On paper, it was the house of a lifetime. Jessica Perry found the home in Salvisa, Kentucky, on Zillow, fell for it right away and made an offer the same day. Within weeks, the basement had started telling a very different story.
Perry and her husband, who have a young son, closed on the property on Aug. 5. By the time a local reporter sat down with the family, dozens of rat snakes had turned up, a contractor had found what looked like a den years in the making, and a repair bill in the thousands was waiting, according to a report from LEX 18 reporter Kayleigh Randle that ran on Scripps stations.
From Cottage-Core Dream to First Sighting
Perry described the place as “every woman’s cottage-core dream house,” according to the WXYZ version of the story. For the first few weeks after the closing, everything seemed fine. Then the first snake appeared, and homeowners who have spent time with a list of electrical mistakes that put homes at risk will recognize the feeling that a house can hide more than a listing shows.
In the first week after that sighting, the family found two adult snakes and several juveniles in the basement. Buyers who want a head start on the unwelcome surprises that come with a first purchase can browse a roundup of rookie mistakes to avoid when buying a house, though a snake den is not likely to be on it.
Dozens of Rat Snakes and a Porch Torn Down
Over the following months, the count kept climbing. The snakes were rat snakes, which the report notes are nonvenomous constrictors that eat rodents, birds and eggs. An exterminator set traps in the basement and around the house, but the sightings continued. Homeowners thinking about their own basements and storage areas may want to see a piece on mistakes made when leaving a house empty and a Frenz Hub guide to seasonal storage.
Seeking the way in, a contractor tore down the porch. Shed skins led into the foundation, and when the contractor opened that area up, multiple snake eggs were inside. Perry said it looked like a den that had existed for several years, as WCPO also reported.
Readers curious about the creatures that share a yard with a family can browse the wild animals most often spotted in backyards in winter. Gardeners who spend time outdoors may also like a guide to elevated garden beds for fall greens and herbs.
Even after the area was cleaned out and the openings were sealed, the problem did not end. Days before the interview, Perry found a snake about 6 feet long in the basement, a very different problem from the smaller crawlers in a Frenz Hub piece on natural ways to keep spiders out.
The Seller, the Nickname and the Neighbors
The part that stung most was the history. Perry said the previous owner never disclosed a snake problem. Neighbors told her that a family member who grew up in the house remembered seeing snakes in the basement as a child, and a former owner told her the property had a nickname: “the snake house.”
The reports do not say whether any legal action is planned. What they describe is a family left to sort out the fallout largely on its own. Homeowners facing big, unplanned repairs may find it useful to read about states where homeowners face insurance cost and coverage concerns and what a policy may or may not cover.
For now, the focus has moved from enjoying the house to stopping the problem and paying for the work.
A Repair Bill and a GoFundMe
The family has already spent a couple thousand dollars on attempts to get rid of the snakes. A contractor told Perry that part of the basement may need major work, and replacing it could cost $4,000 to $5,000. Perry said the family does not have that kind of money on hand.
A friend of Perry’s has started a GoFundMe to help cover the costs. The reports do not give a total raised, and no timeline was offered for when the work might begin.
For a family that thought it had found its forever home in an old Kentucky house, the first months have looked more like a long game of seal, trap and wait. No checklist or inspection routine would have helped a buyer who did not know what lived below the floor.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Judy Gallagher – CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons