Nobody ever expects to have their world turned upside-down due to job loss, health issues, and other related life setbacks. Unfortunately for some, these issues coincide with the catastrophic loss of their home through foreclosure. One woman and her husband decided they were going to purchase a foreclosed home in North Carolina owned by a bank so that they wouldn’t go over their home-owning budgets. Boy, were they in for some surprises.
Paris Earle—paris.earle on TikTok—posted various videos detailing her foreclosed home-buying experience on TikTok. The plan was to build their home, but instead they got a reality check. So, like many other individuals who take advantage of a person’s bad situations, including the most inconsiderate: landlords, they decided to take a leap on a foreclosed home.
Paris.earle and her husband were under the impression they’d be buying the home in ‘as-is condition.’ However, they were surprised at what they discovered upon first look. Paris commented, “We walked in and thought, ‘This is foreclosed on. Are you sure?’ It was in fantastic shape. The more we walked around, the more we noticed little things, but it felt cosmetic.” Upon leaving the first viewing, their hearts were completely set on the house, noting that it definitely had potential.
During the bidding war, Paris learned she’d be on the hook for a lot of damage repairs. Bringing a contractor with them, they took a second look. Not only did they find out that the power lines were cut, but there was also water damage, damaged flooring, and the appliances were leaking.
Now, if you’re like me, you would write that off as the homeowners clearly struggling financially over the years. Because, well, that’s why houses typically go into foreclosure, right?
However, Paris took it almost as a slight against herself and other potential buyers of this property. She believes that the damage was “intentionally caused” by the previous owners so that “no one else could enjoy” the property. That is a wild accusation to make! Even after loudly casting judgment on her TikTok page through numerous videos, she and her husband decided to go through with the purchase.
Now, in a turn of events, Paris and her husband found out they’ve settled on someone else’s money pit. She stated, “Even though we knew the extent of the damage, we didn’t find out until after we had already agreed to a purchase price. The bank was not forthcoming with information.” The bank, as is in typical bank fashion, told them they were buying the property ‘as is.’
Paris.earle dug into the history of the house. As a result, Paris said that they were able to get a better timeline of when the damages occurred. They also spoke with a contractor who told them it would be about $200,000 to fix the home entirely up to the standard in which they want it to be. However, they obviously aren’t able to make all of those fixes from the get-go.
Viewers responded with some legal knowledge on the subject and generally unhelpful comments. Paris said, “People were asking if we were going to hold the previous owners, like, responsible for any of the damage that was done before we owned it.” However, she quickly found out, just like many others who buy foreclosed homes, that it isn’t possible. When you buy ‘as-is,’ it’s basically a closed case.
As somebody who purchased an ‘as-is’ home, you take what you get, knowing improvements will need to be made. Another important lesson is that we should never judge a person’s dire situation. The previous owners were in an obviously horrific financial position to go through something as life-changing as losing their home. As Paris.earle concluded on these thoughts, “We don’t hold any ill will towards them.”
