We bought our house sight unseen & immediately found a terrifying problem
A YOUNG couple that lost thousands after accidentally purchasing a dilapidated home has revealed how buyers can avoid making a similar mistake.
Last year, Josh Keyes and his wife Yuri Nakashima bought the home in Sudbury, Ontario – about 250 miles north of Toronto – for $60,000 CAD over the asking price.
Although they were located on the other side of the country in Vancouver at the time, the couple pulled the trigger on the residence without a tour or a home inspection, CBC reported.
Although the first-time homebuyers claim a realtor advised them to do this, they quickly realized it was a grave mistake.
“Once we opened the door, immediately we started realizing the terrible condition that this place is in,” Keyes told the outlet.
The pictures of the home looked great online, but they’re now stuck with thousands of dollars worth of work for everything from a roach infestation to a busted sewer line.
“The floor is caving in, it’s sinking,” Keyes said.
He added that he and Nakashima felt they had to move quickly due to the intense nature of the Canadian housing market.
“We felt a lot of pressure because all of the news just kept on saying that housing prices are going up and up, and we don’t know if there will be a turnaround,” Keyes said.
“It might just continue going up and then we’ll be priced out of the housing market forever.”
The couple had already been priced out of the Vancouver market, which is notoriously competitive.
“We felt like this would be our last chance to get a house,” Keyes said.
The couple believes the real estate agent they worked with should have done more to prevent the situation.
“Of course a lot of it is our responsibility,” Keyes said.
“But as first time home buyers and us relying on the real estate agent to really guide us through the process, I think she is also responsible, and the seller as well.”
As of last May, Keyes and Nakashima were considering their legal options.
They planned to consult a lawyer and potentially file a complaint with the Real Estate Council of Ontario.
