Vandalism

Recently, I had a listing that was subject to an act of vandalism.  It was a vacant older home that was just on the edge of the residential zoning for the area.  The owners were retired and had already moved to a more suitable home, and were leaving a home they had owned for over 45 years.  It was in dire need of updating both inside and out, it had already sat for six months with another agent, and the owners were unable to spend much time at the property due to medical reasons.

I had put the home on a lockbox and agreed to stop by the home at least once a week to check on things, plus one of the owners tried to come just as frequently.  Well, of course I went by one week and an over-zealous recycler had decided to break the glass on the rear door and remove all traces of copper piping from the home.  Literally.  They kindly shut the water main off and removed every visible piece of copper in the basement, under the sinks, and even cut a hole in the wall upstairs to pull the piping that went from one floor to the next.

I was understandably upset, and the owner even more so.  He was already grappling with the fact the market was slow, his location was less than ideal, his home needed a significant amount of updating he could not afford, and now he had to factor the plumbing into the equation.  I felt terrible that this had happened under my watch, but there was very little I though I could do to prevent this in a vacant home with no alarm that sat apart from the rest of the neighborhood.

The owner did not hold me accountable as he realized the difficulty with securing a home in this manner, but that still left us with the additional damage.  He looked into insurance, but it was not feasible, nor practical to try to pursue any sort of claim for this act.  

We did eventually sell the house, and we actually sold it for what I though it would go for on the open market.  As you would guess, the buyers took it as-is.  In the end, the owner was satisfied with my work, but I definitely wish I had found a better way to secure that property, or any other solution that could have prevented this situation.

So that's were you come in, fellow 'Rainers.  What experiences have you had with vandalism?  What did you do to prevent it?  What are some suggestions for protecting a vacant home?  How did you handle the situation if it happened?

Thanks for the great input in advance!!

Joe Hayden is a Louisville, KY-based Realtor.  He can be contacted through his website, Expert Real Estate Louisville, KY.