It’s not every day that people get to buy a house. Like any major purchase, you explore many different options before choosing one that checks all (or most) of the boxes.
Once you find the home that calls your name, you have to actually see it for yourself to decide whether it’s the right place for you.
However, this last step does not appear to be necessary for the sellers of a three-bedroom property listed on Zillow.
Once you find the home that calls your name, you have to actually see it for yourself to decide whether it’s the right place for you.
However, this last step does not appear to be necessary for the sellers of a three-bedroom property listed on Zillow.
Highlights
- A strange Zillow listing has gone viral after warning that prospective buyers are not allowed to see inside their potential future home.
- It clarifies that someone is already living inside and that not even the listing agent has access to the property.
- The current occupant is reportedly Tori McMechan, who has been embroiled in a years-long legal battle to keep the home.
A Colorado home went viral after buyers were told they could not step inside before purchasing it
Image credits: Zillow
The bizarre listing for the Colorado house has gone viral, as it clarifies that potential buyers are not allowed inside to view the property listed for more than $215,000.
“This property is being sold occupied/sight–unseen/no access. DO NOT DISTURB THE OCCUPANTS,” the listing reads, warning that the listing agent has no access to the home and cannot describe its condition.
“NO SHOWINGS and NO PROPERTY ACCESS for inspections or otherwise. NO TRESPASSING. Buyer will be responsible for obtaining possession of the property upon closing.”
Image credits: Zillow
Image credits: Zillow
As the listing states, removing the occupant from the home in the small town of Nunn will be the buyers’ responsibility.
The listing, shared on X on July 29 by the account Zillow Gone Wild, sparked hilarious reactions from those who were surprised by the price tag and buying conditions.
“$215K for a squatter occupied house is crazy, no matter the location. The interior has got to be nuts,” one person said.
“215k and I have to fight to the d*ath. Incredible,” another commented.
“I’ve never seen a house being sold as a mystery box,” a third joked.
Tori McMechan, the woman living inside, says she refuses to leave because the home is the last gift her late husband gave her
Image credits: KING 5 Seattle
The current occupant of the house is reportedly a woman named Tori McMechan. She and her husband, James, bought the property in 2006 before he lost his life in a car crash four years later.
Tori has lived there ever since, fighting to maintain ownership of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home where she raised her children.
"I'm staying," McMechan told 9News. "They can come on in, but I'm not leaving."
She added, "This is the last thing that my husband bought for me before he passed. This is where I raised my children."
Image credits: KING 5 Seattle
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Tori and James took out a mortgage to buy the property. According to Tori, it was a 15-year loan, meaning it would have been fully paid off in 2021 if everything had gone according to plan.
Weld County court records cited by 9News show that the loan went into default in June 2010 after the required mortgage payments allegedly stopped being made.
This reportedly allowed the lender to begin foreclosure proceedings to sell the home.
The Nunn property has been at the center of a foreclosure battle for more than 15 years
Image credits: KING 5 Seattle
According to 9News, the dispute over the property has played out across at least six separate foreclosure filings.
Some foreclosure attempts were delayed, dismissed, or denied by a judge, so Tori managed to remain in the home for about 15 years despite the default.
The mother claims she and her husband tried to catch up on payments, but two personal checks were rejected.
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Moreover, she argued that there wasn't a sufficient paper trail showing who legally owned the mortgage and therefore had the right to foreclose.
She also alleged that the bank refused to speak with her or accept her payments because the loan was in her husband's name.
"The bank has been unwilling to work with me as a surviving spouse,” she claimed.
The mother wants to force the property’s future owner to evict her
Image credits: KING 5 Seattle
Both lawsuits she filed were dismissed, and the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that, even if her allegations were true, they weren’t sufficient to legally block the foreclosure sale.
Tori reportedly plans to remain in the house and force the new owner to file for eviction so she can use that case as another opportunity to contest her removal.
If the foreclosure sale is completed, she will become what is known as a holdover occupant.
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Tori described the $215,280 Zillow listing as “unreal” and asked, "Who would buy a home sight unseen with an occupant still in it?"
"I don't know what else you do," she admitted. "I've had three attorneys that could not even get this straightened out. So what do you do?"
The listing agent told 9News that he has listed thousands of foreclosed homes over the course of his career but has never put one on the market with someone still living at the residence.
Tori, who lost her husband in a car crash, used to serve as the Nunn town clerk
Image credits: KING 5 Seattle
Image credits: KING 5 Seattle
According to a 2010 Greeley Tribune report, James McMechan, 43, lost his life in a one-vehicle crash shortly after he threatened several Nunn town board members with a knife while intoxicated.
The report states that Tori previously worked as Nunn’s town clerk and treasurer until she was fired in February 2010.
She reportedly claimed in 2010 that someone had fired holes into her house a few years earlier and said she believed the alleged attack was connected to her job.
"That's not a property listing, it's a quest", one comment reads
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