SALISBURY – It may be ugly, but buyers have paid more and more to own the white-frame structure at 120 First St. near downtown. And now, the abandoned house is gaining national attention as a finalist in HomeVestors of America, Inc.'s "Ugliest House of the Year" contest.
Sarah Slabaugh of SJS Ventures, LLC, nominated the house for the contest sponsored by the Dallas-based company know for its "We Buy Ugly Houses" billboards. The house, its lower-level roof supported by makeshift props, is one of 10 finalists in the national "un-beauty" pageant that will let online voters decide a winner, according a company announcement.
Slabaugh is one of about 270 HomeVestors franchises, a network that has purchased more than 30,000 houses nationwide and nominated properties for the national contest, according to the company.
In a statement, Slabaugh said she bought the First Street property from owners who "were grateful to get the property off their hands."
"We arrived and were startled to see only half a house," she stated. "The original structure was stripped down to dirt and studs with homeless people setting up camp."
A 2007 goal for franchises is to purchase a total of about 7,000 houses in need of repair with an objective to turn them "into beautiful homes that people are proud to own," said John Hayes, president and CEO at HomeVestors.
"We've become a household name for buying the biggest eyesores in the neighborhood," he stated. "That means buying houses that nobody else would ever dream of buying."
The First Street house may be characterized as ugly, but sellers have been able to land more than its $14,250 value listed in tax records.
According to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, the house sold in 2006 for $15,000, then again in May 2007 by different seller for $17,000. SJS Ventures, according to records, sold the property a month later for $24,000. Current owners, records say, are James Tarrance and Gail Hull of Salisbury.
In the pageant, the Salisbury house is competing against properties in Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Worth, Montgomery, Ala., Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sarasota, Fla., and San Antonio, the company says. Online voting ends Nov. 15, and the public can cast a ballot for their choice at www.theugliesthouse.com.
A winner and second- and third-place runners up will be announced during the Dec. 5 through 8 HomeVestors of America annual convention in Orlando, the company said.
Results will be posted online at www.homevestors.com.
