Michigan Man Says He Was Accidentally Sold the Wrong House

How often does something like this happen?

Due to a series of misfortunate mix-ups a homebuyer in Southwest Michigan claims he was mistakenly sold the wrong home. Thankfully for us, he's sharing the messy details on Tiktok!

Given the hectic state of the real estate industry and skyrocketing home prices how would you feel if you shelled out your hard earned cash only to find out you're actually squatters in your own home?

I, for one, would be livid!

Well, that's exactly what happened to local Tiktok user @Seans.Crazy.Life. The Coldwater, Michigan resident says he thought he purchased his home back in July 2024 but was only recently informed he technically owns a home just down the street. In fact, he can even see the home he actually owns from his front yard!

So, how does something like this happen? Sean says it all started with an erroneous real estate listing,

It was listed on Zillow with the wrong address and wrong city...we actually own that house a quarter mile away...we own nothing where we're at, we're squatters

Can you imagine what a headache this would be?

Even despite getting utilities put in his name and requesting the post office forward his mail to his current address on three separate occasions Sean, who paid for the home in cash, says it wasn't until his family moved in that he noticed the mailbox had a different address than what his closing documents said.

After a back and forth with his title company and the post office Sean went to the local courthouse to pull up official records and that's when he discovered the truth: he indeed had purchased the wrong home.

Now various state agencies are getting involved including the Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the Michigan State Tax Commission-- because he paid taxes on the wrong house! As expected it sounds like neither the title company nor the real estate agency Sean purchased the home through will take any accountability. Adds Sean,

It's been nine months, nobody will take any responsibility, everybody's afraid they're going to get sued....You can't tell me they didn't know they had the address wrong...even when we came to see it Google Maps took you to the wrong house

I've never purchased a home before so I can't speak to what the process is like, but I know people buy and sell homes every day. How could something like this slip through the cracks? I feel for Sean and his family for the time, worry, and money this mix-up has caused them to lose out on. One commenter on Tiktok who also happens to be a real estate agent advises,

The listing and selling real estate offices should have errors and omissions insurance to cover issues just like this! Lawyer up! This should have been caught! - @ticktockanddontstopp