an officer once told me how cleanup companies scrub crime scenes before nasty homes are put on the market, removing all (visible) evidence of homicides, meth labs, and other messy illegality. even in times of real estate crisis and hi-def hgtv, however, realtors don’t always show homes at their very best. the two photos below come from lovelylisting.com, with links to the actual listings advertising the homes for sale.

moorpark, california — 4 beds, 3 baths, $449,900, extremely motivated seller.

st. paul, minnesota — 3 beds, 2.0 baths @ 153,000.
nice. you couldn’t spend fifteen bucks for a gallon of white latex and a can o’ kilz?

understanding that folks actually lived in these houses, these are some of the saddest pictures i’ve seen. one can either laugh at the realtors or cry for the owners. call me a homer, but i’m hearing paul’s here comes a regular and grant’s 2541 — cuz these houses have nothing to do with the “our house” of csny or madness.