A Colorado home listing has gone viral for reasons that have little to do with square footage, design, or location, because potential buyers are being told they cannot enter the property, cannot inspect it, and will be responsible for dealing with the woman who still lives inside.
The house sits in Nunn, a small Weld County town northeast of Fort Collins, and the listing describes a three-bedroom, two-bathroom property that must be purchased sight unseen. It also warns buyers not to disturb the occupant and makes clear that removing her would become the new owner’s problem.
Next 9NEWS reporter Spencer Soicher traveled to Nunn after the listing spread widely online, where he met Tori McMechan, the resident at the center of a foreclosure fight that has lasted for more than 15 years.
“The ad is unreal, right?” McMechan told Soicher. “Who would buy a home sight unseen with an occupant still in it?”
A Listing Unlike Almost Any Other
The warnings attached to the property are unusually blunt: no interior photographs, no inspection, no entry before closing, and no contact with the people living there.
From the outside, the wording makes the property sound almost dangerous, as though someone threatening may be barricaded inside. Soicher said even members of the 9NEWS team discussed whether it would be safe to approach the home before he contacted McMechan.
She welcomed the reporter, spoke openly about the dispute, and was kind throughout the visit, according to Soicher.
That contrast is part of what made the listing so fascinating online. The advertisement presents an unknown and potentially hostile occupant, while the woman inside describes herself as a widow trying to keep the home where she raised her family.
The property manager told Soicher that an asset manager had instructed him to make the restrictions explicit. He was told not to approach the door, speak to McMechan, or enter the home.
“This is what you get,” Soicher recalled of the instructions. “Don’t mess with them.”
The property manager did not know why the wording had been made quite so severe, but it succeeded in attracting national attention. A screenshot of the listing received more than 4 million views on an X account, as users tried to understand what kind of property was being offered.
A Home Tied to Her Late Husband
McMechan said she and her husband bought the house in 2006, before he died in a car crash during what Soicher described as a bitter political dispute in Nunn.
The home became one of the final things her husband bought for her, and it later became the place where she raised their children.
“This is the last thing that my husband bought for me before he passed,” she said. “This is where I raised my children.”
For McMechan, the property is not simply a financial asset or another foreclosure listing. It holds the history of her marriage, her children’s upbringing, and years of work she says the family put into maintaining it.
“We put a lot of work into this property,” she told 9NEWS.
That personal connection does not settle the legal dispute, but it helps explain why she has fought for so long. A buyer may see a troubled house with a difficult occupant, while McMechan sees the last major piece of a life she built with her husband.
A Foreclosure Battle Lasting More Than 15 Years
The property has been involved in foreclosure proceedings for years, with Weld County court records showing at least six separate filings dating back to 2010.
Court documents traced the loan default to June of that year. McMechan challenged the foreclosure both on her own and with lawyers, sometimes securing delays, dismissals, or other favorable rulings.
One case ended after a contested hearing in which a judge refused to approve the sale. Other efforts were less successful, and a more recent Colorado Court of Appeals ruling allowed the process to move forward.
McMechan said the original loan was in her husband’s name and claimed the bank would not speak with her or accept payment from her after his death because she was the surviving spouse rather than the named borrower.
“The bank has been unwilling to work with me as a surviving spouse,” she said.
Court records also described a repayment dispute in 2010, when McMechan said she and her husband attempted to bring the loan current through several payments. She said two personal checks were rejected by the loan servicer.
McMechan said the loan was taken out in 2006 and would have been fully repaid by 2021 had the payment schedule continued normally.
“We took out the loan, the actual loan on this house, in ’06,” she explained. “In 15 years, 2021, this home would have been paid off.”
She has not paid rent since, according to Soicher’s report, although she said she had been able to make the loan payments and had instead spent about $60,000 on attorneys while trying to resolve the ownership dispute.
Loan Changed Hands Multiple Times
Another complication is that the loan passed between several companies during the long legal battle.
McMechan filed two lawsuits herself, arguing that the transfer history did not provide a clear chain of evidence showing which company legally owned the debt. Both cases were dismissed.
The Colorado Court of Appeals later ruled that even if her claims were accepted as true, they did not provide a legal basis for stopping the foreclosure sale. McMechan said another recent appeal failed after required paperwork missed a deadline.
“I don’t know what else you do,” she said. “I’ve had three attorneys that could not even get this straightened out. So what do you do?”
Soicher contacted companies that had previously serviced the loan, but none offered an explanation that resolved the dispute. One declined to comment, while another said it had not serviced the account for about a decade and no longer had any involvement.
The case shows how quickly a mortgage dispute can become difficult to follow once loans are transferred between companies, legal challenges pile up, and the original borrower is no longer alive. Even so, the court rulings have moved the property closer to sale, leaving McMechan with fewer options.
Her Final Hope May Be Eviction Court
McMechan said she now believes her last opportunity to remain in the house may come after someone buys it and attempts to evict her.
She is relying on a 2024 change to Colorado law that gives tenants facing eviction the right to a jury trial. Whether that protection would ultimately help her keep the property was not settled in the report, but she sees it as another chance to present her case.
The listing agent told Soicher that he had handled thousands of foreclosed properties during his career but had never marketed one while an occupant was still living inside under conditions like these.
That leaves any buyer facing an unusual risk. The purchaser would receive a home that cannot be inspected and may require another lengthy legal process before it can be occupied, repaired, rented, or resold.
In a normal real estate transaction, buyers inspect the roof, plumbing, electrical system, foundation, and interior condition before committing their money. Here, they are being asked to purchase almost entirely in the dark while also inheriting a human and legal conflict.
“I’m Not Leaving”
McMechan did not hide her intentions when Soicher asked whether a new owner would be able to remove her.
“It’s going to be pretty difficult,” she said. “I’m not leaving willingly.”
She later joked that she might not be a bad roommate, but her larger message was serious.
“I’m staying,” McMechan said. “They can come on in, but I’m not leaving.”
Her words help explain why the listing is so direct. The bank and property managers are not promising vacant possession, and they are warning buyers that purchasing the house may be only the beginning of the struggle.
The situation is troubling because every side appears to be operating under a different understanding of what the property represents. To the lender, it is an asset being sold after years of default and litigation. To a buyer, it could be a bargain paired with enormous uncertainty. To McMechan, it is the family home she has spent more than a decade trying not to lose.
The viral listing may have first attracted attention because it sounded ominous, but Soicher’s report revealed a more complicated story behind its strange warnings. There is no mysterious stranger hiding behind the door, only a woman who says she has exhausted lawyers, appeals, and payments while fighting to remain in a house filled with family history.
For anyone willing to buy it, the instructions remain clear: do not enter, do not inspect, and be prepared to face the occupant afterward.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
