Would you buy a house that was owned by a known criminal

Lyn256

Hiya,

Just wondering what people think. We've spotted a fab house in our area that is really really well priced but we've since discovered that is owned by a well-known criminal and his son and is being sold by CAB.

Would this put you off buying it??

jethrothe2nd

Yes, not particularly on any moral grounds, but from a safety point of view. I wouldn't want to run the risk, for example, of having someone turn up on the doorstep brandishing a weapon, who didn't realise that it was no longer inhabited by its previous occupant. Especially not if you have kids....

D3PO

jethrothe2nd wrote: »

Yes, not particularly on any moral grounds, but from a safety point of view. I wouldn't want to run the risk, for example, of having someone turn up on the doorstep brandishing a weapon, who didn't realise that it was no longer inhabited by its previous occupant. Especially not if you have kids....

This.

It wont be such great value when somebody calls to your door and puts a bullet in a loved one in a case of mistaken identity.

dtipp

No. I'd buy it - particularly seen as it probably puts other people off, and so the price would be a bit lower than other similar houses in the area presumably.

touts

Lyn256 wrote: »

Hiya,

Just wondering what people think. We've spotted a fab house in our area that is really really well priced but we've since discovered that is owned by a well-known criminal and his son and is being sold by CAB.

Would this put you off buying it??

There is a reason it is "really really well priced". You could buy it for 50K and in two weeks have a lad call to the door with a container of petrol offering you 10K for it or he'll burn it down with you out of it. Go to the Gardai and he'll burn it down with you in it. I don't know where it is or who the "well known criminal" is but generally they are physcos and you can't predict what they will do after a few pints and a bitching session in the pub. It's just not worth the risk. I wouldn't touch it. If the price seems too good to be true it probably is.

djimi

jethrothe2nd wrote: »

Yes, not particularly on any moral grounds, but from a safety point of view. I wouldn't want to run the risk, for example, of having someone turn up on the doorstep brandishing a weapon, who didn't realise that it was no longer inhabited by its previous occupant. Especially not if you have kids....

Exactly my thinking.

I suppose it depends on what level of criminal we are talking about, but assuming it is someone fairly high up in gangland (which would explain why the CAB are involved) then Id say the risk of mistaken identity and the potential consequences of that far outweigh the benefit of saving a few quid.

Lyn256

We won't go near it-just in case!!
The house is 50k-75k under what you'd expect for a house in this estate in good condition but like some of the other posters have said-we just wouldn't risk it

Lyn256

This would be a nationally known criminal (currently in jail)

I'm not sure that there would ever be a issue of mistaken identity as this house has been rented out but if its being sold by CAB - they might feel hard done by and not be happy that you have the house

Supercell

This is the one in Lucan right ?
A colleague in work was thinking about it. The general consensus was not if it was for free!
Life is too short to be worrying about some skanger that had been locked up in jail and never knew the thug owner had moved and decided to throw a petrol bomb through the front window one night you and your wife and children are sleeping inside...or worse.

You would always have to be alert and on the lookout for unsavoury types around the place, some things are more important than getting a house cheap.

Lyn256

Yes in Lucan

We were looking at it on myhome thinking that it seemed like it was too good to be true-and it turns out it was too good to be true!

My other half called the EA twice about it (before we realised who the owner was) and four days later they still haven;t come back to him . . .

I bought my house about 3 years ago. For the first 6 months we were getting knocks at the door and people asking us if we fix clocks ??

Then one night i was awoken to a Hammering on my door like it was about to be broken down. There was somebody on my wall heading into my back garden. I looked out the window and it was the Gardai with an arrest warrant. I answered the door and they blurted out a name , which was not me. I showed them my ID and told them that i bought the house some months ago.

3 days later 6AM HAmmering on the door Gardai again, looking for the same man. I explained the whole thing again, followed up with a phone call later that day. They apologized.

hoodwinked

could you guarantee when the criminal gets out of jail he wouldn't want his home back?

you could end up paying for a house you aren't allowed live in a few years down the line.

the_syco

Three things;
Have all assets that the criminal robbed being found? (and not hidden in the house)
How much of a scumbag was the criminal?
Is there a safe under the floorboards?

gaius c

Depends. Was this his actual home that he lived in? Not in a month of Mondays.
Or was this an extra house he had and didn't live regularly in? Check under the floorboards in case he has anything stashed there.

gurramok

Curious, how do you know the house was owned by the criminal? Local knowledge perhaps?

