Gianni Versace's mansion. Photo via Flickr user Phillip Pessar
If there's something strange in your neighborhood, like 39 people committing mass suicide, you're probably going to call Randall Bell.
Bell, a Laguna Beach real estate appraiser, specializes in properties suffering from "detrimental conditions." In layman's terms, that means he works in real estate disaster porn, helping sell homes where the grisliest of crimes have taken place.
His repertoire includes Nicole Brown Simpson's Brentwood, California condo; the LA house where actress Sharon Tate was stabbed to death by members of Charles Manson's "family;" the South Beach mansion where Gianni Versace was shot dead on his steps; the family home of slain child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey; and the aforementioned Heaven's Gate property where 39 cult members poisoned and asphyxiated themselves believing their souls would be transported to outer space.
VICE asked Bell about some of the craziest shit he's seen in his line of work.
VICE: So why did you decide to go into damaged real estate?
Randall Bell: I was swimming in the pool the day before law school and I literally had kind of an epiphany where I just thought it'd be really interesting if I took my skill set with real estate and valuation and flipped it upside down, instead of looking at valuation I looked at devaluation. It was a really bold, risky decision coupled with really great timing. We had the Malibu firestorm, the firestorms in Laguna Beach, the Northridge earthquake, the LA riots, OJ. We just had this whole rash of Southern California problems and I was just inundated with work.
JonBénet Ramsey's childhood home. Photo via Flickr user Jennifer Boyer
Do property values go down a lot when a crime has taken place?
I've seen things where you actually have an expected increase in value. Take an extreme case like sounds, and that kind of stuff.
Do you ever hire a psychic or priest to cleanse the home?
I try and be respectful of different points of view and if it makes you feel more comfortable, by all means do it.
Are there things sellers can do to mitigate the stigma of their homes?
When there's a crime involved, obviously you have to make sure that it's completely restored and repaired. I've actually seen people that were too lazy and unethical to make repairs and people bought the house and found out there was a crime because they found unrepaired bullet holes in the kids' bedrooms. That's just a bad idea.
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