Couple’s dream home turns out to be bat cave
VANCOUVER – Miles Nurse and his girlfriend Jennifer Plomt thought they had purchased a dream downtown penthouse, only to discover they’ve moved into a bat cave.
By The Vancouver Sun July 14, 2007
VANCOUVER – Miles Nurse and his girlfriend Jennifer Plomt thought they had purchased a dream downtown penthouse, only to discover they’ve moved into a bat cave.
And they have learned what might be an expensive lesson about how to buy a home.
The 33-year-old Nurse estimates he is currently sharing his newly bought $509,000 West End condo with a dozen to 80 bats.
The flying rodents, which have nested in the walls of the third-floor penthouse and hang upside down in his bathroom door frame, began making noise the first day the young professional couple moved in June 29.
“We started hearing strange noises in the kitchen like high-pitched squealing. It sounded almost like mice and we thought it was coming from the roof,” said Nurse, who works for a downtown media company.
Upon further inspection, he discovered five bats sleeping between a gap at the top of his kitchen cabinet and the ceiling. He suspects they’ve been coming into the condo via a hole from the rooftop deck.
This is the first home Nurse and his 29-year-old girlfriend have bought together after unsuccessfully bidding on a handful of properties since Christmas.
When the newly renovated condo came onto the market down the street from the apartment they were renting, they knew they had to competing offers.
“We saw the condo for 20 minutes and based on our past experience, we knew that if we really wanted this place, we’d have to bid beyond the asking price and give a subject-free offer,” Nurse said.
Prospective homeowners can attach subjects or clauses to their bids. For example, homeowners can specify a sale will go through only if the house passes a home inspection, or make it subject to mortgage financing or the availability of property insurance.
But home buyers in a seller’s market are increasingly waiving these safeguards to improve their chances of landing a property.
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