Story Archive

Short Sale

William Wilson scored when he bought a 7-year-old house in Cape Coral, Fla., at auction for only $96,000 — because its taxes hadn’t been paid for several years. He had to buy it without inspecting it, so once the paperwork was finalized, he went in to clean it up. Inside, he found “a mess — it looked like [someone] was packing to move,” he said. There was 3-year-old unopened mail. That was nothing, though, compared to the body he found in the bedroom. “You couldn’t tell who it was,” Wilson said. It was so decomposed, “You couldn’t tell if it was a male or a female.” Neighbors say an elderly woman had lived in the home, but they hadn’t seen her for several years. “It’s sad about the whole thing,” said the neighbor from across the street. “Nobody ever checked on her.” (RC/WJXX Jacksonville) ...Isn’t that what neighbors are for?