Posted by $Cash$ (NV) on October 05, 2002 at 09:08:14:
Tim Fierro,
You will remember this one. “That Voodoo that you ‘do me’ so well.”
John
Spirits?? Salt, eggs, knife marks on walls??? - Posted by Travis (Dallas)
Posted by Travis (Dallas) on October 05, 2002 at 07:16:43:
I’ve been after a house for about 8 months. The owner called after receiving my flyer/card.
I previously looked at the house and talked to the 65 year old lady that owns it. I’ve submitted contracts to her attorney and son to review. They finally accepted my contract, but now she has damaged the house.
She is sharp as a tack on business items, but has a “little problem” about sewer lines and electrical fields.
Now she has damaged the house.
There are hundreds of carefully placed knife marks on the walls throughout this 5 year old house. She has poured salt along the walls throughout the house and placed a carton of eggs and mounds of salt under her water heater that is in the garage on an 18" platform. She has black ink splotches about four feet from the floor all around the garage wall and around the electrical panel in the garage. She has scratched large “X’s” on most of the doors and above and below some of the light switches. She placed black garbage bags around your electrical meter and light fixtures and electrical panel. She taped all her air conditioning vents shut and taped all around the base boards throughout the house.
She thinks all the sewer lines from the neighborhood join under her house and says she is bothered by the big pumps and the burning kerosene in the sewer lines under her house. She hasn’t used the central air conditioning in years because the condensate line ties to the sewer. (She has a window unit in her bedroom.) She stopped up the toilet and drains and flooded the house last year. The city, county, and other authorities have tried to convince her that she is wrong about the sewer lines.
Anyone have any ideas about the purpose of the salt, eggs, tape, black ink marks, knife marks, “X,s”, etc.?
Also, she had an old video camera taped to a ladder and pointing to the electrical panel.
Thanks,
Travis
Is this property the Bates Motel? (nt) - Posted by george
Posted by george on October 05, 2002 at 22:22:21:
nt
I sure hope she’s crazy - Posted by Eddy (CT)
Posted by Eddy (CT) on October 05, 2002 at 19:48:21:
For your sake if you get the house!
This should be obvious but… - Posted by GL(ON)
Posted by GL(ON) on October 05, 2002 at 18:53:21:
Make sure you are protected against future claims that she was not in her right mind when she made the deal with you.
If a person is not capable mentally, they can get out of a contract.
In this case, she has independent legal advice and her son has approved the deal. That should put you in the clear. But check with your lawyer anyway, they may have to sign a document to protect you from future claims that could cloud the title or worse.
Re: Salt, eggs, knife marks on walls??? - Posted by Bryan-CA
Posted by Bryan-CA on October 05, 2002 at 16:32:42:
Sounds like she’s having hallucinations. That often happens with psychosis or schizoaffective disorders. This sort of person couldn’t explain what the actual purpose of the stuff is in a rational manner, but it sounds like she’s doing some sort of exorcism. You’ll probably have to deal with her son on this. Tell him that you want to lower the agreed upon price because of damage that was made after your first offer. You also want the property delivered vacant (leaving it up to the son to get Mom out of the house) and you want the right to change locks as soon as you take title.
It’s only funny for 5 minutes. - Posted by GL(ON)
Posted by GL(ON) on October 05, 2002 at 14:36:00:
Mental illness like this is funny, but only for the first 5 minutes.
This lady needs help. No doubt her attorney and son are aware of this.
You should contact them and tell them what happened. Ask them to come and look at the place. Explain that you will need a rebate to repair the damage, which was not there when you agreed to buy the house.
Find out what they plan to do to protect her and the people around her.Make sure she is out of the house and in a safe place before you close the deal. In other words you need vacant possession. And insist on the right to inspect the place again the morning of the closing, after she moves out.
Salt, eggs, flour make a cake - Posted by michaela-ATL
Posted by michaela-ATL on October 05, 2002 at 13:41:24:
since it’s not reality, but her beliefs, that torment her. you need to make a special tiara out of aluminum foil and present it to her as a new invention warding of any evil spirits as long as she wears it. (maybe you need to wear a chicken suit while presenting ;-)?)
good that you have her attorney and son involved in this as well. where is she going to live afterwards? is she going to have some kind of care giver? is her son taking care of her?
michaela
Beware: Possible Paranoid Schizophrenic??? - Posted by Bliss (OKC)
Posted by Bliss (OKC) on October 05, 2002 at 11:00:35:
Sounds like one of my patients in the psych. ward! Either that or dementia. Nate’s post sounded good!
Make sure she understands everything your doing and what you’ve put in writing. You don’t want this to come back to bite ya later if she is mentally ill or didn’t understand what she was doing with the house. Just my opinion! 
Bliss
Re: Old Crazy Owner - Posted by Nate(DC)
Posted by Nate(DC) on October 05, 2002 at 09:29:58:
I think she’s just nuts, no other explanation needed! Why not use it to your advantage, tell her “I need a severe discount on this house, after all it has all these sewer line problems!”
NT
Re: Spirits? Salt, eggs, knife marks on walls? - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)
Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on October 05, 2002 at 08:34:07:
I have no idea what all the voodoo repellants mean, but this may be a good case to put a clause in the contract. One that says this house is vacant with new locks before you sign the papers. This is not someone you want to try and evict and/or have coming back thinking it is still her house.
WoW! - Posted by Dee-Texas
Posted by Dee-Texas on October 05, 2002 at 08:20:10:
Hi Travis,
First let me say you have the most UNIQUE post today!
Sounds like the lady needs help. With thinking the lines are doing damage to her, so she protected herself with her own syle of excercism (sp).
Go back and make your offer lower because of the damage.
Dee-Texas
The question then becomes… - Posted by Bryan-CA
Posted by Bryan-CA on October 05, 2002 at 16:36:08:
what if she lacks the ability to make sense of the deal you’re trying to do? You can deal with the son, but you don’t want crazy ole Mom coming back at 3am to exorcise the house after your buyers have taken possession.
Re: Spirits? Salt, eggs, knife marks on walls? - Posted by michaela-ATL
Posted by michaela-ATL on October 05, 2002 at 13:49:22:
tim,
i wouldn’t want the seller changing the locks, because they would still have a key. i’d do the changing myself after closing
just my thoughts
michaela
Re: Spirits? Salt, eggs, knife marks on walls? - Posted by $Cash$ (NV)
Posted by $Cash$ (NV) on October 05, 2002 at 08:44:33:
Tim Fierro,
You can’t have real voodoo without ‘chickens’. Where do you think the eggs on the wall came from.
John $Cash$ Locke
Re: The Ghost & Mrs. Chicken - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)
Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on October 05, 2002 at 08:49:45:
Oh $Cash$, don’t get me started. I don’t have time for this today, I have to get ready for our Club meeting.
.
.
.
BUT! If you were using a very used Chicken for the eggs and that Chicken has not been to the doctor in a while, you may need to have some salt for the wounds. That is if you are lucky it only needs salt. Any worse than salt to clear it up, you will need the knife to extract any infections caused by said Chicken.
I swear, this is my last post on this.
No, I mean it.
I won’t.