The term “underwater” usually refers to sellers who owe more on their mortgage than the market value of their home.
And then there are homes that are literally under water, as reported in The Doings.
When a real estate agent showed up with a client to tour a 30,000 square foot mansion known locally as Villa Taj, he discovered that a broken pipe had flooded the home with millions of gallons of water, badly damaging the home.
To add insult to injury, the homeowner is likely to receive a sizable water bill.
Hat tip to Chicago Curbed for finding the link.
Very interesting… and since it happened in Chicagoland… very shady too!
This property as you mention has been on the market for a few years. They have attempted to auction it a few times but it never proceeded due to low response and I’m guessing the owner didn’t want to realize the huge loss he was going to take.
I would not be surprised if this was a planned accident, as they would probably get more money out of it in an insurance settlement vs what they would get in a conventional sale.
At one point in time, there was even a plan to demolish the house and recover the building materials for resale, then split the lot to sell as separate development sites.
Wow. 6 millions gallons of water. Would hate to be the insurance company.
Joe Chura,
You’re really a rookiei at this game. I’ve deleted the link from your name to your employer’s – David Wolf Residential.
This is your second fail.