Fairfax home under contract for more than $800K despite occupant living in basement

Real estate listing with person living in basement

A real estate listing in Fairfax has gone viral after the homeowner posted they were looking to sell for $800K. But, there's a catch: someone is living in the basement of the home.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - A real estate listing in Fairfax has gone viral after the homeowner posted they were looking to sell for $800K. But, there's a catch: someone is living in the basement of the home.

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Not only did the house get one offer, but it received five total, according to the agent handling the listing. The agent also says as of last night, the home is under contract for a price that was "a bit" above asking.

Part of the text on the listing reads:

"CASH OFFERS ONLY NO ACCESS to see lower level and Home sold AS IS ONLY with acknowledgement that home will convey with a person(s) living in lower level with no lease in place."

Fairfax home comes with occupant living in basement

Like it or not? A Fairfax home is on the market for $800K. The catch? There's someone living in the basement.

FOX 5 visited the home on Wednesday, but no one wanted to comment. A neighbor told FOX 5 that a mother and daughter live in the basement of the home, but its unclear what their relationship is with the homeowner or how long they've lived there.

The listing also indicates there is a lot of work to be done inside the home. Neighbors say they haven't heard of anything like this.

"It was pretty surprising," says Ellen Tembreull. "And then seeing the listing saying there was a leak, you know, and the condition of the house, and a tenant in the basement and still asking 800 was pretty incredible."

FOX 5 spoke to Richard Bolger, a real estate attorney not connected to this sale, to get a little more context on the situation.

He says the cash offer means no lender involved, and the title could get transferred relatively quickly. Now, it is up to the new owner to decide what to do.

"If you have a cash offer, you don’t have a lender involved, the lender is going have certain requirements on lending the money, and one of them is going to be having a clear title, and you’re not going to have clear title if you have a tenant in the basement," Bolger says.

That’s especially complicated if that tenant tries to stay in the home by either claiming there was a lease or appealing an eviction, even though Bulger thinks the home’s new owner would eventually win an eviction dispute.

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It is unclear how much over the $800,000 asking price the contract is for or who bought the home.

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