And how do you know the seller is CAB? Did the estate agent tell you?

Marcusm

This and the Abbeville, Kinsealy thread were sitting one after the other. I had to break the spooky karma; maybe a mod could merge the threads.

Lyn256

In the case of the house that we were looking at-if you google the address-it comes up with the address on the property websites and then there are links to mentions of it in stories in the Indo and RTE in connection with this criminal

djimi

gurramok wrote: »

Curious, how do you know the house was owned by the criminal? Local knowledge perhaps?

Generally speaking if there is a house in an area that is owned by a known criminal then it is fairly well known local knowledge who owns it.

Citycap

dtipp wrote: »

No. I'd buy it - particularly seen as it probably puts other people off, and so the price would be a bit lower than other similar houses in the area presumably.

It would be great seeing it on T.V. every time there is an attempt on the criminals life or there's a documentary about the Criminal Assets Bureau

Gatling

Reminds me of a story published from limerick a big time scum had been evicted from a local authority house ,people were been threatened not to accept the house if they where on the housing list ,
Scumbag publicly stated he burn any family who moved into "his" house out ,
To solve any further problem's with the house the local county council secured a demolition order on the property and tore down the house

HouseHunter13

A relative of mine got a house that was previously owned by a criminal, they lived in it for 3 years when they decided to put down new floors only to find a kilo of heroin. Luckily when they went to the guards they were informed this criminal had passed away but it was a very worrying time for them, I think I'd steer clear of this house. It would always be on my mind that the house could be targeted out of some idiotic sense on injustice or just plain spite.

gurramok

Lyn256 wrote: »

In the case of the house that we were looking at-if you google the address-it comes up with the address on the property websites and then there are links to mentions of it in stories in the Indo and RTE in connection with this criminal

Local knowledge trumps indeed. Thing is alot of news articles do not mention street numbers, just streets if you're lucky. If in doubt avoid the street even if its in a nice area!

Neeson

Is this Gilligans house?

Atlantic Dawn

I would only buy it if it was 30% of the price of similar houses in the area and my sole intention was to rent it out. I would though worry about my tennants that they would be victims if the original owner got out of jail.

If you were buying a criminals car it's one thing you can move it around and chance of him ever seeing it again would be small, the house he will know the address for life and will likely want revenge for it being seized from him.

SimonLynch

the_syco wrote: »

Three things;
Have all assets that the criminal robbed being found? (and not hidden in the house)
How much of a scumbag was the criminal?
Is there a safe under the floorboards?

This could turn into a very long thread

Jogathon

the_syco wrote: »

Is there a safe under the floorboards?

This is the only thing that matters here on boards.

Neeson

It costs 250,000!

Wouldn't buy it. Might be money under the floorboard might not be.

Especially if you had children you wouldn't want them crawling around the floor of a mans house who was sniffing white powders in the past.

silentrust

touts wrote: »

There is a reason it is "really really well priced". You could buy it for 50K and in two weeks have a lad call to the door with a container of petrol offering you 10K for it or he'll burn it down with you out of it. Go to the Gardai and he'll burn it down with you in it. I don't know where it is or who the "well known criminal" is but generally they are physcos and you can't predict what they will do after a few pints and a bitching session in the pub. It's just not worth the risk. I wouldn't touch it. If the price seems too good to be true it probably is.

You could always buy-to-let, let your poor tenant run the risk of getting toasted instead? :-D

nxbyveromdwjpg

I remember the Generals house in Rathmines going on sale in 2005, all this stuff in the papers.
I don't see a huge problem, any house could have had a criminal in it in the past.

silentrust

nm wrote: »

I remember the Generals house in Rathmines going on sale in 2005, all this stuff in the papers.
I don't see a huge problem, any house could have had a criminal in it in the past.

Agreed. Who are these people who open their doors to uninvited visitors anyway? If it's anybody but the Postman and I'm not expecting them, I just ignore it. Perhaps OP is worried about a mob with axes hacking down the door and shooting his loved ones? Stranger things have happened I suppose.

tigershould

why dont you write him a letter in prison and see how he feels about it :-P

you never know, he might welcome you looking after it whilst he's inside.