Selling a home can be a stressful experience, especially as the real estate market slows in some areas. Sellers often encounter headache after headache as they try to make their home attractive to buyers.
One seller has a traumatic story that’s pretty hard to top. They stashed $40,000 cash in the oven when would-be buyers came to do a home inspection. When the inspector turned the oven on, their treasure trove went up in smoke.
Home inspection gone wrong
Southern California-based real estate agent Wally Elsherif (@wallyelsherif) shared the unfortunate tale on TikTok earlier this week.
Elsherif’s post shows piles of $100 bills in various stages of char. Some bills appear to just be fragments; others are largely intact.
You can see the bleeding hand of a person he identifies as the seller. In the comments, he says that the seller injured themselves pulling their money from the hot oven in what was probably a state of blind panic.
Elsherif captions the post, “Up in smoke! Don’t hide your money in a stove.” He says the seller forgot that an inspector will turn on all the major appliances to ensure they work during a home inspection.
People largely agree with Elsherif that the oven is the last place you should store cash.
“Of all the places to hide money, they picked the worst spot,” reads one of the top comments.
Can the seller get their money back?
Many people suggested that the seller may be able to recover at least some of the $40,000. They urge the seller to take the damaged bills to their bank to be replaced.
This is what’s known as mutilated currency redemption. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s (BEP) Mutilated Currency Division redeems damaged money under certain circumstances.
“Mutilated currency is currency which has been damaged to the extent that one-half or less of the original note remains, or its condition is such that its value is questionable,” BEP explains.
Bills that are burnt, like those in Elsherif’s TikTok, may be eligible for full redemption under one of two conditions:
- Clearly more than 50% of a note identifiable as United States currency is present, along with sufficient remnants of any relevant security feature; or
- 50% or less of a note identifiable as United States currency is present and the method of mutilation and supporting evidence demonstrate to the satisfaction of the BEP that the missing portions have been totally destroyed.
If the damage is minor, you can simply take the mutilated money to a bank. If it’s significant, you will need to submit it to BEP directly. The bureau accepts mutilated currency submissions via mail and in person at its Washington, D.C., office.
Does this happen a lot?
This is far more common than one might think. “On average, BEP receives more than 22,000 requests for examination of mutilated currency for possible redemption each year, with an estimated value in excess of $35 million,” the bureau reports.
There are some exceptions, however. BEP notes that it will not redeem damaged funds if it suspects fraud, crime, a misrepresentation of facts, the money isn’t identifiable as U.S. currency, or it isn’t satisfied that the remainder of the currency that is less than 50% intact was in fact destroyed.
So the seller in Elsherif’s post may recover at least of the $40,000 they lost during the home inspection. Either way, it seems a pretty safe bet that in the future, they’ll find somewhere, anywhere else to store their cash.
@wallyelsherif Up in smoke! Don’t hide your money in a stove ??♂️. The sellers hid their money in the stove, knowing the buyers are going to do a home inspection. I guess I slept her mind that the inspector is going to check the appliances if they work lol. #fyp #money #fire #realestate #realtor #homeinspection #realestateagent #investing #bank ♬ original sound – Wally Elsherif
Elsherif didn’t immediately reply to an email sent to his company, We’re Real Estate.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
