning before making an offer.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
29 Jul 16
That's funny, I dont' think anyone would let you sleep in a house before buying it - I know I wouldn't.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
29 Jul 16
@miniam Our last home was empty so they owners allowed us to move some stuff in early - we got in writing just in case.
1 person likes this
@miniam (9151)
• Bern, Switzerland
29 Jul 16
@AbbyGreenhill
Can understand what you mean,you don't know why a stranger will want to sleep in your house.
I have a long list of must do`s and must have`s when buying a house,but then this is just fantasy, l dont think I'd ever be able to buy a house,I'm too poor.

@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
29 Jul 16
Their friends who looked at it for the said if they couple from FL didn't buy they would. That man worked at Dollywood and we were only a few miles from there. Oh well, we got our money out of it.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
29 Jul 16
that's sad. but some truth, you dont realize how much work that yard is...until you face it with a push mower in august
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
29 Jul 16
You don't use a push mower on three acres...if you do you deserve the punishment yot get. They, like most everyone in this state, had a riding mower.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
30 Jul 16
@AbbyGreenhill we can't afford to get ours fixed yet, it's on the list once we can spare the funds
@boiboing (13147)
• Northampton, England
29 Jul 16
I used to visit an old ex-neighbour and would always see what my successors had done to my house. It always felt uncomfortable to see something you'd loved being modified by others.
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
29 Jul 16
Yes, that is hard to swallow - we've sold 3 homes in TN and one home was a beautiful gray ranch with a black, brand new roof...the new owners had a bright blue metal roof put on - it looks awful - a little orange and it would look like the old Howard Johnsons (restaurant/motel).
@BettyB (4117)
• Summerville, South Carolina
29 Jul 16
I know several people that have bought through pictures. If you're careful and make sure you know exactly what you're getting, it can and does work. With society so transitional, it's becoming a common thing to do. Me, well I want to walk through the house before I commit. Pictures can be deceptive.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
29 Jul 16
This was 13 years ago. It was a great house, but not for them. I think they had big dreams that they couldn't fulfill.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
28 Jul 16
That would be a dream house for us! It is beautiful, and I love how many acres it is too. I wouldn't buy a house or rent it for that matter without seeing it first.
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
29 Jul 16
I think when you're talking that amount of money you spend a little more time/money to check it out in person.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (40052)
• Toccoa, Georgia
28 Jul 16
That is a very interesting story. It is amazing that anyone would buy a house without ever seeing it in person.
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
28 Jul 16
We thought so too LOL, but we were glad they did.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
28 Jul 16
The neighbors across the road keep saying how sorry they are that we moved because it was always a beautiful place when we had it.
1 person likes this
@amadeo (111937)
• United States
28 Jul 16
you made your point.But still people do buy houses with out looking at it.Lame.











