A home in Virginia has sold for $805,000 (£645,143) despite its seller warning potential buyers of an alleged squatter.
The property in Fairfax, a suburb of Washington DC, was sold almost two weeks ago despite making headlines for its unusual listing, NBC News reported.
Buyers were told the address came with an “acknowledgment that [the] home will convey with a person(s) living [on the] lower level with no lease in place” in the listing, in an apparent nod to a squatter.
Buyers could not view the home’s basement, the listing also warned, in another acknowledgement of a squatter at the address. As were some windows experiencing rot, and “cash offers only” were considered.
A listing agent, Zinta Rodger-Rickert, told theNew York Post the home was sold by the family of an elderly man who was ill.
He had allegedly invited a woman – the alleged squatter – to stay with him three years ago after she “convinced him that she needed a place to stay,” Mr Rodger-Rickert said.
“So he offered her the basement, but then she never left. And she does not pay rent,” he alleged.
The home and its listing made headlines after it appeared on the satirical Instagram account “Zillow Gone Wild”, which regularly shares images and details of unusual homes posted on the property website Zillow.
The post, which mentioned “a specific clause in the purchase price”, made reference to the alleged squatter and shared images from inside the four bedroom, five bathroom home.
“Is the basement haunted? Feels like the basement is haunted”, one Instagram user wrote.
“It’s like you’re buying a house and getting a person for free”, argued another.
A neighbour told WTTG-TV that a woman and her daughter live in the basement, although that was unconfirmed. It was believed to have a seperate bathroom and bedroom space in the lower level.
In Virginia, a person must prove they have lived in a property for 15 years to claim squatters rights. It was not clear what would happen to the woman or her daughter.
