My name is Daniel, but my friends call me Da-Kernel! In a short while I will be 80 years old so I have decided to terminate my lifestyle as a couch potato and become one with my peeps (or my family) I decided to buy a fixer upper and help them bring it back to life. I have taken courses in real estate and I have also bought and sold real estate for a living! I found a piece of property that I thought would fit the bill (no pun intended). The house was $39,900.
When I went to see the property, I was shocked that the real estate company would hide and or fail to disclose a number of important facts. The house needs to be completely replumbed. The house needs to have the entire electrical wiring redone. The house has no hot water tank. The roof on the house and the garage are both leaking and need structural repair. There is no water pressure tank, etc. The inside of the house smells like urine and feces from squatters breaking in and damaging the place. The house would require an industrial cleaning as well as the garage. The real estate company paid $8,900 as it was auctioned off from the county for delinquent taxes. They then listed it for $90,000, $80,000, $70,000, $60,000, $50,000, and finally $40,000. If the company can pay $8900 and get $90,000. I am by no means complaining, if someone can pay $8900 and recoup $90,000 without lifting a finger, I initially think of these three things:
1. The buyer didn’t do their homework (The ignorant home buyers)
2. This is a real estate definition of price gouging
3. I am not seeing the complete picture.
When you talk about real estate comps it is a term that means property that is in the same neighborhood, the same building structure, (brick, wood, siding, etc.) So I found a home in Minnesota which was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath and the real estate company was asking $40,000. It did need a lot of cleaning, but it had plumbing, electrical and had no roof leaks.
I would not give this real estate company more than $10,000 for the house in Webster, N.D., where they are asking $39,900 the pictures are not up-to-date and they do not tell the true story of the house and grounds. I talked to the security person of the grain business, adjacent to the property and he said he thought the house was abandoned. The real estate company stresses to do your own diligence and I have. I am sending a letter of complaint on what I feel is a scam. I have contacted AARP Josh Askvig, Eric NesBitt Law Offices, and Antonio DeBlasio about the sellers’ failure to disclose and defects. Also I will be contacting the real estate board.
Sincerely,
Daniel Kern, Cavalier, ND
Verified by author via telephone April 8, 2026 – LAO
Leave a Reply