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America’s brutal housing market is pushing desperate buyers into dangerous territory — and real estate expert Tommy Harr says many families are unknowingly purchasing “nightmare homes” they can’t afford to fix.
The Columbus, Ohio-based investor and star of A&E’s upcoming series “Zombie House Flipping: Family Business” says social media-fueled flipping trends are leaving buyers stuck with ticking financial time bombs disguised as dream homes.
“I mean, with the rise of maybe social media, and YouTube, and shows like this … everybody wants to get into flipping houses, and maybe they don’t know anything about flipping houses,” he told Digital. “So, they may be flipping it themselves, or somebody more or less puts lipstick on a pig, and they leave somebody with a bad house.”
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A&E’s “Zombie House Flipping: Family Business” premieres on May 30 at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT. (A&E Networks)
Harr, whose family business specializes in reviving abandoned “zombie” houses across Columbus, said buyers are often fooled by cosmetic renovations that hide catastrophic structural problems underneath.
His warning comes as homebuyers nationwide continue battling elevated mortgage rates, high prices and affordability pressures that can pressure families to waive inspections and rush purchases.
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Harr said skipping that step can become a huge mistake.
“My biggest recommendation would be hire a really, really good home inspection company, like my dad, who’s been around a long time,” Harr said. “And they can just save you, let’s say you could spend $500. They can save you so much time, so much money and so much headache if you just get out of your own way and hire a professional.”
Tommy Harr stands in the doorway of a house that has been stripped down to its wooden framing after extensive fire or renovation damage. (A&E Networks)
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The horror stories Harr has encountered while inspecting homes sound more like scenes from a horror movie than a real estate listing.
“Most dangerous? Oh, we’ve had fire-damaged houses in Columbus that, I mean, there’s no floors,” Harr recalled. “So, you walk in… my dad actually … we were doing a home inspection probably seven years ago. He fell through the basement steps.”
“We were going down the stairs with a sewer camera in our hands, which is pretty heavy,” he continued. “And he fell right through the basement. It was like an 1800s house. It can be pretty dangerous.”
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Harr said some properties were so filthy they became biohazards.
“Nastiest thing we’ve ever found. I mean, besides like the normal nasty, which is like bedbugs, fleas, roaches, infestation, you’re going to see a lot of that on the TV show, don’t worry,” he said.
A severely fire-damaged two-story house is shown from above. (A&E Networks)
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“Back when I was doing inspections with my dad, there was a house that every square inch of the house had massive piles of dog poop. You couldn’t even walk through the house.”
“I can’t even describe how filled it was …” Harr added. “We have basements in Ohio, had a sewer backup for about four inches or so.”
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Inside a heavily damaged bedroom, a bed is covered in ash, insulation and debris from the ceiling. (A&E Networks)
When Digital asked what the scariest moment his family has ever experienced inside an abandoned home, Harr shared a moment when he realized he wasn’t alone.
“Scariest moment, I actually had a squatter jump out at me at a house,” he said. “It was all boarded up, not the best side of town.”
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“I was doing my walkthrough and at the very end, as I was walking down to the basement, I’m walking over a bunch of clothes and I hear something,” Harr continued. “I turned to my right and I see two eyes in the dark staring at me from the closet.”
Harr’s mother Katie is a designer and real estate agent. (A&E Networks)
Harr and his family — including his mother Katie, a designer and real estate agent, and his younger brother Will, who leads construction projects — are bringing those high-risk renovations to television in A&E’s “Zombie House Flipping: Family Business,” as part of the network’s Home.Made.Nation lineup.
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Promotional poster for the TV series “Zombie House Flipping: Family Business” from Home.Made.Nation airing on A&E. (A&E Networks)
The premiere episode, “Trial By Fire,” follows the family as they gamble on restoring a fire-ravaged home destroyed after a Fourth of July fireworks disaster.
A&E’s “Zombie House Flipping: Family Business” premieres on May 30 at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT.
