Craziest Real Estate Encounters (Greenville Edition)

Some housing episodes are heavy on spreadsheets and market cycles. This one? It’s a tour through the wild side of upstate real estate—five true tales pulled straight from recent on-the-job moments. In a lighthearted break from data dives, the Selling Greenville host recounts a string of unforgettable showings and property checks that range from tense to downright unbelievable. Think guard-dog standoffs, a literal “waterfall” of roaches, buzzards nesting indoors, a floor that collapsed into a crawlspace, and a church that looked frozen mid-service while its walls bowed outward.

Craziest real estate encounters in Greenville

If there’s a single thread weaving these stories together, it’s this: Greenville real estate can surprise even the most seasoned local. These craziest real estate encounters in Greenville reveal the odd, the risky, and the unexpectedly redemptive—like a horror-movie duplex turned useful housing once the pests were gone.

Below, the episode’s five vignettes—each one christened with an unforgettable nickname—capture what it really feels like to be on the ground in the Upstate.

1) “The Doghouse”: A post-eviction safety check turns tense

An out-of-town investor had just completed an eviction and needed someone local to verify the occupants were truly gone. The host headed over—one of those unpaid extras realtors routinely handle—and walked the property, including its outbuildings. South Carolina encourages realtors to carry a firearm for personal protection, and he had his.

Approaching an open shed, something felt off. He eased the door and was met by a flash of eyes and a low, serious growl. A massive dog—possibly guarding a litter—stood its ground. For the first time in his career, he genuinely considered he might have to use his firearm. Instead, he chose patience: slow steps backward, non-threatening posture, and no sudden moves. The dog held position; he retreated. Crisis averted, lesson reinforced: even “simple” property checks can carry real risk, and composure matters.

2) “The Roach Motel”: A duplex reveal straight out of a creature feature

Of all the encounters, this is the one that still makes my skin crawl. The host had purchased a rough, lived-in duplex—not move-in ready by any reasonable standard—and helped relocate the occupants through a property manager. While swapping locks, the locksmith called with a warning: “You have a major roach problem.”

He returned to see for himself and opened the door. Out poured a waterfall of roaches—not a stray bug here and there, but a steady cascade from the door frame and ceiling. For roughly a minute—an eternity in that moment—roaches literally bounced off his arm as he stood there, stunned by the sheer scale.

It was horrific… and solvable. A pest control pro treated the building; then, once furniture and carpet were removed, the infestation lost its food and habitat. The duplex was eventually sold to clients who knew about the issue going in, and it’s now a cleaned-up, functioning duplex providing affordable housing in Greenville. From nightmare to useful neighborhood asset—that turnaround was one of the episode’s most satisfying twists.

3) “The Buzzard Nest”: Two adolescents who wouldn’t budge

In South Greenville sat a one-acre property with a back wall so termite-damaged it was practically collapsing off the house. The plan was to list primarily for land value, but the host wanted to understand whether anyone might attempt a rescue renovation. He went inside to scout.

Rounding a corner near the compromised rear, he met two adolescent buzzards—full-size bodies, still sporting downy baby feathers. Instead of fleeing, they puffed up and hissed, occupying the room like bouncers at a back-door club. The likely backstory: their parents had nested inside, and when a human entered, the adults slipped away while the not-yet-flight-ready youngsters held their ground.

No heroics here. With birds posturing and the structure unstable, prudence won. He backed out and left the buzzard nest to its temporary tenants.

4) “The Termite Trailer”: When a floor drops into a crawlspace

Next up: a very old house on a tall crawlspace—about five feet high. The listing flagged areas as “unsafe,” but the host and his clients had seen plenty and pressed on. At first, things looked par for an aging structure. Then they reached the back.

Termites had eaten so much of the floor framing that the entire back section collapsed into the crawlspace. From the hallway, you could look straight down through where the living area used to be. The clients even asked to step into the crawlspace to assess the damage from below, where termite destruction was visible practically everywhere they looked.

The episode doesn’t try to romanticize what termites can do. This one was a visual masterclass: when wood becomes food, floors stop being floors.

5) “The Walking Dead Church”: Braced walls and a sanctuary frozen in time

This final stop might be the most haunting: a dilapidated church listed for a strikingly low price. The thought wasn’t to revive it as a church but to explore whether it could be repurposed—apartments, perhaps, or a halfway house.

Outside: rough. Inside: post-apocalyptic. The sanctuary looked like people had walked away mid-service—Bible open, eyeglasses resting on the pulpit, everything unnervingly intact. Meanwhile, the structure itself was failing in a highly unusual way: the walls were splitting outward, not caving inward. To keep them from falling, someone had run metal lines/poles across the sanctuary, bolting them into the walls as improvised braces.

Classrooms were worse—brown recluses and black widows were visible, the kind of hazards that stop any redevelopment dream in its tracks. After walking it, the client passed. Someone later purchased the property, but as far as this episode goes, the “Walking Dead Church” remains a vivid image of how quickly buildings can drift from sacred space to salvage case.

What these encounters say about Greenville real estate right now

Even in a relatively disciplined market like Greenville, the on-the-ground reality is messy and human. Investors, sellers, and buyers will occasionally intersect with properties that defy expectations—wildlife taking up residence, pests running amok, structures aging past their load-bearing limits, and abandoned buildings teetering on collapse.

Yet the stories aren’t just shock value. They underline durable truths that the episode keeps circling:

• Local expertise matters. Someone nearby has to lay eyes on a property—especially after an eviction, before a listing, or when a listing’s “unsafe” label is more than legal boilerplate.

• Even horrors can have happy endings. The “Roach Motel” became a livable duplex serving the community; the wildest problems aren’t always permanent ones.

• Caution is a skill. Whether backing away from a protective dog, stepping out of a buzzard’s improvised nursery, or declining a doomed church retrofit, judgment call after judgment call keeps everyone safe.

Above all, these craziest real estate encounters in Greenville remind listeners that transactions are never just numbers. They’re lived experiences—sometimes nerve-wracking, sometimes gross, sometimes oddly inspiring.

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Bottom Line

From a shed standoff with a massive dog to a duplex disgorging a waterfall of roaches, from adolescent buzzards puffing up inside a house to a floor dropped into a crawlspace, and finally a sanctuary braced with poles like a movie set—this episode is a field guide to the unexpected. Greenville real estate isn’t just listings and comps. It’s people, safety calls, tough passes, and the occasional redemption arc when a problem property becomes useful again. If you’re navigating the Upstate market, let these stories be a reminder: bring curiosity, bring caution—and bring someone who’s seen a thing or five.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville