As the owner of her own real estate company, broker Addie Owens has seen her fair share of crazy shit in real estate. But what happens when she finds herself at a home she dubs “The Panty Palace”? Tune in to hear Addie’s reasons why she never visits a vacant home alone, and why safety measures are as equally important for your clients are they are for you.

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Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:40 - Addie’s Background
• 00:48 - She’s from a small town in the middle of Florida
• 01:03 - She’s been in the business for 13 years with REO properties as her main source of business
• 01:12 - She has 2 kids, ages 18 and 19 and she is married with a dog
• 02:00 - The “Panty Palace”
• 02:20 - She was contacted by a bank and assured that this mobile home was vacant
• 03:07 - She contacted a locksmith and planned to meet at the mobile home together since it was in a heavily wooded rural area
• 03:32 - The locksmith arrived early, and called her to confirm the house was vacant because he saw signs of life like a running fridge and food on the counter
• 04:10 - She thought it could probably be a squatter so she called the local authorities to help handle the matter
• 04:30 - She arrives and can barely get to the door because the ramp is covered by overgrown Jasmine vines
• 04:54 - Managed to get inside only to find the place littered with beer cans and a dirty stained chair
• 05:35 - There was also a two-foot deep perimeter of Sunday circular ads throughout the whole house
• 05:58 - The local deputies arrived and in the master bedroom they found “mounds of panties of all shapes and sizes” that were strewn everywhere
• 06:49 - Inside the second bathroom they discovered little plastic bottles that were filled with tiny amounts of fluid and they realized he was collecting his own fluids along with a freezer in each bedroom the police wouldn’t touch without a warrant
• 07:54 - While they were there, the occupant came back to the home
• 08:27 - Occupant was about to eat lunch when the locksmith came by so he fled because he had told the bank he had moved out
• 09:44 - She couldn’t secure the house until the eviction process got started
• 10:38 - Property Preservation crew calls to tell her the occupant built a shack at the end of the property and had been living there since his eviction
• 10:57 - She ultimately declined the property because of the unsafe situation
• 11:56 - Addie’s Safety Measures
• 12:12 - Now she always schedules an appointment with a locksmith or Property Preservation before visiting a vacant lot
• 13:24 - She modified her email signature to include that she requires a copy of a driver’s license before taking clients on showings and encourages her other realtors to do the same
• 13:41 - There is always the opportunity for squatters, you can’t take your location for granted
• 14:12 - It’s beneficial to have a mentor help walk you through some of these challenges
• 14:58 - Addie’s contact information: visit her website at www.addieowens.com where you can contact her directly

3 Key Points

1. Don’t go visit a site alone, especially if it’s in a secluded area
2. Squatters can happen anywhere, never take your environment for granted
3. Have established safety measures in place to protect both you and your clients

Credits

• Audio Production by Chris Mottram
• Show Notes provided by Katie Allard